PARKSTONE Grammar has been rated as a ‘good’ school following a gruelling inspection by Ofsted.

A team from the government inspection body spent two days in the Sopers Lane school just before Christmas. Their report, which praises attainment, behaviour, attendance and leadership, has just been published.

The school was last inspected in 2007, before it became an academy, and was then rated as outstanding.

This time inspectors said the school did not receive the top rating because: “Not enough teaching is outstanding. In lessons, challenge is sometimes inconsistent.

Some marking does not give students enough advice on how to improve.”

The report also said the proportion of sixth form students making rapid progress is not high enough.

But it had high praise for outstanding progress in maths and English, significantly above average exam results and the promotion of spiritual, moral, social and cultural development.

Headteacher Tracy Harris said the inspection coincided with Christmas lunches, a Carol service, end-of-term assessments and Christmas celebrations.

She added: “The inspection was carried out under the new Ofsted framework, which has significantly raised the bar with the intention of making it much more difficult to achieve the highest grades in each area.”

She added: “We are delighted with the report that shows students make outstanding progress at GCSE across al areas of the curriculum.

“We are very proud of our students and staff and thank our parents for their continued support.”