A GROWING Bournemouth special school has been rated as Outstanding for the fifth consecutive time.

Government inspectors had high praise for Linwood School and said: "Leaders are determined to ensure that pupils are able to succeed, no matter what challenges they may face."

Linwood School, in Alma Road, Bournemouth, welcomes pupils between the ages of three and 19 from a wide geographical area.

It is made up of five campuses - Linwood,Springwood, Summerwood, Littlewood and CHI(Classroom in the Heart of Industry).

The last time the school was inspected by Ofsted was in 2013.

In a report to head teacher Julie Jeanes, inspector Tonwen Empson said: "In response to a growing local demand for specialist support for pupils, you have successfully overseen the growth and development of several new teaching campuses.

"This has not got in the way of the strong vision and commitment that you, your governors and staff share to provide outstanding teaching and learning for pupils."

The report said governance of the school is good and that pupils make at least good, and often outstanding" progress across the school.

And it added: "A feature of the school is the detailed knowledge that staff have of the needs of each pupil."

Chair of governors Julie Clarke said: "I am absolutely delighted with this report which captures the qualities and aspirations of Linwood School. The Linwood approach is one of teamwork and the whole team of teachers, teaching assistants, administration and support staff can be proud of their contribution to this exceptional report."

Executive head teacher Julie Jeanes added: "We are delighted with the outcome. At Linwood we are passionate about improving outcomes for our children and young people and work very closely with families to facilitate this.

"We offer a personalised, relevant, innovative and motivating curriculum to meet a range of individual learning needs and we are pleased that the Ofsted report acknowledges this.

"We have a highly motivated, talented and dedicated team of teachers and support staff who have high aspirations for our children and young people and they should be proud of this achievement."