THE Bishop of Winchester Academy has retained its rating of Good following a visit from government inspectors.

A team from Ofsted found that head of the Mallard Road school, Paul McKeown, bases his leadership on “a very strong moral and ethical foundation that holds the Christian faith at its heart.”

The school received its Good rating in July 2013 and the latest visit was a so-called short inspection to ensure standards have been maintained.

In a report to Mr McKeown, inspector Andrew Lovett said: “There is no doubt that improving the life chances of all your pupils is at the very centre of your work.

“You benefit from a very strong governing body, middle leaders are effective. In recent years pupils have made good progress from their starting points and achieved good standards.”

But he said there is too much variation in quality between subjects and that the most able pupils do not make enough progress. The exam results of students in the new sixth form were lower than the national average in 2016.

The school was praised for its unit which supports pupils with complex communications difficulties and inspectors said: “Staff know their pupils very well and work hard to ensure they can be successful in the mainstream lessons they attend.”

Mr Lovett also said: “A very noticeable strength of teaching in your school is the time and effort teachers put into explaining to pupils how they can improve their work.

“Pupils value this and say it helps them to learn. Pupils also benefit from the quality of questions that teachers ask. The precision and focus on technical detail in questioning is helping older pupils to prepare well for their GCSE examinations.”

The Bishop of Winchester Academy is over-subscribed in all year groups.