RAPID improvements at The Purbeck School have led to a rating of Good from Ofsted inspectors.

They praised the quality of teaching, achievement of pupils, the sixth form, behaviour and leadership following a two-day visit to the Worgret Road, Wareham school in December.

Inspectors said: “All teachers have a strong focus on improving students’ examination results. This has led to a rapid improvement in achievement.

“The head teacher and other leaders, including governors, have brought about big improvements in the quality of teaching.”

They said teaching is “consistently good” and that students are “keen to learn, co-operate well with one another and respond quickly to their teachers’ instructions”.

The Purbeck School is a mixed comprehensive with 1,014 pupils between the ages of 11 and 18.

Inspectors said the school is not yet rated as outstanding because disabled students and those with special educational needs have not made progress as quickly as other students in the school, particularly in maths.

Head teacher Leanne Symonds said: “I am delighted that the journey of improvement that the school has taken has been reflected in our Ofsted report.

“This extremely positive report is testimony to the hard work of all our staff and students and I hope that everyone in our community reads our report with a great sense of pride.”