THE principal of a Bradford school has taken “robust action” to turn its fortunes around, according to a new report from Ofsted.

Earlier this month Dixons Allerton Academy was mentioned in Ofsted’s annual review as being a school that has not had a “good” rating in over a decade.

At its last inspection, in December 2016, it was judged to “require improvement”.

But inspectors recently visited the academy for a monitoring inspection, and have written to principal Gary Dreher

saying the school has improved since then and its future

looks “positive”.

Dixons Allerton Academy is an all-through school with 1,700 pupils aged between three and 18. The academy replaced the former Rhodesway School eight years ago.

After the Ofsted annual report Sir Nick Weller, founder of the Dixons Academy Chain, questioned its inclusion in the list. He said in the late November visit inspectors seemed positive about the school’s situation. He pointed out that the school’s pupils had performed strongly in this summer’s exams.

The annual Ofsted report considered inspection results until the end of August.

Ofsted’s letter to Mr Dreher says: “Leadership and management have improved. Leaders and governors have taken a range of appropriate actions to address the weaknesses identified in leadership and teaching, learning and assessment at the last inspection. Your expectations are high and you communicate them clearly to staff and pupils.

“You have taken robust action to eradicate weak teaching and you have ensured that roles and responsibilities at all levels are clear. The impact of your swift actions since the last inspection can be evidenced by the accelerated improvement in the quality of teaching and the improvements in outcomes since November 2016.

“Current school predictions are looking positive and indicate a continuously improving picture.”

The inspectors were only visiting the school for a monitoring inspection, not a full inspection, so the school still remains in the “requires improvement” category.

Mr Dreher said: “We are very pleased with the Ofsted report.

“The report reflects all the hard work by our staff and students. Last year the Academy’s progress put us in the top 23 per cent of all schools in the country. Our Key Stage 5 results were at least good and our primary remains good to outstanding.

“We strongly believe that at our next full Ofsted inspection, we will be judged at least Good.”