THE Department for Education has lifted the warning notice it had placed on a free school in Bradford 18 months ago.

Governors at Kings Science Academy were told they had done enough to convince the Government they could remove the notice, imposed due to a highly critical inspection report in spring 2013.

They received the news through a letter from Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for School Lord Nash.

The free school, once praised by Prime Minister David Cameron, was issued the warning by the DfE in May 2013 over a "serious breakdown in the way Kings Science Academy was managed or governed".

An inspection of the school had found that Government funding had not been used for its intended purpose.

The report was made public in October 2013, and since then principal and founder Sajid Raza has been replaced with temporary head Jane Tiller.

The school will be taken over by the Dixon's academy chain in January, when it will be re-named Dixons Kings Academy.

Mr Raza was arrested on suspicion of fraud in January this year and is due to answer bail in the new year as a police investigation into the school's finances continues.

The way the school had been established in September 2011 and run in its early days had also led to numerous political debates, both in Bradford and in the halls of Parliament.

But away from the controversy the school has improved enough for the DfE to be satisfied enough to lift the warning notice.

Lord Nash's letter, sent to chairman of governors John Bowers almost 18 months to the day after the warning was issued, states: "I am aware that much work has taken place since then to act on the findings of the various reports into financial management and governance at the school.

"I am now satisfied the warning notice can be lifted.

"I would like to place on record my gratitude to you personally for your sustained commitment to the school, its pupils and parents, and for your leadership of the school.

"I am aware of the challenges that this will have presented and the strength of leadership that you have provided through times that must have occasionally been difficult.

"I would be grateful if you could also pass on my thanks to the current governing board at the school for their commitment to restoring good governance and leadership."

Mr Bowers said: "It reflects all the hard work people within the school have been doing over the past 18 months.

"This hard work has not just been about governance and finance. It has also been about putting in place everything that pupils in the school need to be able to succeed.

"Jane Tiller has done a phenomenal job to make sure everything is in place. The governors all think the school has a very bright future."