CELEBRATIONS are under way at a York primary school after Ofsted inspectors removed it from special measures and rated it as good.

Poppleton Road School was put in to special measures in 2012 and has undergone four monitoring inspections in the intervening months.

The school was now been taken out of special measures and judged to have jumped up the rankings to good, only one place below the top grade of outstanding.

Head teacher Debbie Glover said: “We are absolutely delighted with the outcome of our recent Ofsted inspection. We feel incredibly proud that we have moved from special measures to good in just 21 months.

“This could not have been achieved without the amazing team work from everyone in the school community, particularly the staff and children who have responded to the challenge with such great determination and commitment.

"We would also like to thank our parents and carers for their loyalty and support over this time. Poppleton Road is a wonderful place to be and it feels great that we now have this recognition from Ofsted.”

In her report, the lead inspector, Joan Hewitt, praised Ms Glover.

She said: “The head teacher has inspired leaders and teachers to believe nothing is impossible. She is highly regarded by pupils, staff and parents.

“Pupils’ achievement at Poppleton Road has improved quickly since the last inspection. Pupils, including disabled pupils and those with special educational needs, enjoy learning and work very hard in nearly all their lessons.

"They are developing good reading, writing and numeracy skills. Teachers have made great strides in improving their practice and have high expectations of their pupils and plan interesting tasks for them. They make sure the most able pupils have to work hard.”

In order to become an outstanding school Poppleton Road needs to continue to increase the proportion of outstanding teaching so that most pupils make exceptional progress.

City of York Council’s cabinet member for education, Coun Janet Looker, said she was proud of all the work that had gone on at the school.

She said: “It’s been a really tough journey and they had a lot to do. I think the whole community will be so delighted with this result, because there was a doubt over whether the school would be pushed into becoming an academy and the parents didn’t want that.

“This judgement shows the immense amount of hard work from the school, but also the support from the local authority.”