A BASINGSTOKE secondary school has been graded as “good” by Ofsted following an inspection last month.

In 2010, Aldworth Science College, in Western Way, South Ham, was graded as “satisfactory” by Ofsted – a result which was contested by Julie Churcher, headteacher at the time, who criticised inspectors for being contradictory in their report.

But now, the school, which has 806 pupils, has been judged as “good” in every category.

Denis McCabe, who took over from Mrs Churcher as headteacher last September, said: “This is excellent news for us as a school community and these gradings are in agreement with our own self-evaluation.

“What this outcome serves for us is a validation of our work in improving the school and providing our students with the best possible experience. I am delighted with the outcome as much work has taken place to ensure that the school is moving in a positive direction.

“We will continue to ensure we go from strength to strength and raise standards further.”

The report, published on March 4, said the school has “improved significantly” since the previous inspection, adding: “The new headteacher and his team have built securely on the growing strengths of the school and have accelerated improvement.”

It highlighted English and maths as the subjects where the “strongest progress” is made and said that “most lessons” are now of a “good” standard.

The school was not graded as “outstanding” for various reasons, including because “the leadership of middle managers has not yet ensured that teaching and learning are outstanding.”