THE headteacher of a Basingstoke junior school, which came in for criticism, has been praised for leading it with “passion and great determination.”

Hatch Warren Junior School, in Gershwin Road, was visited by a team from Ofsted for a monitoring inspection after it was judged to “require improvement” following a full inspection in September 2013.

Now, in a letter to executive headteacher Diane Charman, Her Majesty’s inspector Alan Taylor-Bennett has said: “You continue to demonstrate an accurate understanding of what changes need to be made to secure good levels of achievement. You are inspiring staff and pupils with your vision for the school.”

He added: “You and your deputy are successfully addressing some long-standing and serious shortcomings in the school’s work, and raising everyone’s expectations of what the pupils can achieve.”

Miss Charman, who took over as head in April 2013, is also headteacher of Oakridge Junior School, in Oakridge.

Mr Taylor-Bennett said this arrangement, which has been formalised until the summer of 2015, has already been a success, and was “welcomed by parents.”