THE headteacher of The Vyne Mark Kingswood said that the school is on the up – and he is excited about building on the progresses that have been made so far.

Mr Kingswood took on the headship in September last year, following a turbulent few years for the school.

The Vyne was put in special measures in 2010 after being graded “inadequate”. It was led by two interim headteachers during the subsequent two years, and a recovery programme was put in place.

The most recent Ofsted report, in March this year, praised the school, and said it was on course to “significantly” improve.

Mr Kingswood, who joined the school as deputy headteacher just weeks before it was put into special measures, said he was delighted that the future is now looking bright for The Vyne.

He said: “I have been able to build on the good work done by the two interim headteachers, and now there is some real stability in the school.

“There have been a lot of changes – around 90 per cent of our staff have either joined the school, or moved job role, since September 2012.”

Mr Kingswood said he has taken a number of measures to improve morale at the school, including introducing a new school uniform, clamping down on litter and graffiti, and banning the use of mobile phones.

He said: “The students are now proud to go to The Vyne. It sounds like a cliché, but we really are like a family here.

“The attitude within the school is brilliant, and my mission is for the results to match up to this attitude. I’m confident we can achieve this.

“The biggest change is that now we believe anything is possible. We now have a growth mindset, and we are not risk averse.”

See this week's Gazette, on sale now, for a School Report feature on The Vyne Community School.