THE new headteacher of a Basingstoke secondary school said he is “proud” of an inspection identifying improvements made since it was graded as ‘inadequate’.

As previously reported, Coppice Spring Academy, in Pack Lane, was told by Ofsted that it is providing pupils with an “unacceptably poor” education and has been in a “state of serious decline over time”.

The school, for pupils with social, emotional and mental health difficulties, was graded as ‘inadequate’ following the inspection in March 2022, during which inspectors found pupils were “beyond control” and staff feared being hurt.

READ MORE: Damning Ofsted report finds pupils are 'beyond control' at Basingstoke secondary school

New headteacher, Andrew Hatherley, said the school has since made “significant improvements” and received a visit from a Hampshire schools improvement office in November last year which highlighted these in a report.

Mr Hatherley, who started his new job in November 2022 and hopes to ‘transform’ the school, said: “We are very happy and proud of the report as it is showing the rapid improvement in all aspects of the school.”

He shared some of the positive parts of the report.

It said: “The school still has much to do, but the trajectory of improvement is moving at a pace.”

SEE ALSO: New Basingstoke headteacher hopes to 'transform' failing secondary school

It said the headteacher had “developed a strong vision for moving the school forward” adding: “What has been achieved in a short amount of time is impressive.”

The report mentioned the transformation of the communal areas at Coppice Spring, where inspiring wall art has been put up, while other internal spaces have been painted and refreshed to make the school feel “more welcoming and inviting”.

The report said there had been a “vast improvement” in lessons and the inspector found that the behaviour observed during the visit was “exemplary”.

Mr Hatherley said his focus this term is on teaching and learning.

The school is part of Catch 22 Multi Academies Trust Limited, which is in the process of handing over its academies to another provider following a string of poor Ofsted reports.

A spokesperson for Hampshire County Council said: “The academy school commissioned our Education Improvement Team to review the progress Coppice Spring is making following the school’s previous inspection by Ofsted in March 2022.

"We can confirm that a thorough review was undertaken and the outcome of that was largely positive. However, there remains some further work to be completed to fully address Ofsted’s recommendations and school leaders are taking action towards reaching a good judgement from Ofsted.”