A town secondary school has lost its ‘outstanding’ Ofsted rating. Fulston Manor, which has 1,247 pupils, was downgraded to ‘good’ by inspectors after a two-day visit in February.

It missed out on maintaining its record because “on occasions teaching is not always planned as precisely as it might be”.

The report adds: “In these lessons, progress for a minority of students is slower as they are not fully challenged.

“Teachers do not consistently provide written feedback to students about the next steps in their learning. Leaders do not always check regularly enough on the quality of marking.”

However, the quality of teaching is said to be continuing to improve with some examples of outstanding practice.

Head teacher Alan Brookes said: “Although it is frustrating the school is no longer rated as outstanding by Ofsted – particularly as in the report 11 aspects are identified as improving or having improved since the last inspection – the formula by which Ofsted now grades achievement places schools such as Fulston Manor at a significant disadvantage.

“We believe passionately in choosing qualifications that are right for our students rather than selecting those that may increase our scores for inspection.

“This is the moral thing to do and a path we will continue to follow, placing the interests of our students and our parents above all other considerations.

“The fact that the report presents such a positive picture of the school is a clear indication of the correctness of this position. I strongly recommend that people take the time to read the report in its entirety.

“The picture that it paints of a high-achieving school, peopled by well-behaved students and skilled, dedicated staff, is one of which I am proud and which will provide further evidence that Fulston Manor’s enduring popularity and continuing success are fully borne out by the overall findings of the Ofsted team.”

It is recommended that, to improve achievement and the quality of teaching, staff should use information on students’ progress to plan work which challenges all of them.

Pupils need to be clear about what they should do to improve their work and school leaders need to check regularly on the quality and impact of marking.