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School inspectors have praised improvements at the Marlowe Academy in Ramsgate, one year after it was told to raise its game in three separate areas.
In March 2008 the academy was asked to monitor teaching standards more rigorously, improve students’ literacy and numeracy skills and boost school attendance.
Its performance has now been reviewed by Ofsted, which says the school, graded “satisfactory” at its last inspection, is making “good progress” and “raising pupils’ achievement.”
Inspectors say there is room for further improvement - most notably at GCSE level where only 52 per cent of students achieve the benchmark five A* to C grades. A report sent to the academy says that “standards in maths and English remain exceptionally low.”
However, Ofsted believes the school has taken “robust action” to improve performance and says a new method of monitoring, where teachers are observed three times a year, was delivering a “much clearer picture.”
The number of students consistently skipping lessons has fallen by around a fifth in 12 months and student attendance now stands at around 90 per cent.
Ian Johnson, principal of the Marlowe Academy, said: “This is a good report. It shows that we’re very much on track. I’m delighted for our students and the community - they deserve the very best.
“My staff work incredibly hard and it’s good for that to be recognised too.”