A high school is looking to the future after being removed from special measures by Ofsted.

Haydon Bridge High School had been rated inadequate after an inspection in 2018 but after a raft of changes the news they are being brought out of special measures has been welcomed.

Current headteacher, Michael Smith welcomed the news as a first step of improvement.

He said: "We are obviously delighted that the school has been removed from special measures.

"The removal of special measures is a vital first step in our journey to improve the school and is great news for the students, staff, parents and the whole community.

"Ofsted's judgement recognises the hard work that has taken place already and the improvements that have been made in all aspects of the school's work since the last inspection.

"We have already begun to work on the areas for improvement that have been identified by Ofsted's inspectors and look forward to working together with the entire school community to further improve the school for all current and future students."

The headteacher also talked about the future and retaining the progress of the school.

"Whilst we still have work to do this judgement is great recognition of all those who are working hard and looking to the future of our school in providing a better education for all," he added,

This new report follows from an Ofsted visit in July when inspectors carried out monitoring checks on the school to track its progress.

They took the decision to convert this visit into a full Section 5 inspection and take the school out of special measures due to the progress that they saw.

Inspectors praised some of the work being done, saying: "Leaders have improved the quality of plans for what pupils need to learn. In most subjects these plans are ambitious, and they carefully build pupils’ knowledge over time.

"Staff care about pupils and support them.

And they backed their work with SEND pupils adding: "Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) get the support they need. Teachers adapt their teaching to make sure that these pupils are able to learn.”

The full report will be published by Ofsted on their website over the coming weeks.