Bosses at a secondary school in Reading have highlighted the positive progress being made at the school after education watchdog Ofsted told the site to improve.

The Wren secondary school and sixth form in West Reading was visited by the school standards organisation Ofsted earlier this year.

State schools are inspected by Ofsted periodically to ensure performance and pupil safety standards are met.

It gives short overall judgements from ‘Outstanding’ and ‘Good’ to ‘Requires Improvement’ and ‘Inadequate’. A process which has come under fire in the past year, with calls to remove the one-word judgement system from local unions.

While The Wren got an overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ this year, a series of positives that pupils benefit from include its ‘inspirational classrooms’ strategy and creating a culture of aspiration.

Inspectors found that the school’s value of ‘ambition’ is reflected in pupils taking on different leadership roles to develop important life skills, by becoming prefects and enjoying extra-curricular activities such as sports clubs and school trips.

The Ofsted report states: “Pupils have access to a wide range of extra-curricular activities, including the popular sports clubs.

“These experiences, along with interesting trips, help to enrich school life.”

John Salberg, Principal at The Wren said: “I am extremely proud of each and every member of The Wren for the incredible journey we have been on.

“This report captures our passion, dedication and determination to provide the very best all round education to our 1,000 strong school community.

“Our Progress 8 score for the last academic year, putting us in the top six per cent of improved schools, gives a statistic illustration of this.”

Progress 8 grading system adopted in 2016 that replaced alphabetically ranked A*-E grades.

Mr Salberg has been praised for his ambitious vision and direction, which has seen improvements in GCSE grades under his leadership.

The school was judged to ‘require improvement’ in the parameters of quality of teaching and sixth-form provision.

In efforts to improve, bosses at the school have already begun expanding bespoke training and coaching of 22 staff to ensure classroom consistency (including a focus on the sixth form), a robust curriculum development strategy to tackle improvements in the quality of education, and continued engagement with its managing Trust and external partners to review and provide support.

The Wren is run by the Excalibur Academies Trust, which manages 21 primary and secondary schools in the South.

Nicky Edmondson, CEO of the Trust, said: “The culture, ethos and high quality training of The Wren’s staffing body are playing a considerable part in the school’s vision and growth.

“This, coupled with focused and dedicated trustees and governors, is providing an excellent foundation from which to flourish.”

Ofsted has come under fire from the National Education Union (NEU), which has called for Ofsted to be replaced so that a ‘better model of accountability and school improvement can be developed’.

The call has been made after the death of Caversham Primary School headteacher Ruth Perry early last year.

Following an inquest into her death, Heidi Connor, the senior coroner for Berkshire, found that a ‘Inadequate’ rating by Ofsted contributed to her suicide.