BEAMONT Collegiate Academy has been ranked as good by Ofsted for the first time.

Students and staff are delighted to be ending the academic year on a high after inspectors praised the ‘popular and oversubscribed’ school.

And the report said pupils receive good careers advice, which meant that every student in the class of 2016 went on to further education, employment or training.

Ofsted inspector Stephen Ruddy said the school is ‘aspirational’, especially for disadvantaged pupils, with more than 50 extracurricular clubs at the site including horse riding, rowing and Minecraft coding.

He said: “The school is well placed to continue improving. Leaders have increased the range of subjects which pupils study. For example, all pupils in key stage 3 now study a modern foreign language.

“Attitudes to learning are positive and conduct around the school site is good. Pupils say that the school is a safe place where bullying is rare.

“Pupils discuss ideas and knowledge with confidence and complexity. They are adamant that leaders and other staff have the safety and welfare of pupils at their heart.

“Pupils say that, because of the positive culture and effective teaching, the school is a happy, diverse and tolerant community.”

Attendance at the academy is above the national average and exclusions are ‘well below’ normal levels.

Principal Andrew Moorcroft said: “The school has never been ranked good since Ofsted started about 25 years ago. This is a real validation of the commitment of staff and all the hard work they have put in.

“When I came here four years ago I made it clear that I wanted the school to be one of the best in Warrington.

“It’s been a team effort, the answer to getting here was blood, sweat and tears. It’s the teachers on the ground who work hard, staying late, sometimes working at the weekend.

“That’s because staff here have a strong moral compass to help the students.

“It’s not just about results, it’s about the wellbeing of the whole child.”

And he said staff and pupils are ‘excited’ about the future after Beamont teamed up with six other schools to form The Challenge Academy Trust.

Mr Moorcroft added: “We don’t think the job’s finished – this is a platform for the school to go on to bigger and better things.”

Read the full report here.