IT IS a school where pupils share their teachers’ “high aspirations” and are “motivated to learn and succeed”.

That is how the Ofsted inspectors described Southampton’s Oasis Academy, Lord’s Hill, in its latest report.

The school was awarded a ranking of “good” in all categories, an improvement on the previous inspection in 2013.

Inspectors praised the dynamic leadership of principal Ian Golding saying he provided a strong direction for the school and was ably assisted by a highly effective senior leadership team.

The report praised Mr Golding’s “passionate and professional commitment to improve the life chances of the pupils attending the school” and added that it was improving rapidly under his leadership.

The inspectors also found:

  • The curriculum provided a wide range of subjects and activities that make a good contribution to pupils’ personal development and welfare.
  • Pupils behaved well around the school. Most displayed positive attitudes to learning and clearly wanted to do well.
  • Children who need extra support, including those who have special educational needs and those who speak English as an additional language, made good progress.
  • Positive, harmonious relationships between staff and pupils made a direct contribution to pupils’ learning and their good progress.
  • The calm, purposeful environment seen in many lessons ensured pupils work hard and enjoy their studies.
  • Students were well prepared for the next stage of their education, employment or training.

Mr Golding said: “I am delighted that Ofsted have judged the academy to be ‘good’ as it is nothing less than my exceptional staff and students deserve – it is their hard work that has secured this achievement.

“This is a significant milestone for us, but it is not the end of our journey. While we are delighted that our community now has a ‘good’ school of which they can be rightly proud, we know we can achieve even more.

“We will continue to work tirelessly to make the improvements necessary for us to become the truly exceptional school that this community deserves.”

The school was asked to make a number of changes including ensuring attendance improved among a small minority of pupils and more able pupils were challenged to reach the highest standards.

The report called for an improvement in the school’s literacy development and called on staff to promote better writing and speaking skills in some subjects.

However the inspection noted attendance across the school had improved and was now close to the national average.

Since the last inspection, the proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* to C GCSE grades, including English and maths, has increased but remains below national average.