A FAILING school which has made significant improvements has been praised after a follow up inspection by education watchdog Ofsted.

Inspectors visited Colne Primet Academy last month after the Dent Street school was rated as inadequate in November 2014.

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Last month’s inspection report praised the headteacher and governing body for beginning to turn the school around.

They were also praised for improving pupil attendance and behaviour, although there may be some more work to do as Colne police offiers claim they are being plagued by hoax calls from pupils.

They said they received as many as 40 malicious calls inside 60 minutes last week.

The previous inspection last year found that pupils at the school, which converted to an academy in January 2013, underachieved across a range of subjects, including maths, history and geography.

They also gave the quality of teaching at the high school the lowest possible rating and said that behaviour required improvement after pupils were found to be smoking on the site.

Ofsted inspector Peter Limm said: “The headteacher and the academy’s governing body have fully accepted the previous report and are beginning to address the key recommendations for improvement.

“A major focus on improving the quality of teaching and learning is beginning to have a positive impact on securing higher expectations about what all groups of students can achieve.

“However, there is still some way to go before these initiatives are consistently demonstrated in all lessons and in all year groups.

“A tighter focus on improving attendance and behaviour is beginning to have positive results in both aspects.”

Pendle MP Andrew Stephenson said: “It’s great news that the school is starting to be turned around. Colne Primet has significant challenges but what you are seeing is that the school is now in the right direction.”

Headteacher Lynne Blomley, whose school is part of the Pendle Education Trust, said: “We were very pleased with the recent Ofsted monitoring visit which confirmed that we are making all necessary improvements recommended in the report and taking rigorous action to ensure rapid progress.”

“The Ofsted report in November confirmed the inspectors’ belief in the capability of the new leadership and management at our academy, with confidence in our commitment and ability to drive improvements forward, as part of our long term transformational plan.

“We remain committed to each and every child in our academy and are fully focussed on providing them with the best educational experience, as they deserve.”