A SCHOOL is celebrating after education inspectors said it was improving.

Whitworth Community High School, in Rossendale, was inspected by Ofsted in November.

The school was one of a handful to achieve better GCSE A*-C grades than last year in recently published league tables, with a pass rate of 39 per cent. Although it did stay below the Lancashire average of 53 per cent.

Now inspectors have concluded it has the backing of parents and all the signs of success.

But out of 50 secondary schools in East Lancashire, the school lagged around the bottom in Value Added scores with 96.9 - the grade calculated to show how much a school contributes to the improvement of its pupils.

However, headteacher Neil Robinson said he was proud of the school, most of all for "valuing its pupils."

"I am very pleased with the outcome of the inspection," he said. "It reflects the hard work of all connected with the school and the progress which has resulted from it.

"Most of all I am delighted by the praise for and recognition of our pupils, their achievements and success regardless of ability.

"The real success story is of small comprehensive school, raising achievement and valuing its pupils."

The report said achievements of pupils were good as were their qualities in terms of spiritual, moral and social development."

The Ofsted report said the school runs smoothly and efficiently and praised the headteacher, governors and senior management team for their "sense of direction." The emphasis on developing the curriculum was also said to have paid off.

Parents of children at the school in Hallfold should receive a copy of the inspection summary in the coming days.