A school deemed inadequate earlier this year amid concerns for its literacy and teaching standards has been lifted out of special measures.

Ofsted visited Hockwold and Methwold Community School on October 24 and 25 during which they found teaching had strengthened and learning improved.

In a report by inspectors Paul Brooker and Heather Housden, pupils’ progress was said to have “accelerated” and the weakest teaching had been eradicated.

They added: “When the school was last inspected, achievement, teaching, leadership and management were all judged inadequate, but this is no longer the case.

“Leadership and management, including governance, are good and the school has good capacity to sustain its improvement.”

Head Denise Walker was said to have “high aspirations” and “boundless energy”, while much, though not all, of the teaching in secondary years was now “good or outstanding”.

Inspectors noted that teaching in the reception years was “good overall” and pupils made a good start at Hockwold.

Mrs Walker said she was “overjoyed” at the school being lifted out of special measures, and added: “It is a huge achievement for us to come out of this category after only nine months.

“This is almost unprecedented – the HMI told us that he had only known two schools to come out of special measures on the second monitoring visit in the country in the last 12 years.

“This is a recognition of the determination and resilience my colleagues have shown over the last nine months and a testament to the work and attitudes of our pupils.

“Everyone at our school is choosing to succeed, evidenced by the fact that this summer, the school achieved the best GCSE results in its history.”

The school, which became the first in the county to amalgamate primary and secondary pupils last year and also offers degree courses, is due to become an academy in January.