THE headteacher of Wallingford School said a new Ofsted report downgrading it from ‘good’ to ‘satisfactory’ should not disrupt efforts to turn into an academy.

Wyll Willis, who has been at the school since 2005, said work was already under way to improve teaching and learning in the school, and this year’s GCSE pupils were set to achieve record results.

He admitted last year’s results were not good enough, and accepted Ofsted’s criticism.

Inspectors said that although progress in lessons had improved, there were under-performances in some subjects.

Inspector James McNeillie said: “Teaching is satisfactory overall throughout the school because most lessons do not have a sufficient focus on what students should be learning.

“Linked to this, there is inconsistency in how well assessment information is used when planning and during lessons. When this is the case, the needs of all students are not sufficiently well met.”

Inspectors said the school was caring, and the school’s head led a drive for improvement.

Although work had already taken place to boost teaching and learning, the results could not yet be seen, Mr McNeillie said.

Last year, 58 per cent of pupils got five A* to C grades at GCSE, including English and maths — up one percentage point from 2009. A-level results fell by ten percentage points, with 46 per cent of students achieving three A* to B grades.

Mr Willis said the school had fallen in the league tables because he refused to enter pupils into qualifications, including BTECs, which he did not think were valuable for their future.

He said: “The results did drop, but we are focussed on all the right things to put it right.

“I accept everything in the report, including the fact we are getting it right now.

“When pupils are not getting the results that you know they could get, it hurts, and that hurt lasts for 12 months and not just when Ofsted visit. We have been honest that we have not focussed enough on teaching and learning.”

He said new deputy head Gwyn Williams had led efforts to improve teaching and the monitoring of pupils.

The school’s aim is to rate ‘good’ by its own assessment later this year, and ‘outstanding’ within two or three years.

Mr Willis said: “There has been a lot more focus on the progress of young people, and a lot more assessment and tracking of youngsters.

“We think the GCSEs are going to go up, and this year group is going to deliver the best results ever.”

The Department for Education is due to tell the school by July 18 whether it can become an academy in September. Guidelines say only schools “performing well” can convert.

Mr Willis said that with results predicted to rise, he believed the change could still take place.