HEADTEACHER Ken Lunn has hailed a Gainsborough good news story at his Morland school.Morland's successful Ofsted inspection follows on from a rapid rise for nearby high school Holywells.

HEADTEACHER Ken Lunn has hailed a Gainsborough good news story at his Morland school.

Morland's successful Ofsted inspection follows on from a rapid rise for nearby high school Holywells.

And Mr Lunn believes it is all part of a move in the right direction for one of Ipswich's most derided suburbs.

He said: "Usually you only ever hear bad things about Gainsborough, so it's nice to have some good news for a change.

"Of course it helps when Holywells is doing well. We work very closely with them and it's nice to know the kids are going somewhere good when they leave."

Mr Lunn was first to admit he and his teachers were not looking forward to the visit of the dreaded Government inspectors.

But they were pleasantly surprised by the change in tone of the examination.

He said: "Everybody fears them and we weren't looking forward to it. We had one nearly six years ago and that was all about waving the big stick and terrifying everybody.

"This was a much different experience – it was complimentary and reinforced what we were doing.

"The previous report wasn't bad, but it was the tone of it all that was so different. This time it was all smiles.

"We were delighted – parents, governors and the community, the whole caboodle."

Ofsted inspectors found 70 per cent of teaching was good or better and 20pc excellent.

The examination found the school's good teaching – along with support from governors – helped pupils make good progress.

And it revealed a significant improvement in standards since the last inspection in 1997.

Mr Lunn said the strength of the school is based firmly upon a focus on pupils and sometimes relying on old methods in the classroom.

He said: "We try to make sure every child moves on rather than standing still by doing some good old fashioned teaching."

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