The Government issued a warning notice to Ipswich Academy over its continued failings last summer, it has emerged.

The Star yesterday revealed only 19% of pupils at the new £16million academy, which replaced the failing Holywells High School, achieved at least five C grades including English and maths in their GCSEs last year.

The revelation was made in a third Ofsted monitoring report published last month which found the academy is still not making “enough progress” 18 months after it was ranked as inadequate – the lowest possible grade.

And now the Government has revealed it sent a warning letter to the academy in Braziers Wood Road following a second monitoring Ofsted report.

A Department for Education spokesman said: “We have issued Ipswich Academy with a warning notice. We expect all schools issued with notices to take effective and immediate action to ensure pupils receive the best possible education.

“Acting decisively on under-performance is a key part of our plan for education. As a result of this, our schools have been transformed, with more than one million more children now being taught in good or outstanding schools than in 2010.

“Academies and free schools operate under a strict system of oversight and accountability – more robust than in council-run schools – which means any issues are identified and that we can take swift action.”

Pamela Hutchison, appointed executive principal of Ipswich Academy last September, said: “The warning notice is part of the reason why we have been putting action into place because we want to make the school better.

“The (DfE) making sure we do that and we find it really helpful. They carry out monitoring visits which helps give us an outside view on the progress we are making.”

Meanwhile, the Star has also learnt that Ofsted inspectors visited the school last week. It is understood it is the fourth monitoring inspection, with the results expected in around four weeks.