RAMSEY S Ailwyn School, which is on the brink of merging with the town s other secondary school, has been removed from special measures. Ailwyn had been placed in special measures in October 2004 for poor performance. Government inspectors from OfSTED hav

RAMSEY'S Ailwyn School, which is on the brink of merging with the town's other secondary school, has been removed from special measures.

Ailwyn had been placed in special measures in October 2004 for poor performance.

Government inspectors from OfSTED have now said there is "a confidence in the future" of the school and significant improvement since its 2004 inspection.

The inspectors found that standards in the school for 908 pupils aged 11-14 were above average, though variable.

"There is a new sense of purpose and direction to the school. The overall effectiveness of the school is satisfactory and its capacity to improve further is good. There is a clear sense of what needs to be done," they reported.

"Standards are above average, although there remains a variability in standards between subjects because the monitoring of all subjects is not equally strong. Achievement is satisfactory and there is an improving trend in the progress that pupils make.

"The school provides good care and guidance for pupils. They feel safe and appreciate the support that adults in the school give them. They know what they have to do to improve their work and they are confident about moving to the new school."

Ailwyn is combining with Ramsey Abbey School next month to form the Abbey College.

Inspectors said leadership was good and also praised pupils' behaviour and the care and guidance provided by the school.

"There has been stable and effective leadership by the acting principal and the senior leadership team which has contributed to the good progress since the last inspection.

"The leadership team has been strengthened by important secondments and this has led to a relentless focus on school improvement which has enhanced its capacity to improve the school."

Inspectors added that the planning for transition to the new Abbey College was outstanding, and that the effective management of change had resulted in a renewed sense of purpose and optimism among staff and pupils.

"Pupils have a good understanding of where they are in terms of levels and what they need to do in order to improve. The 2006 results are the highest achieved by the school.

"Pupils are developing good attitudes to learning. This is particularly so when lessons engage them more effectively. High quality lessons encourage pupils to behave well. Behaviour around the school is largely orderly," said the report.

Acting principal John McLeod said: "Everyone has worked extremely hard over the past 18 months to improve the school, and their efforts have been rewarded with this very pleasing report. We now look forward to improving standards further with the creation of the new Abbey College.