Ofsted chief visits St Peter’s School in Huntingdon

Ms Spielman said she particularly liked to see schools which had managed to turn themselves around.

She chatted to students and staff at St Peter’s in Huntingdon as well as seeing classes in action during her visit.

St Peter’s had been put into special measures by Ofsted last year after being given an “inadequate” rating but is now classed as “good”.

Ms Spielman said: “I am here because I get out and see a lot of schools and I particularly like to see schools which have managed to do a really good job in turning themselves around.

“St Peter’s is a school which for many, many years has struggled, like many schools, and has a challenging intake. Various things people say explain to some extent under-performance but should never justify it and this year for the first time in a very long time the school has done extremely well in inspection.”

“It was rated good which is seen as a very big achievement for the team and for the area which is something which should be celebrated as a source of local pride.”

Ms Spielman told the Hunts Post she expected to see confident management and well-coordinated activities in the classrooms and corridors during her visit.

“I expect to see everything hanging together in a good, coherent way which tells me children are having a well-planned and strong educational experience which will take them forward in life,” she said.

Ms Spielman said accountability systems, like Ofsted, did put pressure on schools but the aim was to work with them and support them.

“At the end of the day we are a force for improvement,” she said.

“The national picture is good and improving, improving steadily not drastically.”

She said: “We should all be encouraged, There is a great deal of good which should be celebrated.”

St Peter’s head Christopher Bennet said the school had now been rated “good” for the first time and the summer exam results had been the best it had achieved.