LESS than one year since the appointment of a new headteacher, Kings’ School in Winchester is celebrating its fourth consecutive ‘outstanding’ Ofsted result.

Inspectors visited the Romsey Road school at the end of May, and have described it as an “exceptional school” where achievement is “excellent”.

Headteacher Matthew Leeming took up post in September last year, and was personally mentioned in the report.

It said: “The new headteacher has quickly won the respect and loyalty of teachers, students, parents and carers. Under his clear leadership, this exceptional school continues to thrive.”

Mr Leeming said: “That’s quite nice isn’t it? I feel very pleased obviously and very fortunate to be here. The school has been really well led for years. This fabulous report is an absolutely deserved tribute to the work of Sue Lawrence, my predecessor, and to the brilliant work of staff and pupils at the school over the last five years. Everyone at the school is delighted.”

The report paid tribute to pupils as well as teachers, saying: “Behaviour in lessons and around the school is outstanding. Students show high levels of respect and courtesy to each other and adults. Students are very proud of their school. They enjoy their learning and want to do well.”

Chair of parent governors, Sue Metcalfe, said that the school had never taken its outstanding status for granted, and is pleased to have retained it for four years running.

She said: “It’s amazing. I think we know that it is very difficult to achieve an outstanding accreditation. It’s becoming more and more difficult to achieve and maintain it. I think we are one of the few schools in Hampshire to maintain our status, and I think Matthew Leeming has proved himself as the new head.

“Our school motto is Una Laborantes, which means working together. The reason that we got outstanding is because everyone worked together, including the kids. They were fantastic.”

The report also said achievement in GCSE exams, particularly Maths and English, is considerably higher than average, with teaching “consistently of a very high quality.”

It said: “Teachers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about their subjects. They know their students very well and continually challenge them to achieve their best.”

The school recently raised £4,600 for a new media centre at their summer fete, which is the most the fete has ever grossed.