A SELBY school has been “given notice to improve” after being judged inadequate for a second time by Government inspectors.

Brayton High School was found to be inadequate overall with satisfactory capacity for sustained improvement by Ofsted.

The inspection in May found that “significant improvement” was needed to improve the achievements of all pupils, including those with special educational needs.

Attainment had been low in the school for several years, particularly in maths, and the number of students gaining five GCSEs, including maths and English, at A* to C had been on a “downward trend”, culminating in the school achieving results well below the national average in 2010, inspectors found. The report stated: “Her Majesty's Chief Inspector is of the opinion that this school requires significant improvement because it is performing significantly less well than in all the circumstances it could reasonably be expected to perform. The school is therefore given a notice to improve.”

It is a further blow for the school, which was told in December by Ofsted that the watchdog had “very serious concerns” following performance problems as far back as January 2009. The report released yesterday found there was still a need for the school to give precise timescales alongside its new action plan to help gauge its success. It also found that pupils could misbehave because they “lose interest and lack the self-discipline and motivation to remain on task”.

However, inspectors noted that since January, a number of rapid improvements could be seen including a correction of “major flaws” in assessments, which meant that pupils were given “overly optimistic” grade predictions.

Teachers were also held to account far more and the quality of teaching and learning was satisfactory overall, inspectors noted.

The report found that changes to staffing and self-evaluation indicated a “satisfactory capacity to improve”.

Mike Roper, Brayton’s recently appointed head teacher, said he was pleased inspectors noted the improvements made at the school.

He said: “Her Majesty’s Inspector and his team have recognised that the school is moving in the right direction and that historical weaknesses have been addressed this year.

Considering the poor attainment of students over recent years, receiving a notice to improve judgement is the best outcome possible.

“We now have a stable staffing in place with specialist staffing throughout maths and English.

“In addition, all key leadership posts are now secured and a newly-formed Governing Body oversees the school.”