A NETHERTON secondary school is in special measures after it was rated 'inadequate' by Ofsted.

Inspectors who visited The Hillcrest School and Community College in November last year said the standards of achievement had fallen since 2013 - when it received a 'good' rating - and noted that leaders had failed "to take urgent action to stem the decline".

Attendance at the Simms Lane school was found to be below the national average and "too many" lessons were disrupted by poor behaviour.

Governors were also criticised for "not effectively" holding leaders to account for the school’s performance, with the report stating: "They are over-reliant on leaders and they do not understand some of their statutory responsibilities."

However the school was praised for having "reacted energetically to the poor GCSE results of 2016" although it was deemed "too early to see impact from several actions taken this year".

Inspectors also said the teaching of French was "strong" and teaching in some other subjects - including history and creative arts - was improving and the school’s careers education programme was "thorough and well planned", ensuring pupils were well informed and supported as they leave the school for college.

In a letter sent out to parents, headteacher April Garratt, said the findings of the report were "very disappointing".

She continued: "This was, in the main, due to last year’s GCSE results, particularly in relation to mathematics and also pupil attendance rates. We have to accept this even though our progress measure was above the floor target and better than a number of schools within Dudley.

"The report does recognise that the school has made an energetic response to last year’s results but inspectors said they could not see enough evidence of these measures yet having impact at this point in the year.

"We have also been affected by an increase in pupils taking holidays during term time. Nonetheless, we are where we are and the school will continue its proactive work to ensure pupils achieve their best."

Mrs Garratt concluded: "Myself, governors and staff are committed to addressing all areas in the report whilst continuing to provide a safe, nurturing and effective school."