A SECONDARY school is celebrating making strong progress after it was rated "good" by Ofsted.
Therfield School, in Leatherhead, had been rated as "satisfactory" when it was last inspected by the education watchdog in November 2010.
But the school has now been described as having made "significant improvements" by government inspectors, following a visit in February.
Head teacher Susan Willman said: "We were very pleased to see them because we were keen to have the excellent progress that the school has made in the last few years officially recognised.
"It was a very positive experience, with the inspectors receiving glowing reports from parents, students and staff, and being very impressed with what they saw during their time with us."
The inspection rated the school to be "good" in all categories, including achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils, and leadership and management.
Mrs Williams added: "The final report reflects many of the strengths of the school and we are delighted that Therfield was judged to be good in every category.
"Inspectors particularly noted the high expectations we have of our students and the good to outstanding teaching that allows them to achieve well above the national average.
"The behaviour of students was also praised, with inspectors commenting that students at Therfield behave well in lessons and around the school, enjoy their learning and are proud of their school.
"The report is a reflection of the excellent work that takes place at Therfield from staff and students, and the continued support from families."
The inspectors also provided guidance to staff on how the school can continue to develop and make more progress in the future, identifying the sixth form as one part of the school which could be further improved.
The Ofsted report also stated the quality of teaching in the school generally is not yet outstanding because "marking and feedback are not used consistently to help students to improve their work, and some activities are not matched sufficiently well to the needs of every student in the class".
Inspectors added that achievement "is not yet outstanding because students' progress and attendance in the sixth form are not checked as well as in the rest of the school".
