Chipping Norton School 鈥渃ould be judged Outstanding鈥� if it were to receive a full Ofsted inspection, it can be reported.
Ofsted visited the West Oxfordshire secondary school in May to carry out an 鈥榰ngraded鈥� inspection.
An ungraded inspection differs from a full inspection as it cannot change the overall grade of a school unless there are very serious concerns.
Following the visit, inspectors reported: 鈥淭here is enough evidence of improved performance to suggest that the school could be judged outstanding if we were to carry out a graded inspection now.鈥�
Inspectors described the school as a 鈥渨arm and welcoming鈥� place where pupils 鈥渢hrive in its safe and supportive environment鈥� and all 鈥渁chieve highly across the curriculum鈥�.
They added: 鈥溾�楢ll staff are highly ambitious for pupils and support them to benefit from a rich academic experience and a wide array of extracurricular activities.鈥�
Chipping Norton is currently rated Good by Ofsted, although its sixth form is rated Outstanding.
Chipping Norton School headteacher Barry Doherty welcomed the new Ofsted verdict, saying it was a 鈥渇air reflection of the great work of the school and its community鈥�.
Mr Doherty added: 鈥淲e now have a wonderful opportunity to go one step further. Whilst securing an Outstanding judgement from Ofsted is not our mission, it is our goal to build a truly great school that is widely recognised to be so by those who know us best.
鈥淭his report will not change our plans, but it will add fuel to our ambitions.鈥�
Greg Ledgard-Hoile, chair of the school鈥檚 governing body, said the Ofsted verdict was: 鈥淭estament to the way in which everyone has quietly and diligently gone about the business of seeking to transform a good school into a great school.鈥�
The verdict on Chipping Norton is particularly impressive as it comes after Ofsted raised the required standards for an Outstanding rating.
The new standards contributed to Ofsted downgrading 308 of the 370 Outstanding schools it inspected during the 2021/2022 academic year 鈥� the most recent year for which records are available.