A SECONDARY school where children “treat each other and teachers with respect” continues to be “good” after Ofsted inspectors visited for the first time in six years.

The Billericay School, in School Road, was visited by the education watchdog on February 28 and 29 with inspectors impressed by the ambitious curriculum put in place at the school.

The school has been rated “good” - the second highest rating Ofsted can give - for more than a decade and although the inspection was ungraded, the watchdog found the school continues to be good.

The report, published on Friday, stated: “Pupils enjoy learning at The Billericay School. They value the support they receive from staff for their progress and well-being. Pupils treat each other and adults with respect. They are keen to take part in lessons and do well.

“Teachers have high expectations of pupils. Most pupils meet them; they behave very well. When a few do not, the school provides support, and they improve their behaviour.”

At the time of the inspection, there were 1,695 pupils at the school, all aged between 11 and 18. The school has been consistently rated as good since it converted into an academy in 2012.

Headteacher, Mr Patrick Berry, said: “We are pleased the Ofsted inspection team recognised the culture of high expectations at the school, the support for students from our fantastic staff team and the great behaviour and respectful conduct of our wonderful students.

“We are grateful to our parental community for the wonderful comments that were shared with the inspection team that allowed us to show some of the elements that makes this a great school.

“I am proud of our students for the way they represented the school during the inspection and happy for the staff team, whose hard work and dedication to the students that we serve has been acknowledged’

Despite the wealth of praise, Ofsted did give some areas of improvement are attendance. The report added: “While their attendance is improving, disadvantaged pupils often do not attend as well as their peers. There are some gaps in their learning as a result. The school should continue and build on its work to improve their attendance.”