THE new headteacher of one of Bury's best performing schools has vowed to drive up standards after fears they 'maybe falling'.

Bury Church of England High School has again been  judged good by Ofsted ­— but inspectors raised concerns about pupils' achievement and behaviour.

Ofsted visited the school over two day in February, with their findings being published in June.

Simon Braithwaite, who was appointed headteacher at the start of June, said work was already being done to ensure that standards do not slip and are "raised further".

Ofsted voiced concerns about achievement and behaviour ­— but added that the school had already recognised that these areas were an issue and action was being taken.

Mr Braithwaite, who has helped to drive up standards in a number of schools, told The Bury Times: "Pupils attainment at this school is high, they achieve good results in their exams ­— it is the progress they make which Ofsted has expressed concerns about.

"We have already started to address that issue through curriculum changes to make sure pupils make the progress they are capable of, and achieve the very best grades."

The school was the second highest achieving state-school in Bury for the number achieving outstanding GCSE results last year

Mr Braithwaite added: "We have good teaching and will invest in teachers."

Ofsted reported: "Bury Church of England High School continues to be a good school. However, inspectors have some concerns that one or more areas may be declining.

"Pupils do not achieve well in this school. In some subjects, pupils do not learn as much as they should. Some pupils do not have the knowledge that they need to succeed in external examinations or in later life."

The report added: "Staff and pupils told us that incidents of poor behaviour occur too often. This stops some pupils from enjoying their time at school."

Pupils at the school have made "significantly less progress" than other pupils nationally by the end of Year 11 ­— with the achievement of disadvantage pupils being "particularly weak", said inspectors.

"Leaders, staff and governors recognise that the current curriculum is not ambitious enough," stated Ofsted, which added that the behaviour policy was also being revised.

Inspectors found that children "safe in school" and that bullying is rare.

"Pupils value the care they receive from staff," said Ofsted.

Mr Braithwaite said: "The pastoral care in the school is excellent, we have high expectations of pupils’ behaviour, which has been recognised.

"The school has been judged to be good and we have the capacity to raise standards in the school."