Birch Hill Primary School has slipped down the rankings in its latest Ofsted inspection.

The school, at Leppington, Bracknell, has been graded as 'requires improvement’ by Ofsted in its latest inspection.

This is a fall from its previous rating of 'good’ in November 2011.

Headteacher Alan Harding said: “The school has worked very hard over recent years to improve standards, which is reflected by some of the best-ever exam results achieved at Key Stage Two in 2013, and so it is most disappointing that this work is not reflected in the inspectors’ overall judgment.

“However, we are thankful for their recommendations and already have plans in place to address issues raised in the report. We’re confident this work will see Birch Hill Primary rise to an Ofsted rated 'good’ school at the next inspection.” The school was rated as 'requires improvement’ in all four areas – achieve-ment of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership/management.

Some aspects deemed under par were mathematics, marking and inconsistent teaching.

But the report said pupils are very polite and well behaved, and make good progress in reading.

“In the best lessons, pupils learn well because work is challenging and they are helped to know if they have succeeded in their learning,” it added.

The setback comes after improvements in recent years. Birch Hill was placed in special measures in 2010 after being rated as 'inadequate’ – the lowest of the four possible Ofsted ratings. It was taken out of special measures following the 2011 inspection.

Janette Karklins, director of children, young people and learning at Bracknell Forest Council, said Ofsted had changed its grading criteria recently, making it much harder for schools to obtain a 'good’ rating.