A Hull school criticised for poor performance by the Government is making strides in improving. Thomas Ferens Academy was given a warning letter five months ago after poor GCSE results.
Just 21 per cent of pupils gained the Government benchmark of five A* to C grades including English and maths.
The amount of teaching rated as good or better at the academy has risen from 37 per cent to 89 per cent.
Juliet Strang, principal at the Hall Road academy in north Hull, said rigorous assessment processes have been put in place by the school's leadership team to evaluate the progress of pupil improvement.
She said the academy has also seen evidence of progress doubling in GCSE maths and English since it opened in 2012.
Ms Strang said: "We are doing all we can to equip Year 11 students with the skills and confidence to do well in their exams, and we make sure our additional learning schemes reach students in every year group.
"We are not only looking to ensure an increase in GCSE results this summer but in every year to come after that."
Government ministers will be keeping a close eye on the academy this summer to see how pupils fare in their GCSEs.
Ms Strang says pupils have been working extra hard to make sure they achieve the highest grades they can.
She said: "Students are very aware of the importance of their GCSEs.
"Some have been turning up to school as early as 7.30am to fit in extra revision and have been coming in for additional lessons during the holidays.
"All the academy staff want the students to succeed and so they have worked incredibly hard to support and help our students. We hope very much that we will all be proud of well-deserved GCSE results this summer.
"We want the young people of Thomas Ferens to show everyone what they are capable of and for the academy to go from strength to strength."
Attendance at the academy has also risen from 86 per cent to 91 per cent.
Lauren Birnie, 15, said: "I used to be really bad at coming to school but the attendance team at Thomas Ferens helped me realise how important it was to get good grades in my exams."
Investments have also been made in staff, with a series of training days.
Ms Strang said: "We have always prided ourselves on being innovative and creative in our teaching and learning at Thomas Ferens.
"With the provisions now put in place we can ensure students are reaching their potential while offering a unique learning environment.
"We are a technology-rich institution and are proud of the curriculum we offer to students. We know each child learns differently and we work hard to offer an exciting learning opportunity to every one of them."
Told to improve
The £24m Thomas Ferens Academy is part of Hull's Building Schools for the Future programme.
It opened in September 2012 and took pupils from Sir Henry Cooper School in Thorpepark Road, which closed.
In a letter sent to the academy in Hall Road, north Hull, in February, Lord Nash, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Schools, said standards were unacceptably low and told leaders at the school to make rapid improvements or face the Government appointing additional directors to the school.
He issued the academy, which is sponsored by the University of Hull, with a pre-warning notice.
As well as unacceptably low GCSE results, Government officials said not enough pupils made or exceeded expected levels of progress last year.
Just 28 per cent of pupils made the expected level of progress in English and 32 per cent made the expected level of progress in maths.
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