THE head teacher of Ilminster’s Swanmead Community School has praised his staff for the way they coped with the pressure of an OFSTED inspection.

The school had an inspection in September under tough new guidelines which said Swanmead ‘required improvement’ – under the old guidelines it would have been rated ‘good’.

Head teacher Mark Walker said: “The pressure of an inspection visit shouldn’t be under-estimated, and the hard work and determination the staff displayed over those two days deserves a large amount of respect.”