Inspectors have given top marks to a Norfolk high school where the children love going to lessons.Aylsham High's latest Ofsted report gives it the top two rankings for all the 26 categories marked, with half of them considered outstanding.

Inspectors have given top marks to a Norfolk high school where the children love going to lessons.

Aylsham High's latest Ofsted report gives it the top two rankings for all the 26 categories marked, with half of them considered outstanding.

The summary said the 955-pupil school was “good …with several outstanding features” such as the head's leadership, students' personal development and well-being, the curriculum and the care, guidance and support provided for all learners.

Inspectors were very pleased with the academic progress made by students and commented that the “caring and supportive environment” enabled them to make good progress and reach above average standards.

The number of pupils achieving five good GCSE grades including English and mathematics rose to well above the national average, while there was praise for the “exceptional range of sports, music and drama activities and school visits.”

Inspectors said the school's anti-bullying work had won national recognition and pupils had told how they “love school”.

Only two areas were identified for improvement - to increase the number of students achieving the highest grades across all subjects and to improve GCSE results in drama and PE, which were below national averages.

Head Paul Mitchell, who retires this summer and will be succeeded by Duncan Spalding in September, said: “We are very proud of the report, which is the result of students, teachers, support staff and parents working together to provide the best possible education for every child in our community.”

They were particularly proud that inspectors had recognised a significant number of outstanding features, especially the care and guidance that provided for young people.