BARTHOLOMEW School is the first Oxfordshire secondary to be rated outstanding twice in a row.

The Eynsham school, which has 1,070 pupils, was also the first secondary to receive Ofsted’s highest judgement since the new, tougher framework was introduced in September last year.

The school was rated outstanding in every area in its most recent inspection – and it had the same rating back in 2009.

Headteacher Andrew Hamilton said he was “really chuffed”.

He added: “I think it’s a real tribute to the work done over the years with the quality of the students and the staff that we have got.”

Because Ofsted expects progress to be demonstrated between inspections, an outstanding school effectively has to be even better than it was before to get the rating again.

In her report, inspector Helena McVeigh pointed to outstanding progress in a wide range of subjects, exemplary behaviour and attitude to learning, and high expectations from teachers.

She said: “The school leaders have established a climate where everyone is keen to learn and improve.

“There is a relentless focus on raising academic standards within a caring atmosphere that also values and promotes students’ personal development exceptionally well.”

The school was inspected at the end of May and the results have just been made public.

Oxfordshire County Council children, education and families cabinet member Melinda Tilley said she believed Bartholomew School deserved the judgement.

She said: “They have worked so hard. Others can learn from them, and they do already share what they do with other schools, which is one of the outstanding features.”

Question marks have been raised over the Ofsted framework in recent months, with some schools receiving lower than expected judgements.

Mr Hamilton said he believed different schools’ experiences were to some extent dependant on inspection teams.

He said: “Getting outstanding wasn’t a surprise. The surprise was how well the inspection team got to know the school and how willing they were to listen.

“Knowing how other schools appeared to have experienced it, we weren’t looking forward to the inspection.

“I think there will be schools that are very good which will be identified as good rather than outstanding because of the inconsistencies in terms of inspection teams.”

He cited Carterton Community College, which was recently judged good, as an example of a school that should have received the top grade.