A LEDBURY school providing education for youngsters with emotional and social difficulties has been praised by inspectors for the "outstanding" behaviour of its pupils.

Ofsted visited Queenswood School, which has 27 pupils aged 11-19 on its books, last summer and has since rated the venue as 'Good' overall.

Lead inspector, Martyn Groucutt, said pupils often display "extremely challenging behaviour" when they first join the school, but "detailed and consistently applied individual behaviour plans", along with advice and support from an on-site therapy team, leads to "dramatic improvements".

In his report he said: "Much learning is undertaken away from the school site as part of the adventure programme. It is a reflection of the progress that students make that there are rarely incidents and that students demonstrate tremendous success in the learning opportunities that this creates.

"Although the headteacher and her deputy have only been in post since September 2014 they have a clear vision and focus for sustaining a school that seeks constant improvement in successfully identifying and meeting the challenging needs of its students."

The school is part of Priory Education Services. About half the pupils live in residences owned by the company in the area, with the rest being day students placed at the school by local authorities.

School principal Michelle Reed: "We look forward to continuing success. Queenswood School offers an excellent education, and we shall continue with our mission of helping our young people to create the best opportunities they possibly can."