A school where more than 40 different languages are spoken by pupils has just been commended by Ofsted for its 'outstanding' English teaching.

At Challney Boys School, in Stoneygate Road, nearly all of the pupils are from ethnic minorities and 86 per of them do not have English as their first language.

But the school's efforts to strengthen the department have paid off. It has now been held up as an example of excellence in English teaching in a national report by Ofsted on standards of the subject in schools.

It was one of just three secondary schools in the East of England listed in the report as being 'outstanding in provision of English teaching'.

Headteacher Dame Yasmin Bevan said: "As a boys' school we are very conscious of the performance gap in English between boys and girls.

"Consequently, over many years, the school has developed a deep understanding about how to motivate and improve boys' performance in English, with staff very effectively putting this knowledge into practice in the classroom.

"We are delighted that Ofsted has confirmed that our provision is outstanding."