Ofsted has blamed an 'administrative error' for a report which appeared to predict the outcome of an inspection three weeks before it happened – and was then published six months late.

Inspector John Mitcheson visited Sewell Park College in Norwich on October 15, 2013, to monitor how it was progressing after being graded 'requires improvement' in April.

However, a letter outlining his findings to headteacher Gavin Bellamy was dated September 26 – the month before the inspection.

To add insult to injury, the apparently psychic report was not then published until May 1, 2014. Such monitoring reports are usually made public within a matter of weeks.

An Ofsted spokesman said: 'As far as I can tell it's all just administrative error. The letter was sent out last year after the inspection. The date was a clerical error.'

He added: 'As far as I am aware, everything in the report is accurate. It's just the date is not accurate and it was not published on our website in a timely fashion.'

The report itself said 'senior leaders and governors are taking effective action to tackle the areas requiring improvement'.

Commenting on external support for the college, Mr Mitcheson wrote: 'The local authority has increased its level of support and challenge significantly. It has served the school with a warning notice and set clear timescales for the governing body to take immediate action to ensure that standards improve.

'Partnerships with two local secondary schools have been brokered to provide the school with further support.'