A south Norfolk High School which was put into special measures is set to become an academy.

Hethersett High School was found to be inadequate when inspectors visited in March.

In a letter to parents, chair of governors, Barry Smith, said governors were acting 'energetically' to correct the problems outlined in the report.

'You may have heard that, because the school is now in special measures, we will have to become an academy. Therefore, in a parallel activity, governors are investigating possible academy trusts to join.'

When a partner has been agreed, the school will propose it to the Department for Education who will have the final say.

The letter said a special measures action plan had been formed and regular meetings are being held. Three areas which require focus have been identified and each is being led by a member of the senior leadership team.

The school was rated inadequate overall in a report by Ofsted.

Inspectors said students' achievement was not good enough, leaders and management had failed to spot youngsters' underachievement quickly enough and the quality of teaching was inconsistent and often did not challenge pupils enough.

The assessment took place in March as part of focused inspections of 28 Norfolk sites by Ofsted, which was seeking to find out why too few schools were achieving a good or better rating.

Explaining why Hethersett High was deemed to require special measures, inspectors said: 'The decline in the quality of education provided by the school indicates that capacity for improvement is inadequate.'

Ofsted acknowledged that students were well cared for and felt safe at school, attendance was above average, and parents were positive about the school's work. But it said staff must 'robustly' tackle weaker teaching, 'eradicate' variations in students' achievements, strengthen leadership and management 'at all levels'.

Inspectors are due to revisit the school in June.