A SCHOOL which was deemed 'inadequate' and endured a disastrous roof collapse is on the road to recovery.

Fortunes are being reversed at West Kidlington Primary School after a multi-academy trust took the reins, overhauling leadership and securing a £1.3m investment to replace crumbling facilities.

The school in Oxford Road, which educates more than 450 pupils, was given Ofsted's lowest rating in December 2015.

The White Horse Federation (TWHF) trust was drafted in in September last year to help turn things around – but just two days into the term, the school had to be evacuated after the atrium roof fell in.

The trust's CEO Nick Capstick said: "Several aspects of the school needed urgent attention and improvement, including quality of leadership and of teaching, and the level of engagement by many pupils and their families.

"The physical environment that children were being asked to learn in was not just unsuitable for the 21st century curriculum, but potentially could have put them at physical risk."

TWHF worked with Oxfordshire County Council to secure £1.3m of improvements, including its own investment of £400,000, to build a new six-classroom block.

The project is nearing completion and temporary classrooms are due to be demolished.

Headteacher Simon Isherwood, who joined the school last September, said: "On my second day I had to send every child home and was without an office, so it was quite a tough start.

"The roof was rebuilt and the new entrance hall is vibrant."

He said the school was on a 'sizeable, ongoing journey' but was confident it was 'moving very much in the right direction'.

Swindon-based TWHF has officially taken the school under its wing, joining more than a dozen other schools it oversees across the region.

The school's board of governors was replaced with an interim executive board following the Ofsted report.

Its chairwoman, Charlotte Christie, said: "As the new classrooms are being completed, the school is becoming a very lovely and special place."

Mr Capstick noted 'change is always challenging' but added: "The result so far is happier children, happier and more trusting parents, and supported and confident staff who want to go the extra mile because they now believe in the school and in themselves."

Ofsted continues to monitor the school and last September said it was 'taking effective action' to improve.

It will be inspected again within a year.