A secondary school has been praised by inspectors and is set to receive a glowing report.

Ofsted officials visited Varndean School in Balfour Road, Brighton, last week and are understood to have rated the school as good with some outstanding features.

The school will be rated Grade 2 when the inspectors publish their report in the next few weeks.

Staff and pupils at Varndean were delighted by the outcome.

Headteacher Andy Schofield said: "The inspectors particularly liked our performing arts and the quality of our teaching as well as the contribution of our students to the school and community. They reserved particular praise for our parents, who had written in to say how much they valued what the school was doing for their children."

The inspectors singled out the academic achievement of Varndean's pupils as a key feature in its success.

The school is the fifth of the nine secondary schools in Brighton and Hove to have been visited by inspectors this academic year. New shorter inspections introduced this year mean schools are being inspected more frequently.

Blatchington Mill, in Hove, and Longhill High, in Rottingdean, are the next two schools due for inspections.

Latest Ofsted inspection reports for Brighton and Hove Secondary Schools:

School - Inspection Date - Rating

Varndean - 25/04/07 - Grade 2/Good
Hove Park - 22/03/07 - Grade 3/Satisfactory
Dorothy Stringer - 17/01/07 - Grade 2/Good
Falmer High - 01/11/06 - Grade 3/Satisfactory
Patcham High - 09/10/06 - Grade 4/Inadequate
Portslade Community College - 16/11/05 - Grade 3/Satisfactory
Cardinal Newman Catholic - 27/09/04 - good
Longhill High -22/09/03 - satisfactory
Blatchington Mill - 23/09/02 - good