A headteacher has promised to “drive up standards” after a report stated pupils were failing to get an “acceptable standard of education”.

Bower Park Academy, Havering Road, Romford, has been rated inadequate in four out of five areas by Ofsted, including outcomes for pupils and quality of teaching.

Inspectors who visited the school in December said governors had been “woefully slow to implement the improvements needed” since the previous inspection.

In a report published last week, the 760-pupil school was rated as “inadequate” after previously being rated as “requires improvement” in 2014.

Chief inspector Sam Hainey said the school requires special measures after highlighting pupils’ progress in too many subjects is too low.

Ofsted inspectors wrote: “The quality of teaching has declined over time and as a result, too many groups of pupils, including boys, disadvantaged and the most able, have made inadequate progress.

“Due to poor teaching in the past, predictions provided by school leaders show that it will take time for outcomes to improve across the school.

“As a result, pupils in Year 11 are still predicted to make well below average progress in the 2017 end of key stage public examinations.”

Despite the problems, inspectors said a new interim transition board had taken responsibility for the accountability of the school since it joined in September.

Members were said to be beginning to put in place the strategies necessary to improve the school.

Other strengths highlighted staff knowing pupils well, an improving curriculum and “pockets of effective teaching”.

The education watchdog has challenged the school moving forward to “rapidly improve the quality of teaching” so that pupils’ attainment levels increase, particularly in mathematics and science.

Headteacher Shaun McLaughlin has only been put in place since the start of the year and acknowledged the report was “very disappointing”.

“It is quite clear that results in recent years have not been good enough,” he said.

“Since taking over in January, my team and I are putting in place the strategies necessary to address the weaknesses of the past.

“The staff, governors and I are unswerving in our determination to drive up standards of achievement at the academy.

“With the support of the Empower Learning Academy Trust and the huge amount of expertise and resources that they can provide we are confident that results will improve significantly in the future.

“I believe that our students deserve the highest quality education and will not accept anything less.”