A headteacher has promised changes needed to deliver better exam results have already been implemented, after watchdog inspectors called on her school to improve performance at GCSE.

Ofsted was full of praise for Frederick Bremer School in Siddeley Road, Walthamstow, and highlighted the contribution of headteacher Jenny Smith for raising standards.

The watchdog said there had been a marked improvement in teaching at the school, where more than half of pupils speak English as a second language and a high proportion of students are eligible for free school meals.

But the education watchdog said the school must improve students’ GCSE attainment levels, which have been below the national average for a number of years.

But Ms Smith believes results will improve soon and the school will be recognised fully for its achievements.

She said: “Looking beyond raw GCSE results what you can see is a happy and successful community school which is moving very rapidly to becoming an outstanding school.

“Results will be improved significantly in 2014 because we have changed systems and structures stopping pupils being able to achieve to the best of their ability.”

Changes include lengthening the school day, changing the curriculum so students spend more time on core subjects, increasing the number of GCSE subjects and investing in improving the quality of teaching, Miss Smith said.

And Ofsted inspectors recognised the impact of the changes, saying: “The vision and drive of the new headteacher and other leaders has rapidly brought about considerable improvements in teaching and in the curriculum.

“Consequently students’ progress is also now improving rapidly.”

The report added that the school is a harmonious community where students attend regularly, feel safe and behave well.

“We are well on track for the outcomes to improve next year and we are very confident that in our next OFSTED report that the school will be judged as good with outstanding features,” Miss Smith said.

“Continuing the drive for improvement we’ve got in place, I’m pleased that OFSTED confirmed what we knew about the school and affirmed that we were doing the right things to move the school forward and bear fruit.”