Parents have been praised for ‘incredible community spirit’ following a successful campaign to prevent a school becoming an academy.

Victoria Baskerville, chairwoman of Save Snaresbrook, today paid tribute to her colleagues following the government decision not to force Snaresbrook Primary School to change status after it was placed in special measures.

Parents and councillors backed the school’s management, claiming improvements had been made since the inspection. Results published this month placed the school in the top four in Redbridge.

Ms Baskerville said: “It is amazing to see how what initially started as a group of women in the pub turned into something so inspirational.

“Throughout the campaign, the last email at night would be sent at 2.00am and the first in the morning at 5.00am.

“These people worked tirelessly to keep their school in the Redbridge family and showed incredible community spirit.

“We love the community we live in and left no stone unturned when it came to getting the message across.

“These parents have normal day jobs but were constantly campaigning through Twitter and Facebook. Others were creating banners and press releases. Everyone had a job to do.

“It just shows what you can achieve when you put your mind to it.”

Ofsted inspectiors were highly critical of teaching at the school in June, but a subsequent report acknowledged progress had been made.

Parents expressed confidence in the management team and said turning the school into an academy would remove direct accountability.