A Croydon school that was on the brink of being put into special measures is the most improved in the borough and has set its sights on gaining specialist status for visual arts and media by 2007.

Addington High was labelled as one of the least successful schools in Croydon five years ago but in its latest Ofsted report, all aspects were graded good or satisfactory.

The number of pupils at the New Addington school achieving five GCSE grades at A* to C has leapt from 10 per cent in 2001 to 42 per cent in 2005.

The next set of results due out at the end of August are expected to be even higher.

Science was another poor performing area for the school, with only 18 per cent of pupils in year nine reaching the national curriculum level of five or above - a result that dramatically increased after the school adopted an online assessment programme.

The Goal SCI programme, created by accredited awarding body Education Development International (EDI), enables pupils to take interactive science tests that help with the learning process.

After the programme was put in place the number of pupils achieving level five increased to 58 per cent and, according to the school's head of science Steve Battye, the programme has transformed the way the pupils get involved in science.

Mr Baytte said: "The tests provide quick reports and feedback on their understanding of a topic and assess their national curriculum levels. The fact that it is an open forum has meant that the pupils have become competitive about their learning and development, spurring on the lower ability to do better and encouraging those with a higher ability to push themselves further."

Gareth Philips, EDI business development director, said: "We are delighted that our Goal SCI programme has assisted Addington in its dramatic turnaround. The programme was developed by teachers for teachers so it has always been a popular programme. However, it is always extra rewarding to hear such success stories."

If your school would like to know more about EDI's Goal SCI programme log on to goalonline.co.uk