A NORTH-East school has been placed on special measures following an inspection by Ofsted.

Gosforth West Middle School, in Newcastle, was judged to have serious weaknesses in September 2003.

Following a subsequent inspection, in March, Ofsted inspectors placed the school in special measures saying it had failed to urgently address the issues.

Ofsted found that although it had improved in several areas, there were unsatisfactory standards in quality, leadership and management.

The quality of teaching had also declined and attainment in some subjects needed to be better, it found.

Paul Black, chairman of the school's governors, said: "We are naturally disappointed to have been placed in special measures. There have been clear improvements in some areas, but the inspectors felt that the school leaders had not sufficiently addressed other areas of weaknesses, particularly the quality of teaching and standards in English.

"The school and governors are already taking action to address this through a robust improvement plan."