THE Island Free School has been inspected by Ofsted for the first time since it opened three years ago.
Pupils work hard, behave exceptionally well and develop as confident young people who are enthusiastic about life and learning, according to Ofsted inspectors.
The watchdog gave a glowing account of the highly oversubscribed Ventnor secondary school following a two day inspection last month, rating it as good overall and pupils' development, behaviour and welfare as outstanding.
Pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with special educational needs or disabilities, were found to achieve well in all areas.
Teaching was judged as good overall, and especially strong in reading and maths.
In order to gain a higher Ofsted rating, inspectors called for improvements to teaching, better careers' guidance and further opportunities for pupils to develop their writing skills.
'Dedicated' headmaster Steph Boyd said staff, governors, parents and pupils were delighted with Ofsted's findings.
He said: "Our vision has always been to create an outstanding school and, as inspectors have pointed out, we must now carry on the fantastic work we have done so far and deliver an outstanding set of GCSE results."
Inspectors praised the school's strong leadership, ethos and broad curriculum, which promotes spiritual, social and cultural development.
The school specialises in music and all Year 7 and 8 pupils learn an instrument, with around half continuing lessons in Year 9.
A longer school day includes an hour of enrichment activities, such as sport, drama and a debate club, as well as raising money for charity and volunteering at a care home.
Pupils said they felt safe at the school, understood the importance of maintaining good mental health, were aware of online dangers such as 'sexting' and felt confident to ask for help if they needed it.
"Pupils are proud of their school.
"They develop high aspirations for their future achievement and are well prepared for life in modern Britain," inspectors found.