The headteacher of a school in special measures said he was very pleased with pupils' GCSE results.

Richard Evea was appointed as "super-head" of Boundstone Community College in Lancing after a damning Ofsted report, which criticised educational standards and discipline.

Mr Evea admitted there was concern about this year's results before they were announced but was delighted at the achievements and pledged further improvements.

Forty-three per cent of students who took the exam got A* to C passes, while 35 per cent got five A* to C grades.

Mr Evea said: "We started the year four specialist teachers short. With the impact of the timing of the inspection and the crash in morale among staff due to the nature of the report we were anxious that results could have been poor.

"We shall do a lot better over the next four or five years as improvements we are building in work their way through."

Top pupils included Rosa Knight, Emma Evans, Sandra Boiling, Jennifer Tobias, Sheena Campbell, Richard Crowter, Hayley Essex and Samantha Emsley.

Rosa achieved six A*s, 2 As and a B, while Jennifer got three A*s, three As and two Bs.