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The Chesterfield Road school is one of the oldest in the country and celebrated its 450th anniversary in 2011.

But an inspection team led by Philippa Darley that visited in October were unhappy with educated provided.

On a scale of one to four, they gave the school the lowest rating of four (inadequate), for achievement of pupils, quality of teaching and leadership and management.

A rating of three (requires improvement) was recorded for the behaviour and safety of pupils.

The report also found:

l Achievement in English and mathematics was inadequate.

l Teaching was inadequate, particularly in English and mathematics.

l Many teachers did not use what they knew about students’ prior learning to plan lessons to match their needs.

l Students’ attitudes to learning was not consistently good.

l Attendance was low and has been below the national average since the academy opened in 2011.

l Achievement and the quality of teaching was not improving quickly enough, despite actions taken by senior leaders and governors.

l Academy leaders had an over-generous view of its strengths and weaknesses.

l Improvement plans were unrealistic and did not set clear milestones by which governors could monitor the pace of improvement.

l The sixth form required improvement, both in the quality of provision and achievement of students.

However, inspectors did find that principal Mike Smith, had ‘ably challenged the previous culture of low expectations.’

And the report concluded that ‘the vast majority of staff support the principal’s commitment.’

Mr Smith said he was ‘bitterly disappointed’ at the decision to put the school into special measures because standards are now on the rise.

“This time next year I expect the school to be out of special measures,” he added. “I believe we have put things in place so we are now on a journey towards being good and outstanding.

“I think the report focuses very specifically on certain things and it fails to recognise the improvements made over the past 18 months,

“There have also been dramatic improvements since the start of the new school term, with a two per cent increase in attendance in September this year from September 2012, which we are sustaining in the lead up to Christmas when it has previously dropped off. Now we are almost in line with the national average.

“I think had the inspection taken place later in the school year, we would have been able to produce more evidence of the improvements being made.

“For instance, we have recruited new staff in English and Maths and the high staffing levels in the English department are designed to ensure we meet our targets.

“I have a very strong relationship with primary school heads and other secondary heads in Mansfield and they all feel it (the rating) was harsh and undeserved.”