Fir Vale School was known as the Earl Marshall School when it faced closure six years ago.

Parents staged demonstrations outside the offices of the then education secretary David Blunkett demanding better education for their children.

Now, a new headteacher and a £15m building have led the site to be included in Ofsted's list of most successful schools.

'Dream vision'

Headteacher Hugh Howe said: "We have the vision and determination to make the school as effective as possible.

"I'm not sure anyone of us thought this would be achieved in such a short period of time.

"But we had the vision of making dreams a reality and we made the dream real."

The school was "named and shamed" under a government initiative to expose the worst establishments in the country.

Good schools

Ofsted inspectors are returning to Fir Vale - which is now oversubscribed by parents wanting their children to attend - to create a film which can be used to show other schools how to make improvements.

Other good South Yorkshire schools included on the Ofsted list were Broom Valley Infants and Wales High in Rotherham, Wood View Infants in Barnsley and Hexthorpe Primary in Doncaster.

Sheffield schools were Birley Spa Community Primary, Stocksbridge Junior and King Edward VII Secondary.

Schools classed as no longer failing their pupils were Manor Lodge Community Primary, Norfolk Community Primary, Oughtbridge Primary and Woodthorpe Primary, all in Sheffield.