An Ipswich primary school will convert to academy status next month.

Hillside Community Primary School is the latest school to join the Active Learning Trust, an academy chain which now comprises five primary schools and a secondary school in Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.

The south-west Ipswich school was started in 1937 and was placed in special measures by Ofsted in September last year.

There are 472 pupils on the roll with an above average proportion eligible for pupil premium funding and who speak English as an additional language.

A monitoring inspection by Ofsted in March found the school was making “reasonable progress” towards the removal of special measures.

The school is currently undergoing extensive building work to accommodate an increasing number of pupils in its catchment area.

Once completed in October this year the school will offer a purpose-built nursery for children aged three and over, a community library, IT suite and two school halls, as well as a playing field.

Head teacher Lee Abbott, who was appointed last year, will continue at the school.

“Our vision as a school is explicitly focused on teaching and learning, a vision which is emphasised by our motto: ‘We are learners, nurturing learners for a bright future’,” he said.

“Hillside has a great deal of potential, which I feel will be fully recognised now that we are members of the Active Learning Trust, a trust with education at its very heart.

“I am extremely proud of the fact that we have a really unique community at the school, with a quarter of our pupils coming from ethnic minority groups.

“I am keen to celebrate this diversity as the key element that makes Hillside the flourishing community school that it is and will continue to be under the guidance of the Active Learning Trust.”

CEO of the Active Learning Trust, Clive Bush, said: “Lee has a very clear vision of how he sees the school and where he wants it to be, and is certainly very dedicated and motivated in his efforts to get it there.

“Active Learning Trust is proud to be able to facilitate the development of Hillside by providing expert and targeted support in the areas where it is most needed, giving the academy the bright future to which it aspires.”