Robert says he has been motivated by extra classes

The school encouraged all children and set them clear targets which they were rewarded for reaching.

"We have high expectations of the black children - as we have for all children and in the main they respond to that," Sir Michael said.

"We make sure all school rules are adhered to and there is a culture and ethos in the school that we expect them to do as well as any other racial group."

Sir Michael said the school gave all children clear targets, tracked their achievements and offered extra teaching and mentoring.

Each pupil meets their form teacher once a week in a small group to discuss their progress.

Rewards

When targets are met, pupils are rewarded with certificates or with cash from a local charitable foundation.

Financial rewards range from a few pounds to what the head calls "substantial amounts".

The school also tries to provide social support for families by organising after-school and weekend activities.

"We recognise that many youngsters come from unstructured homes, they may be from single-parent families or have parents who are not coping well," he said.

Sir Michael Wilshaw says the key is high expectation

"We read things in the media about black parents not being fully engaged with their kids but that is not true.

"We haven't had a single occasion when parents said they did not support the school."

"We are very proud of the Ofsted report.

"We are a very multi-cultural school and it is good to be bucking the trend, with black children here doing just as well as any other group.

"It is very important. The future of the country depends on racial harmony."

Robert, a pupil at the school, says he enjoys the after-school classes.

"They have made me determined to do my work and excited to do topics like maths and English that I'm not good in," he said.

'Pupil-centred'

At Heath Park High School, a mixed comprehensive in Wolverhampton, staff pride themselves on having a pupil-centred approach, where the curriculum is geared as much as possible to pupils' abilities and interests.

Head teacher Doug Selkirk said: "There is a very supportive ethos in the school and a very good relationship between pupils and teachers.

"Being a multi-ethnic school is a huge plus and all that is important is doing as much as possible for all the children."

Mr Selkirk says good data on children's achievements is vitally important for assessment and for setting them challenging targets.