Racial harmony is a particular strength of a Bradford comprehensive school, Ofsted inspectors have said.

The ringing endorsement for Yorkshire Martyrs Catholic College on Westgate Hill Street, Tong, comes two years after the Ouseley report painted a bleak picture of integration in Bradford's schools.

The report by race relations chief Lord Ouseley described Bradford schools as hit by race divides and damaged by being monocultural.

Although 65 per cent of Yorkshire Martyrs pupils are Catholic, it is a mixed community. Vincent McNicholas, head teacher, said Yorkshire Martyrs was proof that faith schools could be "part of the solution - not part of the problem".

Government inspectors concluded that Yorkshire Martyrs is "a good and improving school with a clear sense of where it is going", after a week-long visit in February. GCSE results are well up on two years ago.

The report said: "Both boys and girls, and those from different ethnic and cultural backgrounds, play a full part in the life and work of the college and contribute significantly to creating the atmosphere of racial harmony.

"The value the college places on the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of all its pupils, whether or not they are Catholics, permeates all aspects of its work and is a significant strength."

The report described how pupils of different faiths, for instance Muslim pupils, take part in assembles and tutorial sessions and a good number of them go on religious retreats. During Muslim festivals such as Ramadan, rooms are set aside for prayer for children wishing to use them.

The unusually varied community is summed up by the fact that the head boy is a Pakistani Catholic, while assistant chaplain Father Pat McCaffery is a fluent Urdu speaker, having lived in Pakistan for many years.

The Ofsted findings were that the quality of teaching was "good" in the sixth form and for younger pupils, and "satisfactory" for 15 and 16-year-olds. Behaviour was described as "exemplary in assemblies and good in lessons."