A VILLAGE primary school has received a glowing report from government inspectors renowned for being sparing in their praise, writes Education Reporter Andy Bloxham.

Officials from the Office for Standards in Education gave the 135-pupil Arnside National CE Primary School the highest possible grading in their seven-step system, describing it as "excellent".

Head teacher Alan Cook said: "It is something special. It's an acknowledg-ment of the good work we thought was going on."

In their overall evaluation of the school, inspectors wrote: "This is an excellent school with some outstanding features.

"It provides very good value for money. There are many strengths with little to improve. The pupils receive a very good and at times excellent education."

The school has already achieved several awards, including: a Football Association award for sport; the Healthy Schools award for promoting a balanced diet; and Beacon status for good practice.

Mr Cook said he knew his school was good but the report's findings had exceeded his expectations. "Even though we felt very well prepared, it was still a very demanding process," he said, adding the inspectors seemed to dig all the harder when they found no initial faults.

In the 32 lessons observed, none were merely satisfactory, but nine were good, 20 very good and three excellent.

The inspectors took the unusual step of quoting examples of the good teaching they witnessed.

They described a maths lesson in which students were led to devise a formula to represent the patterns of leaves on a tree and tiles on the floor.

The inspectors found: l High standards in the core subjects of English, mathematics, and science.

l High standards in geography and physical education.

l Outstanding work in information and communication technology.

l Very good and at times excellent teaching.

l A very good curriculum.

l Excellent leadership by the head teacher.

The only criticisms the inspectors could muster were: a minority of pupils did not take enough responsibility for their actions; and the hall was too small.

Chairman of the governors Ian Dudley said the school was delighted with the excellent report.

"We are very fortunate to have a group of staff who knit together as a team and excel in what they do. It's difficult to pour enough praise on them."

Julia Adair, chairman of the Parent Teacher Association, said the group was not surprised: "The parents see the genuine dedication of the staff all year round. It's not just the one show week that Ofsted (inspectors) are here, it's constant."