AN improved Hampshire school has been praised by the government for its hard work.

Children at Haselworth Primary School were given a tour of the Houses of Parliament after their school was praised in the Department for Education's White Paper for Educational Excellence Everywhere, which sets out their plan for the next five years.

It comes after Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage visited the school to congratulate them after the number of pupils at the school achieving the expected standard in reading, writing and mathematics grew from 47 per cent in 2012 to 76 per cent in 2015.

And in its latest Ofsted report last year the Gosport school was rated 'good', recognising its raised standards after inspectors said it 'required improvement' in 2013.

Now 12 hardworking youngsters from year two to year six including school governors and lead learners, who help other children with their classwork, have been treated to a tour of Parliament where they learnt about the government as part of their British values and social, moral, spiritual and cultural learning in school.

Headteacher Emma Steele said: “We are proud of all our achievements and are continuing to strive towards outstanding. Our school and community have worked hard together to ensure every child is successful.

"Caroline was able to hear how we are trying to access funding to improve our limited outdoor spaces, so as to provide every child with the opportunity for a healthy lifestyle."

Caroline added: “It was great to visit Haselworth and see how well the school is doing. I had a fantastic chat with some of the students about the school and they were all very enthusiastic.

"I am very proud of all of the schools in Gosport and it is great to see Haselworth’s success in particular being acknowledged in both the White Paper and OFSTED ratings.”