TEACHERS, governors and pupils at an Old Basing school are celebrating after receiving an outstanding Ofsted report.

St Mary's C of E Junior School, in Belle Vue Road, was graded as "outstanding" in almost every aspect after inspectors visited the school on March 14.

Inspectors praised teaching methods and standards achieved by pupils, but also highlighted the involvement of parents in the school's activities, the leadership of headteacher Tracey Brunton, and pupils' positive opinions of the school.

The report's author, inspector Penny Holde, said: "All pupils at the school achieve extremely well. This is due to consistently good teaching, interesting work, pupils' keenness to learn, parental support and thorough and continuous monitoring of individuals' progress.

"The headteacher has, as many parents commented, had a huge positive impact. The full involvement of parents, governors, staff and pupils in providing a rich and effective education for pupils is a particular characteristic of the school.

"The level of involvement every pupil feels is extraordinary, due to the many innovative ways their views and contributions are sought and valued."

Mrs Brunton said: "We are really delighted with the report. We have worked very hard over the last year and it is very nice for somebody from the inspectorate to come in and validate that.

"We know St Mary's is a wonderful place to be, but for someone else to say it is outstanding is fantastic.

"We are especially pleased that the inspector pointed out that the school knows its children, and knows every child really well."

First published: Thursday, April 20, 2006