LAST week Government inspectors singled out four Bolton schools for praise in their annual successful schools list.

The Office for Standards in Education Report 2001/2002 lists schools and colleges that have received outstanding inspection reports, or improved significantly enough to be removed from special measures and are no longer considered to be failing schools.

Sharples School and St Joseph's RC High School and Sports College were two of the 456 good schools listed nationally, while Castle Hill Community Primary and Crompton Fold Primary School were removed from special measures.

Here, Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, David Bell, shares with Evening News readers his findings on the state of the country's education system.

As Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, I speak independently and impartially, without fear of favour, on the state of the English education system.

In my first annual report since taking up post at the Office for Standards in Education last May, I reflect on the progress that has been made over the 10-year lifespan of Ofsted, and look at the quality and standard of our education system over the past year.

So, I am pleased to reassure headteachers, governors, parents and pupils reading tonight's Bolton Evening News that high quality teaching is becoming a reality for more and more of our pupils both nationally and here in the North-west.

I make it clear that our schools have been getting better but the education system continues to fail too many of our young people, particularly less academic pupils.

I believe this poses a considerable obstacle that could stand in the way of the Government achieving its aim of creating a world class education system.

I would like to praise the two schools in Bolton that have performed outstandingly well over the school year covered by my report. I have included Sharples School and St Joseph's RC High School and Sports College in my list of 450 good schools that I published last Wednesday.

I am also pleased to see that two of Bolton's schools, Castle Hill Community Primary and Crompton Fold Primary School, have improved enough to be removed from special measures. Well done.

During the course of the past year Ofsted inspectors have found that national standards have improved because the quality of teaching is better.

Some 70 per cent of teaching is now good or better and only four per cent of teaching unsatisfactory. This is good news indeed, however I make no apologies for asking -- is the remaining 26 per cent of "satisfactory" teaching really good enough for our children given the rising expectations from wider society?

The challenge ahead now must surely be to maintain the momentum of improvement so that more and more pupils receive good teaching in well managed schools.

Whilst there have been some remarkable improvements in literacy in primary schools over the past five or six years, I remain concerned at the levels of literacy, particularly in boys. We can not be content with a situation where one 14-year-old in five is failing to reach the level expected of 11-year-olds. Even at younger levels one quarter of pupils, a high proportion of them boys, are transferring to secondary schools without reaching our national expectations in English and maths.

There remain unacceptably low levels of achievement in some pupil groups -- pupils from some ethnic minorities, children in public care, children of asylum seekers and refugees, and socially disadvantaged white boys.

Too many students are also being let down by unsatisfactory provision in some further education colleges. It is worrying that almost a fifth of the 100 or more FE colleges Ofsted has inspected since becoming responsible for the inspection of the FE sector in September 2001 have been judged inadequate.

I have found there to be stark contrast between the wealth of choice available to well-qualified A level students and the paucity of opportunity for less academic students at lower levels or in work related areas. These problems need to be addressed and Ofsted will work closely with schools and colleges to identify the underlying issues.

But it would be both inaccurate and unfair to paint too bleak a picture of education in England. Indeed since Ofsted's creation a decade ago there have been many achievements, including the rising standards of attainment, improvements in teaching and strong leadership.

One of the successes in the last 10 years has been the improvement in the quality of teaching. It is no longer unusual for an Ofsted inspection team to report no unsatisfactory teaching during the week of a school inspection.

We should rightly acknowledge and praise the immense and outstanding achievements we have seen in an encouraging number of schools and colleges throughout the North-west of England.

But let me be clear, there is still much more to be done to ensure that its momentum of improvement continues in the North-west's schools and colleges if we are to achieve better standards of education for all of our young people.

As Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools, I will work to ensure that Ofsted continues to play a key role as guarantor of public accountability, a principle on which I will not compromise as Her Majesty's Chief Inspector."

Mr Bell took up his post as HMCI on May 1 2002. He was appointed HMCI in England by the Privy Council on February 12 2002.