IT was top marks for one Whittle-le-Woods school following a recent Office for Standards in Education report.

There was no mention that Whittle-le-Woods C.E. Primary School 'could do better' after OFSTED judged it to be "a very good school".

But it was a double celebration after the Blackburn Diocesan Board of Education also rated the school highly.

Standards had been raised since the last report and as a result, the school's standard of attainment was very high in English and high in mathematics and science.

And teachers chalked up further praise from the boards. Teaching was found to very good in nearly a third of all lessons, with a further four out of ten lessons being judged as good.

Pupils' behaviour was also judged to be consistently good both in and around the school with attendance above the national average.

Headteacher Gwenda Brown, who was praised for providing excellent leadership, said: "I am absolutely delighted with both reports.

"OFSTED inspectors came in January and after their review of the school they gave feedback to our governors. That was positive at the time but to have it in front of you in black and white is very pleasing.

"I contribute our success to the hard work and complete dedication of all our staff."

The chairman of the governors, the Reverend D Gilkes, said: "The governors are delighted to have received these inspection reports. They are the culmination of years of working to build this school up to where it can be awarded such praise.

"A tremendous amount of effort has gone into the school by all concerned so that our children can have the best education possible, both academic and social."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.