PUPILS and staff at a York primary school are celebrating Ofsted success after going up the rankings to “good”.

St Oswald’s CE School in Fulford has gained the grading from Ofsted, under the new tougher inspection regime brought in by the Government.

The report comes less than two years after the St Oswald’s was judged as “satisfactory” in its last inspection under the old system.

In the latest report inspectors noted that “children in the Early Years Foundation Stage get off to a good start,” “pupils in Key Stages 1 and 2 make good progress,” and “attainment is rising and progress is accelerating.”

The quality of teaching, the school’s curriculum and pupils’ behaviour were also praised in the Ofsted report. The inspectors said that “pupils are excited about their learning,” show “good and sometimes exemplary attitudes and behaviour in and around school” and “grow into successful learners who care about themselves, others and their environment.”

Noting the “strong leadership in the school which has led to improvement since the last inspection,” the report says that: “the school’s drive and ambition are evident in its success in raising achievement.”

Head teacher Rupert Griffiths said: “We are delighted with the report, which recognises the hard work and achievements of staff, pupils and governors at St Oswald’s and the significant improvements that we have made.

“Ofsted have ‘raised the bar’ again since our last inspection, which means that we can feel particularly proud of this achievement.

“All the key elements are in place to ensure that the school continues to improve and makes rapid progress towards our ultimate aim of being judged ‘outstanding.’”

Inspectors said the reasons why the school was not yet at the top rank of “outstanding” include that in some lessons there is a lack of challenge, especially for the most-able pupils, and the development of skills in maths is not promoted as well as it could be in Early Years.