CHILDREN at an “outstanding” Darlington primary school cried with pride after impressing visiting inspectors.

St George’s Church of England Academy in Middleton-St-George was declared outstanding after a statutory inspection of Anglican and Methodist schools.

The faith school was established in 1911 and accommodates 315 pupils, nursery children and 40 members of staff.

An inspection of the school was carried out on Wednesday, January 28 with the subsequent report enthusiastically praising the school, its pupils and staff.

Children were described as impeccably behaved, enthusiastic and responsive while leadership at the school was said to be inspirational and committed.

The report said: “The inspirational leadership and Christian conviction of the head teacher, supported by committed governors and staff, leads to outstanding educational outcomes for all.

“The exemplary quality of behaviour and caring relationships shown by all members of the school community results in high quality learning and growth.

“The quality of teaching and learning is good and often outstanding. This was verified by lessons seen on the day and the school’s own reliable observations of practice.

“This is because teachers demonstrate excellent subject knowledge, are unafraid to share their own Christian beliefs, and plan to maximise children’s social, moral, spiritual and cultural development.

“Staff provide wonderful role models for children who feel safe and valued.”

The school, which recently converted to academy status, was also praised for its devotion to Christian values.

The “reverential” ambience of the school and its opportunities for collective worship were highlighted by inspectors who said: “Christian values permeate all areas of St George’s Academy and impact significantly upon pupils’ outstanding progress and wellbeing.”

Head teacher Janine Gleeson said staff and pupils were thrilled at holding onto their outstanding status, despite a number of changes at the school.

Ms Gleeson, head since 2003, said: “The children are so proud of themselves that some of them were crying with excitement they were so overwhelmed.

“It’s very difficult now to get outstanding status and we all worked so hard – it means so much to children and staff.

“We just do what we believe is right and what we think we should be doing and we do it to the best of our abilities.

“We are kind, tolerant and forgiving and try to instil that ethos in our pupils while we’re diverse and try to teach about other cultures.”

The school marked their success with a special assembly.