DOZENS of schools in the region were celebrating yesterday after being singled out for praise in the annual report of the best schools in the country.

The schools in the Annual Report of Standards and Quality in Education either received outstanding Ofsted inspection reports or had improved significantly to be taken out of special measures and no longer considered "failing schools".

Plawsworth Road Infants, in Sacriston, County Durham, was among the 32 outstanding schools in the North-East.

The school, which has 37 pupils, is considered one of Sacriston's best kept secrets by headteacher Christine Dillon.

She said on the secret of their success: "I think we have very good teachers and staff, and we also have smaller classes.

"It's a very close, warm and caring school and we have excellent relationships with our parents."

Woodham Burn Infants and County Durham's smallest school Forest of Teesdale Primary, which has just 15 pupils, were also among the seven schools in County Durham to be singled out.

Pat Henderson, headteacher of Woodham Burn School, said the award was down to "the dedication of everyone on the premises" and the close relationship with families and the local community.

Neil Foster, Durham County Council's cabinet member for education said: "To have seven of County Durham's schools recognised in this way is just fantastic and they fully deserve the praise they have received."

Three schools in the North-East were also removed from special measures, including, Saltergill School, Stockton, St Cuthbert's RC Primary, in Sunderland, and Bleach Green Centre, in Gateshead.

The other good schools commended by Ofsted in the North-East are:

South Tyneside College, South Tyneside; Allendale First, Northumberland; Atkinson Road Primary, Newcastle; Beechwood Junior, Middlesbrough; Cleadon Village CoE Infants, South Tyneside; Cockerton CoE Primary, Darlington; Consett Junior, Durham; Cramlington Hareside First, Northumberland;

Escomb Primary, Escomb, Durham; Farne Primary, Newcastle; George Dent Nursery, Darlington; Harewood Junior, Thornaby, Stockton; Leadgate Infants and Nursery, Leadgate, Durham; Oakfield Junior, Gateshead; Redby Primary, Sunderland; Sacriston Nursery and Infant, Sacriston, Durham; St Aloysius RC Infant and Nursery, South Tyneside; St John Boste RC Primary, Sunderland; The Sele First, Northumberland;

Tyne View Community Primary, Gateshead; West Jesmond Primary, Newcastle; Whalton CoE First, Northumberland; Whinney Banks Junior, Middlesbrough; Cramlington Community High, Northumberland; Harton, South Tyneside; Highfield Middle, Prudhoe, Northumberland; Whickham, Whickham, Gateshead; Whitley Bay High, North Tyneside; Percy Hedley, North Tyneside.

Good schools commended by Ofsted in North Yorkshire include: Scarborough Sixth Form College; Marwood CofE Infants, Great Ayton; Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe CofE Primary, near York; Filey Secondary. There were no North Yorkshire schools taken out of special measures.

An almost impossible challenge

THERE is a hard core of children and schools for whom raising standards is an almost impossible challenge, education watchdog Ofsted claimed yesterday.

Almost all schools have at least some pupils with no social skills, whose language is ''offensive'' and who have ''little or no understanding of how to behave sensibly'', said chief inspector David Bell.

A shortage of staff qualified to teach particular subjects in secondary schools has made the problem even worse, he indicated in his first annual report since taking over at Ofsted last May.

Mr Bell said that ''good'' was now the most commonly awarded grade for teaching quality and standards of behaviour had not deteriorated further overall compared with the year before.

But instances of an ''unsatisfactory or poor'' match of the skills of teachers and support staff to the curriculum rose by almost a third from 18% in 2000-01 to 23% in 2001-2 in secondary schools in England, the report showed.

The proportion of schools where behaviour was unsatisfactory was still one in 12, the same as in 2000-01.

''There remain some groups of pupils and some schools for whom raising standards remains an almost intractable challenge,'' he said.