A PRIMARY school has been described as "really special" in a glowing report by Ofstead inspectors.

St Agnes RC Primary School in Crawcrook, near Gateshead, underwent a two-day Ofsted inspection in February.

Inspectors described the school as "successful in all it undertakes, while constantly pursuing still further improvement".

Teachers and pupils were praised in equal measure in the report and headteacher June McKenna was seen as "inspirational and a key to the school's success".

The inspectors, who spent two days at the school, were impressed by the work of other members of staff.

Basic numeracy and literacy skills were taught and the strategies adopted to develop writing skills were highlighted as an example for other schools to follow.

All 116 pupils were found to be doing equally well, and parents who took part in the inspection said they were pleased with their children's progress.

The report said: "For the past three years, the standards achieved in national tests have been consistently well above average or in the top five per cent."

Mrs McKenna said: "This glowing report is really down to a huge team effort from every teacher, staff member, pupil, parent and governor at the school.

"We have set and achieved extremely high standards but we will continue to try to improve those standards even more."