Thornton-IN-CRAVEN School is among the top 24 schools in Yorkshire and the Humber following its high degree of success in its last two Ofsted reports.

The school features on a new Ofsted internet list of England's most successful schools and colleges.

The list is made up of more than 2,000 schools which have received particular praise in at least one of the chief inspector's annual reports, with 234 appearing twice.

Thornton-in-Craven Primary received Ofsted praise in 1995-96 and 2000-2001 and is one of just four schools in North Yorkshire to get a double mention.

Headteacher Barbara Thompson, who started at the school in September 2002, said: "I already knew about the reports that we have had in the past so I knew we were a very successful school. The inspectors could not find any weaknesses."

Chairman of the governors Malcolm Macintyre added: "It is not about results it is about the care that goes into the school. The staff spend a long time trying to meet the needs of every child, treating them as an individual, which must be easier in a small school than a bigger school."

The three other schools in the county to get a double mention on the list are Oatlands Infant School and St Aidan's Church of England High School, in Harrogate, and Roecliffe Church of England Primary School, near Knaresborough.

North Yorkshire County Council's corporate director of education Cynthia Welbourn said: "The standards of education in our 390 schools are generally high and they do well in Ofsted inspections.

"But these four schools have shown their ability to maintain very high standards continuously through the period of two inspections, which is very commendable."