STAFF, parents and governors at the Parish Church School, in Brougham Street, Skipton, are celebrating a glowing Ofsted report.

Inspectors said: "This is a very good school which is constantly developing because of its excellent management. It is a very effective school which is well placed to improve even further."

It added that pupils made good overall progress and very good progress in key stage two, reaching high standards in English, maths, science, and many elements of information technology.

The leadership and management of the school were described as "excellent" and the pupils' attitudes, values and personal development were said to be "very good."

The report highlighted the school's improvements, most noticeably the gallery areas for information technology and the library, playground improvements and outdoor provision for the reception classes.

Academically, the 11 year olds reached above average levels when compared with all other schools. In 1999 pupils' results in science were in the top five per cent nationally.

The overall trend of improvement in the school was better than the national average.

The report said that teaching was good overall, with 38 per cent of lessons described as very good and six per cent as excellent.

"Teachers plan very well for their lessons, in particular making very good use of individual educational plans to match lessons to the needs of the pupils including those with special educational needs.

"In most classes, lessons are challenging, interesting and are conducted at a brisk pace. They are lively and pupils work quickly and hard."

Headteacher Mike Latham was praised for his creativity and dynamism in managing the school.

"The headteacher has a very clear view of the future development of the school and communicates this well to the whole school community, including parents. His vision is one of excellence in all aspects of school life."

The only area inspectors thought could be improved was in some classes in key stage one. "Pupils make satisfactory progress in key stage one but the overall progress of each cohort of pupils is not as good as in the reception class and particularly, not as good as in key stage two," said the report.

Coun John Spencer, chairman of governors, said: "This is an excellent report, achieved under the high quality leadership of Mike Latham and his team. All credit must be given to the staff for consistently striving to improve the school's already very good performance, which can only benefit all the children at the school."

Picture by Andy Garbutt.