Written 04/02/04

Milton primary school has been named as one of the most outstanding schools in the country, according to the Chief Inspector of Schools. In his annual report David Bell, Chief Inspector of OfSTED - the Office for Standards in Education - identified the school as one which had received an outstanding report from its inspection during 2002/03.

Inspectors described Milton Primary as a very good school which provides a very good quality of education for all its pupils.

The inspection team said: "The outstanding leadership of the headteacher and the very strong commitment and high expectations of all the staff, together with very good support from the governing body and the parents, contribute to the school's success."

They found the overall quality of teaching was good, with many lessons very good. "Of the lessons seen 89% were equally good and very good with 3% excellent. This good quality teaching is a major factor in the high standards pupils achieve," said their report.

It particularly praised the use of interactive smartboards, which inspectors said supported high quality teaching and enhanced pupils' learning.

Pupils in turn were praised for their positive attitudes and good behaviour. "Very enthusiastic attitudes towards school mean that children work very hard, behave very well and accept responsibility for their work and behaviour. Boys attain standards that are much higher than boys do nationally."

"Children's very good behaviour reflects teachers' consistently high expectations of children. A feature of all lessons is the very good relationships between adults and children," the report added.

Headteacher Tom Gillmore was singled out for his leadership of the school. "One of the main reasons for the consistently high standards achieved by the school is the excellent leadership provided by the headteacher. A very good leadership and management team support him very well," said inspectors.

Two other Cambridgeshire primary schools were also highlighted in the Chief Inspector's report for their outstanding reports - Fordham Primary School near Newmarket and Crosshall Infants School near St Neots, together with one secondary school - Soham Village College.

Two of the county's schools were also praised for their work in coming out of 'special measures' - Cherry Hinton and St Andrew's Junior Schools in Cambridge.

Coun Ramon Wilkinson, Cabinet Member for Education, Libraries and Heritage, said: "I congratulate all the schools praised in the Chief Inspector's annual report. With continued support from the LEA, they represent what is best about Cambridgeshire's schools."

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