A village school has been praised for promoting high standards and offering value for money.

An Ofsted report on Beckley Church of England School, near Oxford, said it has a supportive environment where pupils thrive.

The inspectors, who visited in February, said teaching is good and lessons are exciting.

Children behave well, are polite and enjoy coming to school.

When 11-year-olds leave they are well above the national average in English, maths and science. Funds are managed well and the governors know how to maintain high standards. The school, which has 121 pupils between five and 11, serves villages including Elsfield, Forest Hill, Horton-cum-Studley and Stanton St John.

Inspectors noted excellent progress had been made since the last inspection in 1996.

Governors' chairman Nicholas Braithwaite said: "The inspectors' findings are a true reflection of the headteacher's high quality of leadership of a hard-working and dedicated staff." The best progress was made in tackling information technology, where the school has designed a curriculum to make pupils competent computer users.

Some parents had voiced concern that activities were not always interesting and that the best pupils were not always challenged.

The inspectors agreed that brighter pupils could be pushed further.

Story date: Saturday 08 April

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