PUPILS are celebrating after a village school was judged as 'good' by inspectors from the Church of England.

Powerstock School was marked as 'good' overall in its latest Statutory Inspection of Anglican and Methodist Schools (SIAMS) inspection.

Inspectors visited the school in December are praised the school for its values helping pupils to perform well academically.

In his report, lead inspector Andrew Rickett, said: "Values such as perseverance and friendship that have been central to the vision to provide the best experiences to enable all children to do well in their academic work. Children articulate this and have an awareness that this is because it is a Christian school.

“Lessons are specifically planned to meet the learning needs of all groups of children so that all abilities make progress.”

Headteacher of Powerstock School, Louise Greenham, was thrilled with the school's recognition in the report.

She said “I am very proud to be Head of such a wonderful small school with a big heart.

"Small class sizes and an excellent, dedicated team of staff have all gone to receiving such a super report. We know we do our best for the children and it is fantastic for the staff to have this affirmed by a lead inspector.”

Mrs Greenham added that she was "very pleased" with the inspector’s comments regarding the character of the school.

Mr Rickett said: “Relationships in the school are of high quality because the values are modelled by teachers and lived out by children.

"Children know right from wrong and appreciate the need to treat others with respect. They have a good awareness that the world has a range of cultures and beliefs and that they have a personal responsibility to respect them."

He added: “Leadership by the headteacher and religious education leader is excellent and ensures that all children are cared for and nurtured within a Christian environment.

"Mrs Greenham has put the needs of the children at the forefront of every action that the school has taken to move them forward both academically and to support and nurture their wellbeing. Her commitment to delivering a church school ethos is making a difference to the lives of children throughout the school community.”

In the report, the school was also given advice on how to further improve.

Mr Rickett said the school should “develop the children’s ability to express their views and opinions on how core Christian values impact on their growing spirituality” and “ensure that children have consistently high quality opportunities to deepen their learning in religious education, and across the whole curriculum”. He also added encouraged the school to “develop the skills of leaders and managers to implement robust procedures to identify how well the school is providing opportunities for children to grow spiritually”.