A SCHOOL in Stanmore has received an outstanding assessment, with pupils being described as having "excellent attitudes to learning".
Stanburn Middle School in Abercorn Road received the highest grade for both its overall effectiveness and its capacity for sustained improvement.
The strengths of the mixed school include the high quality of care for pupils with disabilities, the wide range of clubs and trips available to the children and the high number of student attainment, according to the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted), which regulates schools performance.
Out of the 24 categories examined, 17 were judged as being 'outstanding' and the rest were 'good'.
Inspectors said: "Pupils are rightly proud of their school because it provides them with a warm and welcoming environment in which to learn.
"Pupils make good progress because they are highly motivated, are provided with a rich and interesting curriculum and enjoy good teaching."
The inspection on March 2 is an improvement on the school's 2007 assessment in which the school received a 'good' result overall.
Children have also been receiving better SATs results since last time.
The good relationships between both the teachers and parents has been cited by Ofsted as one of the reasons for the school's improvement.
Headteacher Lynn Chamberlain said: "The response from the parents has been fantastic. The year four parents have sent us a big thank you card and chocolates and they've said such lovely things. It's been a whole community celebration."
Many of the school's 339 pupils come from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds, and one parent told inspectors: "The school is doing a great job in accommodating the needs of such a vast variety of cultures and religions."
Despite the positive result, Stanburn Middle School is eager to improve further and Ofsted has set a target of 50 per cent of lessons being rated 'outstanding' at the next inspection.
Mrs Chamberlain said she thinks they could easily achieve this. "We're not stopping now," she said.
