IN its first inspection since becoming an academy in 2012, St Paul’s Church of England Primary School achieved a clean sweep, graded as Outstanding in all categories.

The two-day Ofsted inspection last month found excellent progress in reading, writing and maths with teachers providing enjoyable and exciting activities that make pupils think hard.

“Pupils are highly engaged by activities in lessons,” said lead inspector Kathy Hooper. “They try hard and they want to learn.

“Pupils’ behaviour is outstanding; they are smart, tolerant and kind to each other and feel very safe in school.”

The report also praised headteacher Andrew Teale’s work in helping bring St Thomas Cantilupe Church of England Primary School out of special measures as part of a partnership with the Tupsley school.

Mr Teale said: “The fact that that inspectors described our school as having ‘a real buzz of learning’ is especially pleasing as it is exactly the atmosphere we strive daily to create.

“I’m privileged to lead a fantastic team of educational professionals at St Paul’s and it's really great that their dedication has been recognised by Ofsted in the strongest possible terms.”

Graded as Good at its last inspection, St Paul’s is described in the report as a much larger than average primary school which has a very small number of pupils eligible for pupil premium funding.