Delight at school's top report (From Stroud News and Journal)

Delight at school's top report

THE Rosary School in Stroud is counting its blessings after a successful report from education watchdog Ofsted.

Inspectors praised the "encouraging and caring ethos" and the quality of teaching at the Beeches Green primary school, to the delight of parents and staff.

Monica Jordan, chair of the school governors, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the report, which is a testament to the fantastic work of the teachers and the caring attitude throughout the school."

The report highlights improvements made since the last inspection in 1998, saying pupils achieve highly in reading, maths and science.

It said: "Lessons are stimulating and pupils respond well, showing interest and enthusiasm. Pupils are well cared for, guided and supported and their views sought and acted on very well.

And the inspectors added: "Pupils have very positive attitudes and are much involved in school life."

However, one area that came in for criticism was pupils' computer skills, which inspectors thought were not used enough in some subjects and could be better developed.

Head teacher Maria Lockey said: "We had already highlighted ICT as an area which needed to be developed further and are now in the process of installing interactive whiteboards in all our classrooms.

"This means our children's computer skills can be developed in all subject areas."

Buoyed up by the Ofsted success, the school is now set to open a pre-school and after-school club for pupils, run by child-care company BarBar.