A VILLAGE school has been highly praised by the education watchdog as ‘it continues to be good’.

The short Ofsted inspection of Appleshaw St Peter’s C of E Primary School is the first one to be held since it was last visited in 2013.

The inspector, who visited the school last month, commended the work of headteacher Ian Hickman who had joined the school shortly after the last inspection.

The letter from Ofsted read: “Parents, staff and governors praise your forward thinking and integrity. As one parent told me, you are ‘approachable, level headed, but no pushover’. Another said, ‘He has the best interests of every child at heart.’”

The inspector added pupils’ behaviour was ‘superb’ and they are ‘happy, safe and very well prepared for life in modern Britain’.

Students were seen to be proud to develop their leadership skills and be a part of the community.

The inspector added: “One told me that she enjoyed being a civic leader through helping to make the village more tidy and by volunteering for the washing up at home. Typical comments from pupils included, ‘I just love it here’, and ‘I would definitely recommend this school to others.’”

They also said the school had improved the quality of teaching and learning, and that it had made sure that assessments are more accurate.

The letter added the headteacher had an accurate view of the school’s strengths and plans to improve the school are focused appropriately.

The inspector only included two points for the school to further improve, including improving pupils’ spelling and vocabulary so they make quicker progress in writing, and that leaders give themselves time to reflect on the impact of their actions as part of their future development planning.