TEACHERS at a Blackwell first school have been given a big 'thumbs-up' by Ofsted inspectors.

Linthurst First School was inspected in March and the government agency Ofsted gave particular praise for English, maths and science teaching at the school. There was also praise for the children's positive attitude to learning.

Two years ago the St Catherine's Road school, which only has 84 pupils, was told it was underachieving and could do better. But now it has pulled its socks up and has been given a big pat on the back.

Standards in English and maths came out above the national average, with the results in Year 2 coming within the top five per cent of schools across the UK.

Reception teaching was also singled out in the report as 'enthusiastic, lively and motivating the children to learn'.

Lesley Penfold, Linthurst's chairman of governors, said: "The school's ethos is one of friendship and respect, which we believe provides the children with the right learning environment.

"Ofsted's findings show that our children enjoy going to school, which speaks for itself.

"And it is particularly satisfying that the hard work from pupils and staff has shown through in the high academic achievements that the report highlights." However, the inspection team did point out a need for the school to make more use of computers to raise standards from average to above average.