MALVERN Parish CE Primary School is celebrating after two years of hard work led to a greatly improved inspection result.

Ofsted inspectors who visited in July, have rated it "a good school," having found it to be "in serious weakness" in March 2003.

The result means the school has moved up two levels on Ofsted's six-point rating scheme.

Headteacher Lynn Gill said: "It's rather unusual for a school to move up two categories between inspections. The staff and governors have really put our action plan for improvements into place".

The report praised the standards of teaching and the promotion of pupils' personal, moral and social development.

It also commended Mrs Gill's leadership, saying she provided 'an extremely clear sense of direction for the school to improve pupils' achievements'.

Chairman of Governors Peter Furber reported the improvement to parents.

"We're delighted by the overall result and feel that the planning, effort and application put in by so many people since the last Ofsted have been vindicated," he said.

The improvement in performance at Foundation Stage has been particularly impressive. Having been the area of greatest concern two years ago, pupils at this stage now exceed targets in all areas of their learning.

Reasons for this include updated learning resources, extensive staff training, and a new play area for the reception class, built with help from parents.

All at the school are determined to build on this and promote their vision statement of "learning together for an exciting future".