THE 'comfort zone': a place where we are all told not to fall, but the place where, inevitably, many of us end up. Apparently schools have this problem too. One in four is mediocre and far too many are coasting, according to the Office for Standards in Education.

It seems that, with satisfactory results, schools can keep their heads above water without ever really stretching their pupils.

There is a general consensus that this is not a problem in Worcester and three headteachers have told us the secrets of their success.

At Nunnery Wood High School, it is all about striving, says headteacher Alun Williams.

"I think there's a small number of schools - not locally I must add - where academic performance has been good but they have got by without taking into account what students really should be achieving," he says.

The path to high performance is to closely evaluate what each pupil could achieve and then make sure they strive for excellence,

he says.

"It's not a secret. You need to have an accurate view of what students are doing and once you've done that, you need to have the commitment to unlock that potential."

Mr Williams says that Nunnery Wood School has a motto which ensures everybody is pulling in the right direction. It is: Aspire, strive, achieve.

"Having a motto is really, really important," he says. "You will always get the cynics who say these are just words, but it's so important to set your sights high.

"There's not enough striving going on in schools or in life. These shared values are so much more important than having a charismatic headteacher, who's good at talking to the Press for example."

Julie Farr, the headteacher of Bishop Perowne High School, says the secret to staying above average is "a passionate, relentless concentration on the craft of teaching and learning and putting pupils at the centre of everything."

She says the school concentrates on making sure students achieve in the core subjects and that they are literate, numerate, employable and ready to go on to further education.

"We don't educate our students for five years but for 50 years," she says.

"Teaching teenagers is inordinately difficult but we believe in what we are doing and we hope to inspire.

"Every week, we have an hour of compulsory staff training. I think we are the only school in the (Worcestershire) authority to do that.

"Teachers and non-teaching staff attend and we concentrate on the craft of teaching and learning."

Ms Farr says the emphasis on investigating different teaching methods has had a considerable impact on staff motivation and results. "It could be disheartening and demoralising to hear the constant criticism of schools and education but the strategies we have at Bishop Perowne mean that we actually rise above the criticism," she says.

At Blessed Edward Oldcorne Catholic College, headteacher Sean Devlin agrees that an emphasis on the craft of teaching is important.

"For me, more than anything, it's about putting teaching and learning at the centre of everything we do."

He says the importance of understanding how students assimilate information should not be underestimated. Regular classes are held about how to revise, prepare for exams and 'learning to learn'.

"Things change," he says. "We are finding out more and more about learning. We also make sure we give access to information and communication technology across the curriculum.

"We listen to our pupils because children want to be supportive, give constructive criticism and discuss their experiences."

Mr Devlin says the physical surroundings of schools are very important and he places great emphasis on making sure floors are carpeted and mobile classrooms are replaced by permanent buildings.

"I love my job," he says. "Things have changed enormously over the years and headteachers have to be seen outside their office more and more. I am immensely proud of my school".

Do you have a story about your school? Contact education reporter Ian Wishart on 01905 742256 or email: iw@thisisworcester.co.uk

BLACKBOARD

Jamie-style dinner ladies off the menu

COURSES to train Jamie Oliver's school dinner ladies the Jamie Oliver way are to face the axe.

Many short courses for adults will no longer receive Government money after Ministers chose to target funding aimed at 14 to 19-year-olds. Among those threatened with closure is a course inspired by the TV chef to train dinner ladies.

Another course in meat and poultry hygiene could also miss out, despite growing concerns over the spread of bird flu.

As part of the Government's reforms to school meals, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly announced the new qualifications for dinner ladies, hailing them as 'unsung heroes'. The course, aimed at school catering staff throughout the country, lasts for six hours and leads to a City and Guilds Certificate in providing a healthier school meals service.

But the new funding priorities mean that courses under nine hours in length will no longer receive Government funding.

Torrents of Arabia

MORE students must be encouraged to study key subjects such as science, maths and languages at university, says Education Secretary Ruth Kelly.

She has called for close monitoring of university courses in 'strategically important' subjects, which also included Arabic and central Asian area studies.

Ministers believe these are important for 'strategic security and inter-cultural awareness reasons'.

But Ms Kelly stopped short of ordering vulnerable departments to stay open.

Her remarks came as the Government announced how it would support university subjects that face difficulties but are regarded as important to the country's national interest.

Flagship scuppered

THE Government's own research has cast doubt on Tony Blair's flagship education reforms.

A study into the effects of teaching children by putting them into ability-grouped sets showed they gained little benefit.

Those taught in sets perform no better than those in mixed ability classes, despite ministers' claims that setting 'raises standards', it found. The report emerged less than a week after Education Secretary Ruth Kelly published a flagship White Paper which encouraged more schools "to group and set by ability".