TWO local schools are celebrating getting good marks in Ofsted reports.

The Chase High School in Malvern and St Gabriel's with St Mary's CE Primary School in Hanley Swan both received positive feedback.

The Chase was described as "a good school with some outstanding features," by inspector David Simpson after his visit last month.

He said the school's leadership was very good, relationships between staff and pupils were strong and the school provided an outstanding range of extra-curricular activities.

The sixth form is described as outstanding and the proportion of students gaining five or more A*-C grades at GCSE is above the national average.

However, Year 9 standards have fallen, with the school no longer in the top two per cent of the country.

The inspector said the school needed to develop its vocational programme. He also noted there were a small minority of disruptive students, but said most pupils got on well with each other and had a strong sense of right and wrong.

Assistant headteacher Michael Woods, said: "This is really positive news for The Chase and the community it serves."

Ofsted described Hanley Swan Primary School as "a good school that provides good value for money".

The report noted particularly outstanding teaching in the school's Year 5 and 6 class.

The inspector said that reception children got a positive start to school life and noted the wide range of extra-curricular activities on offer.

The school has improved since its previous inspection and recent results in Year 6 national tests have been exceptionally high.

Headteacher Anna Streather said everyone at the school was pleased its strengths had been recognised. She said was particularly pleased to see teamwork mentioned in the report.

"In a small school like ours good teamwork is a key feature," said Mrs Streather, who has been head at the school since September 2004.