A SCHOOL described by inspectors as "excellent" plans to go from strength to strength.

St Philip Neri Catholic Primary School in Dunston, Gateshead, was judged to be the 40th most improved school in the country last year.

Inspectors who visited earlier this year said it had made "very good progress" since its previous inspection in 1997.

"The headteacher has, by focusing on how well the pupils achieve, maintained a clear vision for the school. This vision has made a clear impact on the overall effectiveness of the school, which is excellent."

The inspectors praised the leadership of the school, which has 113 pupils aged between four to eleven, and concluded that it gave value for money.

They said it had positive values, based on the Christian faith, to which pupils responded well.

The quality of teaching was said to be "very good overall" and all teachers had high expectations of what pupils could achieve.

Pupils, who had positive attitudes to their lessons, did well in core subjects and achieved high standards in English, maths and science by the age of 11.

Standards had stayed well above the national average in the three subjects since the last inspection.

The pupils' behaviour was also praised. The inspection team said the school's buildings had been significantly improved to provide good sized classrooms and better facilities.

Headteacher James Hannah said: "Our continued improvement is the result of a lot of hard work and effort by everyone at the school.

"We are glad that Ofsted recognised the improvements we have made, but we have vowed to make more improvements to our standards over the coming years.

"We have created an action plan to make our school an even better place to learn. This will mean that all of our pupils can achieve the very highest possible standards in the best possible surroundings."