A PRIMARY school in Selby has been praised by Ofsted after an inspection showed improvements in teaching and exam results.

Inspectors visited Selby Abbey C of E Primary in January, and their report, after observing 18 lessons, praised the school’s “excellent support for pupils at risk of falling behind”, said teaching was consistently good and “pupils made significantly better than average progress” in last year’s exams.

The school’s recent reading scheme also won praise from the inspectors, as did the way the school’s management had handled staff turnover since the last inspection.

Jo Jennings, head teacher, said: “We are absolutely thrilled to have all our hard work and success over recent years recognised by Ofsted and are now on our journey to becoming an outstanding school.

“We’re really pleased that they have recognised the consistently good teaching and very strong staff team, also that the children are happy and respectful, and thrive in the school environment.”

The report into the school did highlight some improvements which could still be made, and said there was “not enough teaching that is outstanding”, and “too few pupils reach the highest standards”, but said the school’s strong community links and understanding of other cultures were to be credited.

Mrs Jennings said: “It’s external validation, the local authority has recognised this for some time now, but it’s nice to have external validation from Ofsted.

“The parents are very pleased, though it’s only confirmed what they already thought, but it’s nice to have that from a body that is completely independent from the school.”

Mrs Jennings also said the school should see refurbishment work take place this year, with funding from North Yorkshire County Council, which is expected to start in September.