PUPILS and staff at a Basingstoke junior school are celebrating following a glowing report from Ofsted.

Kings Furlong Junior School was visited by the education watchdog in December, and a report published on January 7 said it has “improved significantly” and “now provides a good education for all pupils.”

As previously reported in The Gazette in January 2014, the school was graded as “requires improvement” by Ofsted because “achievement over time has not been good enough”.

The new report said leaders and governors “acted on the recommendations from the previous report. They have raised standards by improving the quality of teaching."

All areas of the school, in Upper Chestnut Drive, were graded as “good”.

Inspectors said: “Teaching is consistently good with an increasing proportion that is outstanding. Teachers know their pupils well and provide work for them that is at the right level.”

The report said pupils make good, and sometimes outstanding progress in reading, writing and maths, and reach standards that are above average by the end of Year 6.

It added: “The curriculum is rich and stimulating. It is underpinned by core values including resilience, respect and reflection. As such, it promotes pupils’ spiritual, moral, social and cultural development very effectively.”

Pupils were described as “lively” and “happy”, with the report adding: “They enjoy school. They behave well in class and in the playground.

“They feel safe in school because adults provide good care and support for them.”

The school is not yet “outstanding” because of several reasons including not all teachers ensuring that the most-able pupils are given harder work to challenge them.

Charles Applegate, headteacher, said: “I’m really pleased for our school community regarding our “good” judgement by Ofsted. The pupils, staff and governors have worked extremely hard over the past two years since our previous inspection; I am so proud of them.

“Our vision of inspiring learning, developing character, building community and giving whatever it takes has never been stronger, and we will continue to do our very best for every child.”