A TOP village school is the first York primary to be dubbed "outstanding" by school inspectors.

Oustanding is the top grade an Ofsted inspector can give and Copmanthorpe Primary School has now achieved that accolade following an inspection at the beginning of this month.

This makes Copmanthorpe, which has 322 pupils on roll, the first school in the York Local Authority to achieve this grading under the new inspection regime.

Last week The Press reported that a day nursery in York and two North Yorkshire primary schools had also been given the grade - Daisy Chain Day Nursery in Heworth, York and Nun Monkton Primary, in Nun Monkton.

All three were mentioned high up in the annual report of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools which identifies and celebrates the 1,476 outstanding schools, colleges and early years care and education providers inspected during the academic year 2005/06.

Also on the list was Markington CofE primary school, in Harrogate, which appears for a second time.

The inspectors said:

* Pupils' well-being and achievement lies at the heart of this school's thinking and this is why it is so successful.

* A dedicated team of teachers and support assistants, work extremely well together to deliver lively, interesting and thought-provoking lessons.

* A highly-collaborative leadership style has created a staff team where all feel empowered and all act with a common sense of purpose.

Steve Teal, Copmanthorpe's chairman of governors, said: "I would like to thank all those stakeholders involved with the school - every single member of staff, pupils, parents, and governors for their part in our joint achievement.

"Everybody involved with the school is so proud to have received such a good report, being graded as Outstanding' overall and in every main category heading from overall effectiveness and standards to personal development and well-being.

"Academic results are obviously important, but it is pleasing to see that the underlying ethos of the school is recognised too."

To put this in context, last year's data put the school in the top quartile nationally for value added in maths, compared to the top ten per cent for literacy and science.

Head teacher Judith Rigg, pictured, said: "I am extremely pleased that the Ofsted team have recognised the achievements of our pupils which could not happen without our fantastic school team"

Under "What the school should do to improve further", the only comment is to: "Create more opportunities for pupils to research and investigate mathematical problems so they use mathematical language and skills in lots of different ways".

Mr Teal said the school has already has an annual improvement plan including maths, with no great change of direction required.