A school in Letchworth has achieved a rating of good from Ofsted for the first time in its history.

Wilbury Junior School is celebrating its latest Ofsted report, which rates the school good in all areas and outstanding for personal development - a significant improvement from an overall rating of 'requires improvement' in 2022.

"The trust, governors and school leaders have focused well on improving the quality of education provided," the education watchdog noted, following a recent inspection.

"Pupils produce work of high quality because staff have high expectations.

"Across the curriculum, pupils achieve well" and "leave well prepared for secondary school".

The report highlights how "the school has devised well-structured subject plans", which "identify the small steps of learning that pupils need to know to develop their knowledge securely".

Ofsted found that staff are positive role models who "go above and beyond to help pupils develop and express their own talents", helping to raise pupils’ self-confidence.

At the school, which became an academy in 2017, "pupils behave well, listen carefully to the teachers and each other, and understand the school's rules, which means that the school is calm and orderly", Ofsted said.

In terms of room for improvement, Ofsted found that, in a couple of subjects, leaders do not use assessment information to check on what pupils already know.

The report says: "They do not accurately identify gaps in pupils’ knowledge and subject-specific language acquisition. This means that pupils cannot learn new content as securely as the school has planned."

Headteacher Chelsea Atkins said: "Wilbury Junior School is a wonderful and nurturing environment for our children, and it's amazing to see the dedication and hard work of everyone involved - staff, governors, children, the Agora Learning partnership, and parents. It's through our collective efforts that we have achieved the good Ofsted rating. This is a triumph for Wilbury, as the school had not previously been deemed a good school in Ofsted's history.

"The report truly recognises the exceptional efforts of the staff, whose unwavering commitment to the pupils' personal development is a source of inspiration. It's a testament to their dedication that every child is encouraged to shine at Wilbury Junior School, filling us with hope for the future for them.

"I also want to take a moment to express our immense gratitude to Martin Penny, the chair of governors, for his steadfast support and dedication over the last six years.

"The staff's journey and ongoing dedication to the children and their work at Wilbury are truly commendable. Their high expectations have led to above-national results for the end of Key Stage 2 for the past two years, and we are excited about our continued journey towards achieving excellence in all areas."

Mr Penny added: "This has been a great team effort undertaken over several years and the Governors are delighted that all the hard work in trying to do our best for the children has been recognised."