STAFF and pupils at a Malton primary school are celebrating their outstanding rating in their latest Ofsted inspection report.

St Mary's RC Primary School, Malton, which currently has 107 pupils, was awarded a Grade 1 rating in their inspection last month, maintaining the high standards and previous "outstanding" rating it was given in its previous inspection.

Lead inspector, John Foster, said in his report that pupils at the school are regularly exceeding national standards and praised head teacher David Harrison.

"Pupils reach standards that are consistently above those expected nationally," he said in the report.

"A high level of challenge is a strength in teaching and pupils are set work which challenges pupils fully. The school is led by an inspirational head teacher."

David Harrison said that he was pleased with the outcome of the report and attributed it to the work of those involved in the school.

He said: "We are absolutely delighted that the hard work has been recognised. It is down to the hard work of all the staff, governors and pupils.

"We will now continue to work hard to maintain these standards."

Inspectors at the school observed five teachers across six lessons and heard pupils from years two and six reading. Online questionnaires from parents and detailed analysis of pupils work was also taken in to account before arriving at the decision to grant the school a Grade 1 Outstanding rating, the highest on the scale of four grades.

The report said that inspectors would now like to see the school improve even further by "extending the work with other schools to enable even more of the most able pupils to reach the highest standard in maths and English."