STAFF, pupils and parents at Keevil CofE Primary School were delighted to find that inspectors who visited them last term have given the school a Good rating, meaning it remains amongst the top-rated primary schools locally.

The village school on Main Street is popular not only in its own village and nearby Steeple Ashton, Great Hinton and Bulkington but also with families in Trowbridge who choose to send their youngsters there because of the quality of the teaching.

Keevil had not been visited by an Oftsed team for some time, having achieved an Outstanding rating in 2012. Head Lindsey Hermon said she felt the Good rating was not a downgrading, but rather a reflection of how education and the inspection have changed since then.

"There are some wonderful comments in the report about our staff, our teaching methods, our governors, our ethos, our pupils and their attitudes to school: we are all so pleased," she said.

"Everyone involved comes in for their share of praise, which is such a good reward. In the last seven years an awful lot has changed in education."

One section of the report says: "Staff are unanimous in their praise of the school. They feel exceptionally well supported and really value their roles. Staff and pupils described the school to inspectors as ‘a family’."

Despite giving the school Good ratings across the board, the inspection team did find some things they feel Keevil needs to work harder at. These include making sure children use their excellent reading skills to help them improve their own writing, and improving the history curriculum so children 'learn more and remember more'.

Mrs Hermon described the goals set as 'absolutely fair', adding: "For them to pick up on things which are things we are already working on is very reassuring from our point of view."

The school became an academy and joined the Acorn Trust, which runs several other primary and secondary schools in Wiltshire in 2016. It currently has 106 pupils across all year groups.

"The school has expanded quite a lot in recent years," Mrs Hermon said. "It (being a member of the Trust) has allowed us to grow and do more and provide more for the children.

"For a small village school to be economically viable it's about being successful."

And her favourite piece in the report: the quote from an un-named pupil, who when asked by the inspectors what they thought of their school said: "If everyone knew about our school, all the other schools would be empty."

Following the report's publication, the school is holding two Open Mornings at the school to celebrate the outcome and give anyone who is interested in finding out more about the school a chance to visit and look around.

These will be on Friday, March 6 and Friday, May 1 between 9.30-11.30am, and are open to anyone, no appointment needed.