STAFF and pupils at a re-energised Purbeck first school are celebrating after meeting all the key targets set by government education experts last year.

After Ofsted’s 2010 visit to Wareham’s Lady St Mary First School, inspectors outlined several areas for improvement, including ensuring at least 80 per cent of teaching at the school was of a consistently good standard.

Inspectors also wanted the governing body to contribute more and for the school’s curriculum to develop.

However, since that inspection a new head teacher has taken over and a number of new governors have joined the governing body at Lady St Mary’s.

And this “relentless drive and ambition of the leadership team”, as Ofsted states, has paid off.

Following the latest Ofsted visit, inspector Jane Neech said: “Having considered all the evidence I am of the opinion that at this time the school has made good progress in making improvements and good progress in demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement.”

This judgement has delighted head teacher Lin Goldsmith and chair of governors Vicki Edwards.

Mrs Goldsmith said: “We are delighted that the huge amount of work to totally energise learning in our school has been recognised.

“The judgement of good represents the result of an enormous amount of work to develop an exciting curriculum and learning environment.

“We are just going from strength to strength.”

The school will become a primary in September 2012.

Mrs Edwards said: “The energy, ambition and sense of team spirit is so strong in the school at present, we are drawing in new parents from many areas keen to be a part of this wonderful school.”