Pupils, parents and staff at Stanton Harcourt Primary School are celebrating after it was named outstanding in an Ofsted inspection.

The school, which has 78 pupils, is only the fourth school in the county, and the second primary school in Oxfordshire, to achieve the school inspectorate's top accolade.

Headteacher Julie Quarrell said: "We are thrilled. I think it is quite a shared feeling of pride throughout the whole school community and a sense of success and achievement."

The news marks a remarkable turnaround, coming just six years after the school was identified as having serious weaknesses and needing support.

Miss Quarrell, who took over as headteacher in September 2003, said: "What we did as a team was pull together and clarify what we needed to happen in order for the school to improve.

"We used data to identify children that needed additional support or more challenge and we tried really hard to listen very carefully to what parents were telling us and incorporate that into what we were doing.

"People love working here and get a real sense of enjoyment from it."

The school, which has also achieved healthy schools, eco and computing awards, was inspected in May and the results have just been published.

In his report, inspector John Collins said: "This outstanding school lies at the heart of its community and at its heart is a strong concern for the personal and academic development of all its pupils."

And in his letter to pupils, he said: "I was told this was a good school, but in fact I think it is outstanding.

"You go to a very good school and I hope it is even more successful in the future in helping you to achieve your best."

Everything from pupil behaviour to the curriculum, spiritual, moral, social and cultural development and the headteacher's leadership, was labelled outstanding.

Chairman of governors Jane Watts said: "It is fantastic news. Everyone's worked together very hard to get it to the stage it is at.

"The children have always been happy at our primary school, but there is definitely a different outlook on life and their behaviour is brilliant."