STAFF, pupils, parents and governors at Marlborough School in Falmouth are celebrating after it was graded “outstanding” across every area following a recent Ofsted inspection.

The rating has come as little surprise to head teacher Richard Gambier, however, who always had faith in his school and its ability to impress. “We are aware that through our unashamedly child-centred ethos and individual ways of working, the school does indeed stand out – it was always going to be a question of whether Ofsted would agree,” he said.

The new Ofsted framework, which has been in place since September 2012, rigorously assesses schools on the achievement of pupils, quality of teaching, behaviour and safety of pupils and leadership and management, before making an overall judgement.

“Even before the report was published, all the teachers felt buoyed up by the expressions of support from parents,” said Mr Gambier. “I felt humbled by some of the amazingly kind comments submitted to the inspection team, but extremely content that the families we serve value the school so highly.

“This means more to us than the inspection findings, but nevertheless it is very gratifying that Ofsted has recognised the strengths and effectiveness of our community school.”