PUPILS and teachers at Combe Primary School were celebrating tonight after it emerged their school was the best in the country.

The village school, near Woodstock, came top of the national league table for teaching maths, English and science.

All 118 pupils reached level five in Key Stage Two science and maths — the highest score possible — and 93 per cent of its pupils were awarded level 5 in English.

This was the third time the school had finished top of the national league table and followed outstanding Ofsted reports in 2006 and 2008.

Headteacher Wendy Foster said she could not take any of the credit for the latest results and praised her predecessor Barbara Jones, who retired last September.

Mrs Foster said: “She has gone out with the highest possible accolade that she could have ever wished to have had.”

The headteacher said she thought the reason for the school’s success had a lot to do with the community it was in. Mrs Foster said: “It’s a small rural community, with very supportive parents — supportive without being pushy. They genuinely want to support the school with learning and behaviour issues and all the children are keen to learn and are constantly motivated.”

As reported in Wednesday’s Oxford Mail, more than 6,000 Year Six pupils in Oxfordshire sat last summer’s Key Stage Two National Curriculum tests, which are often known as SATs.

But Combe’s results are impressive when compared with the national picture, which showed one on four 11-year-olds failed both their English and maths tests.

Far from relying on gadgetry and technology, Mrs Foster said the teaching ethos of the school was to have as much of a “hands on” approach as possible.

“There is nothing more interactive than the teacher, not the white board,” she said.

“Yes, they are great teaching aids but there are examples of where a teacher has demonstrated something on the white board when they could physically show the child.

Children should be doing things and I’m very much a believer that they do.”

Looking forward to the coming Key Stage Two examinations in May, Mrs Foster said it would be a challenge to maintain the high standards set.

She added: “Results next year will be different. Last year’s cohort were very strong. However, we will do our very best to ensure that everybody is capable of

WHAT MAKES IT SO SPECIAL?

THIS is the third year Combe Church of England Primary School has earned the top spot in the national league tables. So what is it about this school that makes it so special?

It learns from exactly the same curriculum as other state maintained schools, though Mrs Foster said that in English children were given more freedom to be creative.

She said: “There has always been a focus on giving the children real writing opportunities. As well as writing stories, they also practice writing with a purpose, such as argumentative writing to practice their debating skills.

They have also studied some Shakespeare to give them a better understanding of language.”

For science, children had started to learn subjects beyond the Key Stage Two curriculum. Mrs Foster said: “Since I have arrived, we have also introduced philosophy and general thinking skills. Other schools do it, but it’s not compulsory.

“I think it helps the children to think for themselves.”