BUCKHURST Hill Community Primary School has come out on top in its latest Ofsted inspection for high-achieving schools.

The Lower Queens Road school was the first in the country to be assessed according to the new Proportionate Inspection system which relies heavily on the school's own self-evaluation.

The scheme is part of a raft of new measures designed by Ofsted to reduce the burden on schools already achieving well and redirect resources to the schools where monitoring will have the most positive impact.

Headteacher Lesley Howes said: "We really were delighted the inspection process agreed with all that we were doing. It also resulted in the school being considered to be outstanding in many areas.

"I found the process efficient, effective and well managed. The inspector seemed focused and very perceptive; and my team welcomed the new approach because it recognised that we were obviously doing well and we just needed to show that we could evaluate our performance accurately and continue to develop."

Her Majesty's Inspector Mike Sutton visited the school last February, considering analysis of data on children's attainment and progress, the school's self-evaluation and other documents provided by staff, discussions with pupils, governors and teachers, observations of classroom activities and samples of work and questionnaires completed by parents.

He graded the school as good' overall and outstanding' as far as personal development, well-being, care, guidance and support were concerned.

He was particularly impressed with the school's approach to maths, getting children involved through puzzles and quizzes.