STAFF and pupils at Winkleigh Primary School are starting the New Year with a double celebration.

On January 8 Devon County Council?s schools chairman John Hart visited the school to congratulate staff and pupils on their Ofsted success and to break the first piece of ground for the new classroom development.

Education inspectors are so pleased with the school?s rapid improvement they have lifted its special measures? designation after just 13 months ? around six months quicker than usual.

And work is starting at the school on its new classroom of the future featuring the latest technological advances.

Winkleigh was placed on special measures ? the more serious of Ofsted?s failing categories ? in September 2001, by inspectors who said it failed to provide pupils with an acceptable standard of education.

But under new headteacher Jane Rivans, the school has improved so much that when inspectors visited in October last year they said Winkleigh could be removed from special measures.

In December the school was highlighted by the Department of Education and Skills as one of the 200 most improved in the country.

That followed the publication of its 2002 results in the National Curriculum SATs tests, taken by 11-year-olds at the end of Key Stage 2.

Now the Ofsted report has been published giving the inspectors? findings from their two-day visit in October.

Inspectors found the 2002 SATs tests results increased significantly at Key Stage 2 and pupils? attainment was well above national figures.

They said all pupils made at least sound progress in lessons with good progress in both end-of-key-stage classes in English and maths.

Pupils with special educational needs were making good progress within the broad curriculum.

The report also found provision made for pupils? spiritual, moral, social and cultural development was a strength of the school.

But further improvements were needed to raise standards in Information and Communication Technology (ICT), handwriting in Key Stage 2 and investigative skills in science.

A delighted Mrs Rivans said: ?Naturally I am so pleased that the school is out of special measures. But I am particularly delighted for the children and the wider community, because this was such a horrible label.?

She said the success was down to the hard work of staff, but added that the school had exceptional support from Devon County Council.

?However this is just the first step on the road and we have a long way to go yet.

?The classroom of the future will be a considerable help to us in raising attainment in ICT and we are also looking to make it available to the community to use out of school hours,? said Mrs Rivans.

She said Year 5 and 6 class will use it as their classroom next year and everyone was ?very excited about the project?.

Winkleigh is one of three schools to benefit from the innovative Classroom of the Future scheme.

Devon is just one of 12 local education authorities nationally asked to take part in the pilot by the Department for Education to design classrooms for the 21st century encompassing the latest technology and design.

The scheme for the classrooms is costing more than £1.2 million.