ST JOSEPH'S School in Launceston has won the Outstanding Progress –Independent School Award at the sixth annual Education Business Awards ceremony in London.

Hosted by BBC presenter Moira Stuart, the ceremony took place at the Emirates Stadium last Thursday.

St Joseph's was shortlisted with four other independent schools nationally and headteacher Susan Rowe said the tension was palpable as the citation for the winning school was read — she was absolutely delighted when St Joseph's won.

She said: 'It is an honour to receive this award on behalf of the whole school. The award ceremony was excellent and to hear our name was thrilling.

'I am delighted for the staff, pupils, parents and governors of St Joseph's and am so proud to be a part of this highly successful school.'

An element of the award that is particularly important to Mrs Rowe was that the school had not been nominated by anyone associated with St Joseph's, but had been identified by researchers working on behalf of Psi and Education Business Magazine who scrutinized a wide range of statistics, ratings, local and national media reports and education case studies in order to uncover best practice from both state and independent schools.

Alongside the school's outstanding examination results across all key stages and the exceptional achievements within both sport and music the award also recognised the remarkable amount of community fund-raising undertaken by the pupils and the level of respect the pupils have for each other and their school environment. The aim of the school to provide 'A Firm Foundation For Life' is clearly achieved.

The award was sponsored by Espresso Education and Channel 4 Learning.