Best of the year

The annual report from the head of the Office for Standards in Education in England, Chris Woodhead, lists 223 schools which are improving or achieving high performance.

The lists do not mean that these are, overall, the best schools in the country in Ofsted's view - they are the best of the 7,284 schools visited during the 1997/98 round of inspections.

We are publishing the names of all the schools and have spoken to a few of their headteachers.

Credit is also given to the 103 schools which improved sufficiently to be removed from special measures - that is, no longer deemed to be 'failing' - during the year.

The schools are listed alphabetically by name within each group, along with the name of their local education authority.

Improving schools

Full list
Beauchamp College, Leicestershire
Dynamic leadership - and nine 'super teachers'.

Outstanding secondary schools

Full list
West Bridgford Comprehensive, Nottinghamshire
Outstanding exam results in spite of "shabby" buildings.

Primary, Middle and Nursery schools

Full list
Kobi Nazrul, London
Achievement in an area of social deprivation.

Special schools

Full list
Exhall Grange, Warwickshire
Challenging all pupils to realise their full potential.

No longer failing

Full list
Morningside, London
Tough work pays off for what was once one of the worst schools.