IT was all smiles as an Oxford primary school was told it was one of the best in the country at turning itself around.

St Nicholas’ Primary School in Raymund Road, Old Marston, has been named as one of the top 100 schools in the country for improvement.

Back in 2011, it was named by Oxfordshire County Council as one of the 10 worst performing schools and could face becoming an academy.

With its Key Stage 2 results, it has jumped at least 20 percentage points in the past two years.

Headteacher Rachel Crouch said: “We are very proud of the children to make such good progress.

“You don’t need to become an academy to turn a school around. The Reading Campaign has been a very big benefit to us and has improved our Key Stage 1 results which have shot right up.”