Staff in 70 Oxfordshire schools have won cash bonuses from the Government for their hard work.

A typical primary school will receive £5,000 and a typical secondary £25,000. The cash will go to school governors to give bonuses to all the school staff, from the caretakers to teachers.

There are two types of award - excellence and improvement. The improvement awards are for schools where pupils' performance last year was substantially better than in 1997, or where the school has come out of special measures.

Excellence awards are for schools where pupil performance was better than most schools in England and Wales.

Marion Tigne, head of Fitzwaryn Special School, Wantage, which received a £6,680 award for excellence, said: "Every child has an individual curriculum appropriate to their needs and they all have targets which they have to achieve."

Wheatley Park Secondary School, Holton, near Oxford, was given an improvement award of £33,100 - the highest sum in the county.

Roger Kerr, assistant deputy head, said the school had seen a nine per cent improvement in its five A to C grade GCSE rate over the past three years.

Among the reasons for the rise was the appointment of a head of learning support - Simon O'Keefe - who works with pupils who are disruptive or have emotional or behavioural problems and would normally be sent to a pupil referral unit.

Didcot Girls' School achieved £31,440 for improving its results. The number of pupils who gained five A to C grade GCSEs rose by seven per cent over three years.