A VILLAGE school which faced closure two years ago is looking at a brighter future.

At one point, Culham Primary School, had no headteacher, a £50,000 budget deficit and only 24 pupils on the roll.

The Oxford Mail reported in January this year that numbers had grown to 47 after a campaign to save the school.

Now Ofsted has given the school its seal of approval, rating the school as good at a recent inspection – a step up from a previous inspection in March 2011 when it was deemed satisfactory.

Andrew Churchill Stone, a former chairman of governors who was instrumental in the campaign to keep the school open, said: “The school community at large is very pleased. It proves we were right to fight for the school.”

Mr Churchill Stone has three children at the school, Joe, nine, Sam, seven, and Emily, five.

He added: “The staff have worked very hard with this particular goal in view and their efforts have been rewarded.”

The school was rated good in all areas. Inspector Derek Watts said most pupils made good progress and achieved well, demonstrating enthusiasm for learning and behaving well.

He said: “Improvements to teaching have had a positive impact on pupils’ achievement, well supported by effective leadership and management. Teachers establish a positive climate for learning and provide tasks which are well suited to pupils’ different abilities and needs.”

He said headteacher Matt Attree had shown “considerable determination” in securing the school’s future.

The school fell short of outstanding because in “just a few” lessons, learning did not move on at a fast enough pace, and because pupils did not always have enough chances to plan and organise their work independenetly.

Mr Attree, who was acting head when Ofsted previously visited but became permanent headteacher in July 2012, said: “It was a very gratifying report.

“The biggest change in the course of that time has been improvements in the quality of teaching.

“The staff that we have are fantastic.”