The headmaster of a primary school in St Albans has expressed his pride at being judged "outstanding" by Ofsted.

Bob Bridle’s comments come after the education watchdog awarded Skyswood Primary and Nursery School the top rating following an inspection last month.

Inspectors who visited the school in Chandlers Road said the school's work to develop pupils' spiritual, moral, cultural and social development is "exceptionally effective".

The school, which teaches 243 pupils aged three to 11, was recently placed in the Times list for the top 150 schools nationally. Their previous inspection in January 2013 rated the school as "good", and since then inspectors said standards have improved in all subjects.

Mr Bridle, who was commended by inspectors in being successful in bring about improvements, said: "I have great pride in the school’s achievements and great confidence in the school’s capacity for the future.

"The Deputy Head, Kelly Bird, had made a significant impact since joining the Skyswood team in the summer term and that the new Chair of Governors, Catherine Borel-Saladin had risen to the challenge of her new role within a very short space of time."

Inspectors also said the new curriculum "involves and excites" pupils and supports their excellent progress.

Mrs Borel-Saladin said: "This is a well deserved result for Skyswood School. "I am proud to be part of such a fantastic team and we will all continue to strive to be the very best we can for all the pupils, taking on board Ofsted's areas for improvement in writing and further strengthen standards in all areas as we move forwards into the future."

In his praise for the children, staff, parents and governors, Bob Bridle singled out the former Chair of Governors, Fiona Harper, for her "incredible dedication" to the school throughout her time on the governing body.

He said: "Mrs Harper’s youngest child left the school a few years ago but she thankfully stayed on during a period of transition and literally stood down the meeting before Ofsted arrived.

"We obviously invited Fiona back to meet the inspectors. After all, she has been our Chair of Governors for seven years and was a key figure within our governing body for over a decade. As with all of our governors, Fiona knows the school inside out. I cannot express just how lucky we’ve been to have Fiona at the helm. She has been a driving force in moving our school forward."