Three years ago, just a fifth of 11-year-olds at St Anne’s RC primary in Manchester could add up properly, a third could read and write, and less than half were scientifically literate.

Now after “conflict resolution” courses for parents, which focus on tackling bad behaviour and raising the selfconfidence of each child, the school is the most improved in England.

With 87 per cent reaching level 4 at Key stage 2 in English and maths, and all pupils achieving the same level in science, the small primary school in one of Manchester’s most deprived areas has far exceeded national curriculum results in all subjects.

It was named the most improved school in a list of 100 compiled by the DfES (see below). It ranks schools by the difference in the aggregate scores achieved by pupils in the tests between 2003 and this year but includes only those that have made continued improvements. Good behaviour and high aspirations are the key, says Suzanne Walker, the head teacher. After that everything follows.

She says: “When the school was amalgamated in 1999, behaviour was not one of its strongest points. But, over the years, we have done a lot within the community to raise the esteem of the children and worked alongside parents to make the best of them. If behaviour is good and they have high aspirations and selfesteem, are happy and safe, everything will follow. It is a cliché, I know, but it has been proven here.”

With more than half its pupils receiving free meals, the school faces more challenges than most. However, Walker, 37, says that her excellent staff have been able to raise achievements by knowing each one of the 130 pupils “inside out” and personalising their learning.

She adds: “When we mark work, we always comment about how the child can reach the next step and, in the next piece, we check to see that they have taken this in and made progress.”

Manchester Stadium, the venue for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, which is close to the school, is also credited with contributing to the pupils’ success. They are encouraged to use its facilities by playing tennis, squash and cycling.

“They realise that there is a lot on offer for them, that they are not being put into a pocket of inner-city kids and that there are opportunities if they look for them,” Walker says.

At Beech Hill primary in Newcastle, the second most improved school, praising pupils and raising standards of behaviour were seen as the key to driving up results.

With more than half the pupils coming from the most deprived areas of England, morale was poor among staff, pupils and parents when Nicola Nelson Taylor arrived in 2003. The 34-year-old acting head says: “There was a black cloud hanging over the school and the results reflected it. There was no behaviour policy in place, but it was not a question of poor teaching, as we have pretty much the same staff as we did then.”

Instead of giving children a red card for disrupting a class and sending them to disrupt another, staff and pupils draw up joint rules and punishments each term. The school council developed behaviour awards and every week chooses one child from each class to receive an award for being polite or following the rules.

Home-school charts mark pupils’ progress and “golden time” sessions at the end of a week, where children are rewarded with hot chocolate and may play games, also help.

Teachers were also sent on courses to make lessons more interactive, and booster lessons developed for any child falling behind in core subjects.

In 2003 Beech Hill 11-yearolds were bottom of the city’s league table. Now, with 97 per cent achieving level 4 in English, 91 per cent reaching the same level in maths and all meeting the required level in science, they are top or near the top for almost all subjects.

Nelson Taylor insists, however, that the children are not pressurised into doing well, but are shown how the value of education will lead them to their goals — be it owning a Mazda RX-8 or being successful in spite of battling dyslexia.

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