A remote primary school has turned its fortunes around, receiving a good rating from Ofsted after previously being told it required improvement.

Teachers and children at Bewcastle School are now celebrating after the school received good ratings in its overall effectiveness and outstanding in the personal development, behaviour and welfare of children.

Headteacher Georgina Harland said: “You wait and wait and wait and hope and hope and hope and then when it happens, you can’t quite believe it.”

She described the school as a very happy place, which prides itself on being inclusive and where leaders had worked hard to generate change.

The primary school, in rural north Cumbria, only has 18 pupils, but teachers try to ensure that although the school is small, children can still take part in sport and music competitions.

The children also go on lots of school trips, recently to the theatre at Hutton in the Forest.

Ms Harland said: “What I was so pleased with in the report was the fact that [the children] get a very wide experience.

“They’re having their horizons widened and individual talents are recognised. We have got really high expectations for them all.”

The children certainly seem to like their school and teachers.

Reeve Telford, 11, of Bewcastle, said: “It’s good because I have got lots of different opportunities and it’s good because we get to do lots of different stuff as well. The swimming pool is really good.

“[The teachers] are really nice. We don’t struggle with work and it’s not too easy.”

Daniel Gorton, 11, of Penton, whose twin Matthew also goes to the school, said: “I like the clubs. We do football and art club. The teachers are really nice and they always give us lots of opportunities.”

Ms Harland was appointed headteacher in April 2013, two months after the school was first rated as requires improvement.

“I have never been headteacher before so it’s been quite a challenge for me,” she said.

A previous report stated leaders were not doing enough to make improvements and governors relied too heavily on the headteacher of the time, John Roberts, to set the direction of the school.

Progress was made by the time of the next inspection in May 2014.

But a report stated: “As was the case at the previous inspection, leadership and management require further improvements.

“With effective support from external professionals, the new headteacher has developed a clear understanding of the school’s priorities for improvement. Actions to address these have been identified, but not yet put fully in place.”

Ms Harland admitted that things don’t happen overnight and it had taken a long time to generate change.

She said three of the main changes were training for governors, who have taken on more responsibility of holding the school to account; community lunches and a new nursery that opened last year.

Parents, teachers and local farmers are on the board of governors, led by University of Cumbria PE lecturer Michelle Thorpe.

They have worked with Ms Harland to create a shared vision of what the school should be.

“We have got a very good team,” said Ms Harland.

“Everybody’s working together. We have got some very supportive parents and very enthusiastic children.

“The whole community works together to ensure the school is well supported and our governors are excellent.”

Everyone in the local area is invited to the community lunches. Because the school is so remote and many of the children take taxis or buses to school, parents do not often go there so the lunches were seen as a good opportunity to bring people together.

There are currently four pupils in the nursery, created to try and encourage children to join at three years old. A parent and toddler group is also thriving, with about 15 members.