A TOP Leigh school has been honoured out of the blue -- for being a shining example to others.

St John's C of E Infants' School, Kirkhall Lane, has been invited to become a Beacon school, one of only 600 across the country selected to help others raise their standards.

Delighted head teacher, Lilian Worthington, said: "This is a great honour for us and everyone involved with the school is delighted.

"As a member of the Leigh Education Action Zone we have already been involved in a number of initiatives involving the spreadings of good practice.

"We now look forward to sharing our expertise with other schools and are confident that we can be of help.

"The offer came as a complete surprise."

The invitation came from the Department for Education and Employment, which has identified the best performing schools in the country.

Beacon schools are expected to work in partnership with others to pass on their particular areas of expertise and so help them to reach the same standards as themslves.

The school, which has 107 pupils, must now develop detailed proposals for the Government's Standards and Effectiveness Unit.

They will do this in conjunction with the LEA and existing beacon schools.