LANCASHIRE schools have been hailed as among the best in the country.

County hall’s education boss, Cllr Matthew Tomlinson, was speaking after government figures showed 92.3 per cent of schools in the area are rated as ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted.

Based on the ratings, Lancashire is in the top quarter in the country.

Figures to this month showed 23.8 per cent of county schools were ‘outstanding’ and 68.5 per cent were ‘good’, compared to 21.1 per cent and 68.3 per cent respectively for England.

Lancashire’s figure for ‘requires improvement’ is 2.5 per cent, lower than the rest of the country at 8.9 per cent, and 1.3 per cent are judged ‘inadequate’, lower than the rest of the country at 1.7 per cent.

Cllr Tomlinson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, said: “It’s great to see that the latest statistics from the Department for Education back up what we already know – that the quality of schools in Lancashire are amongst the best in the country.

“To have 2.7 per cent more ‘outstanding’ schools than the England average is not easy, as outstanding ratings are very difficult to achieve.

“These figures demonstrate the high quality of headteachers, staff, governors and the commitment of pupils.”