HUNDREDS of balloons filled the skies above Winnall Primary School to mark a celebration of the school's achievements and the Queen’s 90th birthday.

The school in Garbett Road and Stepping Stones pre-school joined forces to hold the balloon launch.

The celebration was a belated event to mark Winnall Primary School being deemed ‘Good’ in its latest Ofsted inspection last November.

This was a far cry from the September 2013 inspection, where inspectors said it required improvement, and the school was in the middle of an extensive refurbishment project.

Headteacher of Winnall Primary School, Jon James said:”I am immensely proud to be associated with those that have worked so hard to move the school forward.

“The team at Winnall have a relentless drive to set high expectations for all pupils and are always willing to go that extra mile to ensure the best for our pupils.”

The school had a £2m investment to enlarge it and provide more places, it was part of a £10.8m package of investment to tackle a shortage of primary school places in Winchester.

The extension project saw recladding in brick, two new classrooms, staffroom extension toilet, reconfigured library, special education needs space and IT suite.

Manager of Stepping Stones, Natasha Jarvis said: “Since opening up our doors on the school site, we have been able to offer greater access to outdoor learning, giving wider learning opportunities which has helped the development of children to progress significantly.

Hampshire County Council cabinet member for education Peter Edgar said: “I left feeling that the school demonstrated to me all that is best in a good local school and I would like to wish all in the Winnall Primary School community continued success in the future.”