ST CUTHBERT'S Catholic High School has become one of only a handful of schools in the country to again be included in a prestigious list of improving schools.

The school, in Berrys Lane on the Sutton-Parr border, has been named as one of the top 100 fastest-improving schools in the UK for the second time in five years.

Head teacher, Rod Irving, said: "We are absolutely delighted. To be named as one of the country's most improving schools says a lot about our hard-working teachers and pupils. Only a handful of schools have been included in this list twice. It is quite an achievement and is viewed by schools as something of a 'blue ribbon' event.

Ground-breaking initiatives at St Cuthbert's have involved pupils working increasingly with businesses and the community and the forward-looking school has been selected as one of just 10 in the UK to pilot the Government's Extended Schools project. This concentrates on extending the curriculum to benefit pupils and the community.

National salute

St Cuthbert's also earned national recognition for its work with the Healthy Schools project and has now been singled out to take part in the £40 million national Creative Partnerships Programme. This involves unlocking the creative skills of young people in a bid to raise aspirations and achievements.

Another coup is the school's involvement with Mando - one of the country's fastest-growing merchandising and marketing companies. For the next six months, managing director Matt Thompson has offered to work alongside pupils helping them to market their in-house companies and to understand the world of public relations.