PUPILS, parents and teachers are celebrating today, Thursday, following the publication of key stage two results.

And 11-year-olds in Newton, Golborne, Haydock and Lowton have been praised by their local education authorities for their consistent hard work.

The average points score for St Helens schools, including Newton and Haydock, is 27.8 and 27.5 for those in Wigan, including Lowton and Golborne, both of which are just above the national average of 27.4.

Pupils at Lowton Junior and Infant School, on Newton Road, performed particularly well with more than 80 per cent of children achieving level four or above in each of the three core subjects - English, maths and science - and 73 per cent of youngsters also achieved level five or above in the science tests.

All Saints Catholic Primary School in Golborne secured a 100 per cent pass rate at level four in English and all pupils at St Catherine's Catholic Primary School in Lowton gained level four in science.

A spokesman for Wigan LEA said: "At key stage two, children develop a broader knowledge and understanding of the wider world so we are very pleased to see schools in Golborne and Lowton performing above the national average and improving faster than most too. They are performing especially well in science."

Youngsters at The District CE Primary School in Newton also achieved highly in science, with 98 per cent gaining level four and 73 per cent attaining level five or above.

Clr Alma Atherton, executive member for lifelong learning at St Helens Council, said: "I would like to congratulate all pupils and their teachers on these pleasing results.

"I know that both schools and the local education authority will continue to work hard to improve these still further, to take us closer to our even more challenging targets."

l Key stage three results, for youngsters aged 13 and 14, will be in the Newton & Golborne Guardian on Thursday, December 17.