A primary school has been recognised as one of the top performing in the country in a congratulatory letter from the government.

Dickleburgh Primary staff and pupils returned to school on Monday to find a letter from minister for schools David Laws.

This congratulated them on being one of only 159 in the country to achieve 100pc level four attainment in all core subjects – the average level 11-year-olds are expected to be.

Headteacher James Richards said he and his staff had high expectations of pupils, and added that the school had also been praised for its standards in 2012 by then minister for schools Nick Gibb.

'Success doesn't happen by accident; we do have very high expectations in Dickleburgh; we believe that every child has the right to do as well as they possibly can and it is our responsibility to ensure that they have every opportunity to do so,' he said.

'We are very fortunate to have the support of many wonderful parents in helping us achieve this aim and, with our pre-school, can guarantee first class provision for all of our children from the very early years through to the end of key stage two.'

The letter from Mr Laws, addressed to Mr Richards and dated December 18, said the school's results showed that 100pc of the Dickleburgh pupils achieved level 4B or above for reading and maths, and level four or above in writing.

'Mastery of these subjects is critical to success at secondary school and beyond, so these pupils now have given themselves a really good start for the next stage of their education,' it said.

'I would like to congratulate your staff, governors and pupils for their hard work and success and to thank you for your leadership in continuing the drive towards the highest standards of educational achievement.'

The school is also going through some growth, and plans to be a six-class school by September this year after Norfolk County Council commissioned a feasibility study for the construction of two new classrooms and cloakroom areas.