THE head of a once troubled primary has been invited to help other struggling schools by the government.

Gaskell Primary School, which has revived its fortunes under headteacher Emily Kirk, has been congratulated by the Department for Education for being among the top 250 performing schools in the country for the progress children make between when they start and finish.

In a letter to the Bolton school, David Laws, minister of state for schools, wrote: “Your school is exceptionally effective in educating your disadvantaged pupils.

“It is clear that you and your staff have provided your disadvantaged pupils with a good start in life and a strong springboard into secondary education.”

He invited Miss Kirk to find out how she could support other schools needing help as she was an “excellent school leader”.

In 2011, the school went through a troubled period with some of the lowest SATs results in the borough.

A new leadership team was appointed and its position in Bolton’s primary school league tables has soared moving up from being in the top half in 2012 to the being the top quarter of the performance tables for high results in the SATs exams in 2013.

Ofsted have judged the school to be good with outstanding features. Miss Kirk said: “We are absolutely delighted with the success and outstanding progress that our children continue to make during their time at Gaskell.

“All our children work incredibly hard and are supported by a wonderful and dedicated staff. We are proud of each and every one of our children.We are thrilled that the DfE have recognised our achievements at Gaskell and are very much looking forward to building on this success.

“We are also very excited about the possibility of working alongside other schools in the future.”