CHICKERELL Primary School is the first stand-alone primary in Dorset to become an academy.

It has converted to primary academy status.

Academy schools operate independently from local authority control.

Priority to convert to an academy is given to schools deemed by watchdog Ofsted to be "outstanding" or "performing well".

The school was recently propelled into the top 200 primary schools in England, ranked by the percentage of pupils achieving Level 4 in both English and maths in Scholastic Assessment Tests (SATs). It recorded a 100 per cent success rate in English and 98 per cent in maths.

Headteacher Jody Harris has been at the school for two years.

Most primary schools on Portland have converted under the island academy scheme.