A Bury St Edmunds secondary school is celebrating after retaining a prestigious International School Award.

County Upper School achieved the British Council status in recognition of its work bringing an ‘international dimension’ into the classroom.

The award recognises the school’s strength and depth in teaching foreign languages as well as exam results, the international opportunities offered to students and how students are prepared with the knowledge and values to be global citizens.

Vicky Neale, headteacher, said: “County Upper School prides itself on the extra-curricular work we offer to our students and the International School Award is another example of that.

“We have held this award since 2007 but we don’t take it for granted. We had to prepare a full submission earlier this year and we are delighted to now have this status for three years.

“The award reflects the work embedded across our school and the excellence of our results in five different languages through to A-levels.

“I would like to congratulate Alex Ash who wrote our submission, our languages department and all who contribute to the international dimension of our work.”

The International School Award celebrates the achievements of schools that do exceptional work in fostering an international dimension in the curriculum so young people gain cultural understanding and skills.