MORE schools have been selected to light the way for their peers as the Government extends its 'beacon school' programme.One more school in Suffolk – Holton St Peter Community Primary School, near Halesworth – has been as added to the county's impressive list of beacon schools, including five in Ipswich.

MORE schools have been selected to light the way for their peers as the Government extends its 'beacon school' programme.

One more school in Suffolk – Holton St Peter Community Primary School, near Halesworth – has been as added to the county's impressive list of beacon schools, including five in Ipswich.

A government spokesman said that beacon schools play a vital role in raising standards by sharing ideas and best practice with other schools in their area – and so helping raise levels of achievement in exams, management and discipline.

The new addition brings the total number of beacon school to thirteen after a dozen schools were elevated to beacon status when the scheme was introduced last year.

Clive Minnican, head teacher at St Matthew's CE which, said that while it was daunting to be a beacon it was also interesting to help other schools "without lecturing them".

Neil Watts, head of Northgate High School, another beacon school, called the two-year scheme a "tremendous" initiative.

He told how a recent open day held at the Sidegate Lane school for sixth-formers from 12 other high schools to help boost admissions to Oxford and Cambridge was funded with money from the scheme.

"The majority of the benefits are shared across the community of schools," he added.