IT IS good that Blaenau Gwent council staff are putting considerable effort into making improvements in education.

For let's be frank, that the county's education service had to be placed into special measures with outsiders brought in to lead those improvements, was a low point for the authority. And the authority is not yet out of the woods.

As minister Leighton Andrews points out today, much work remains to be done if the council is to regain control of its own education department. But importantly, things are moving in the right direction which is vital not just for the authority but for all the current and future pupils in the area.

As we reported recently attendance rates are on the up, and early indicationsare that advances are being made in the vital areas of numeracy and literacy.

What is also key though is that Blaenau Gwent lifts the aspirations of its pupils of all ages.

Just because they come from a relatively poor area should not mean they have to accept that is their lot in life.

It is important that pupils realise their full potential and that when they do they can help boost the economic performance of the area in future years.

Maybe then the decline in population seen in the recent census will be reversed and it will once again begin to prosper.