GIVING children the best possible start in life is what makes Staverton Primary the best place to learn according to its headteacher.

With 267 pupils spread across nine classes, the School Lane primary prides itself on teaching life skills and values to its pupils who actively take part in regional competitions for sports and music.

Mark Bartlett, who has been headteacher at the school for three years, said the motto of the primary – 'Believe. Achieve. Succeed.' – is at the heart of teaching.

He added: “For me, I want the children to come to school and enjoy their time by having a broad range of experiences.

“We value reading and maths because they are core skills in life but I think they should be rounded children where they are also able to try sports, arts and music. More than half of our children getting music tuition as well as other children taking part in sport competitions.

“As a teaching team, we enjoy teaching the pupils here and I think we have the best children. We want them to believe in themselves and to think that even if things are hard, they should try and have a go. The achievement of accomplishing something is rewarding and it is a success that we try to celebrate every day.”

In its most recent Ofsted inspection, the school was rated ‘good’ across the board with the inspector commending the teachers' high expectations of pupils and increasingly challenging work that ensured pupils achieved well.

As a church school, Staverton Primary also aim to promote the use of Values For Life where each term they focus on a different principle such as courage and peace, using stories from the bible and real life to develop the values.

Mr Bartlett added: “I think over my time here there have been numerous things that make me proud to be the headteacher. In our most recent Ofsted inspection, we had ‘good’ across the board which validates that Staverton Primary is a great school to be at.

“Staverton is a very special place and when I came here, we introduced the Staverton way which revolves around little things like manners and smiling and saying hello which the children have taken on board. Although we are on the edge of Trowbridge, we are a village and in life you only get one chance at things and we hope to give our children the best possible start.”