IT’s a new era for staff and pupils at Thornwell Primary School in Chepstow having welcomed a new head teacher in October.

Tim Appleby, who was previously the acting head, is relishing his role at the helm.

Mr Appleby said it is an exciting time for the school, whose Foundation Phase officially reopened in 2014 following a devastating fire in 2011.

He beams with pride as he takes us on a tour of the state-of-the-art building.

“I feel very lucky to be head teacher here and am really enjoying my role. It doesn’t feel like a new role, I already knew the children and their families. There’s nowhere else I would rather be.

“It is an exciting time in education as we are on the cusp of a new curriculum.

“It is a new era at Thornwell as we aim to grow the school and continue to raise standards.”

The impressive one-storey building is a hive of activity with every corner of the building in use.

Vibrant and welcoming, it is bursting with motivated and enthusiastic pupils who have decorated every wall with their colourful and eye-catching framed artwork and projects.

It offers a fully flexible learning environment through plaza learning, which instead of classrooms provides a way of teaching that differs from other schools.

“It enables us to provide stage appropriate learning across the whole of the Foundation Phase.

“It gives us the capacity for all the pupils to access both of the plaza, depending on where the provision is at the exact level that they need to access in order to progress.”

The children get plenty of natural light and space that is filled with the latest technology and vast outdoor learning and play areas.

The school won praise from Estyn last year for making significant improvements over the past two years.

Mr Appleby praised the hard work of his staff which have laid a firm foundation on which they continue to build and to provide an inspiring environment for his pupils so that they can reach their full potential. He also praised the school’s Governing Body and FOTSN, the school’s PTA for their continued support.

He strives to deliver the best possible all-rounded education for the children.

“We are part of the Chepstow Collaborative Alliance and work alongside Shirenewton and Pembroke Primary Schools. This arrangement enables us to share expertise that contributes to accelerated improvement.”

“We are categorized as yellow and the standards element of that categorisation is at level 1 which is the highest it can be. We are all very proud of that.”

He is exceptionally pleased with the school’s nursery where learning is fun and there are plenty of activities both indoor and out for the children to enjoy.

From a book corner to construction and craft areas and a kitchen, the children are spoilt for choice when choosing what activity to tackle.

As well as the playground there is a wooden wigwam, mud kitchen, an auditorium, wooden bridge and play equipment.

When we visited the nursery was preparing for a banquet, held earlier this week, as part of this term’s topic ‘Dragons and Tails’.

The children donned costumes and helped make soup that they ate seated at long tables.

“There is such a feel-good factor at the school. The children go outside every day and have wet-weather gear funded by the school, " said nursery leader Jill Smith.

Pupils have a strong voice throughout the school where there is an active Eco Team and School Council, which is currently running a survey to find out if pupils want ‘grown-up plates’ introduced at lunchtimes.

Among the many initiatives running at the school is one that works to develop literacy.

The creative schools project, funded by the Welsh Government, sees artists visit the school to help year five pupils to create a computer game set in ancient Egypt, which is the current topic. They use their literacy skills to write the script for the character and technology skills for green screen filming.

Technology is one of many areas in the school that is constantly moving forward with ipads in use across the site.

“We are using mobile technology to help to engage the children and to give their work a real purpose.”

“People don’t always link IT with creativity but the world of work that these pupils will go into certainly does.”

The pupil group Criw Cymraeg are responsible for Welsh development in the school and have recorded themselves saying certain words and phrases in Welsh.

Other children can then access them using QR codes on their ipads.

When asked what he hopes pupils leave his school with, Mr Appleby replied, “I want them to be well-rounded and to take with them a love of learning. We equip them with the skills they need to unlock their potential, so that they may find success in whatever route they choose in life.”

Factfile

Thornwell Primary School, Thornwell Road, Chepstow.

Headteacher: Tim Appleby

Chairman of Governors: Gary Nicholas

Ages: 3-11

Pupils on Roll: 217 plus 44 in the nursery.

Last Inspection

Thornwell Primary was re-visited in January 2015 by Estyn inspectors who praised the school for making ‘significant improvements’ following an inspection in 2013. The report highlighted substantial improvements in the standards of writing across the curriculum and higher-than-expected performance in literacy placing the school in the top 25 percent when compared with similar schools.