THE teachers and staff love working there, parents say their children thrive there and the pupils themselves are proud to be a part of it.

Hillside First School in Verwood is obviously a happy place.

The 228-pupil community school is led by experienced head teacher Roger Withey who took over the reins three and a half years ago.

He says community is at the heart of Hillside and their experienced teaching staff help make the school a great place to thrive and learn.

Results in Key Stage 1 SATs in reading, writing and maths are always above the Dorset average and the school’s writing results have been high for the past three years. And by the time they leave the school after Year Four, the pupils are well on their way to achieving good results at Key Stage 2 in middle school.

Mr Withey, who has been a teacher for 36 years and a head for 26, said: “I try to do a solid job to help children from year to year to make sure that school is fun and the children do their best.

“We are a community school and cater for all children. We have lots of children with special needs and from all sorts of backgrounds.

“At the heart of the school everyone does their best and they all try to help and make life as pleasant for everyone else. All the children are encouraged and we do our best to help them all.

“The children are all very enthusiastic and are really well behaved. They are very proud of their school.”

He added: “We have a very experienced group of teachers, many of whom have been here for some time.

They know the community and the children very well.”

The teachers and teaching assistants run a wide selection of after-school clubs for pupils ranging from dance, drumming, film, singing and cooking to ICT, playground games and recorder.

The school also runs breakfast and after school clubs to support parents who need extra child care.

Hillside also boasts the UNICEF Rights Respecting School Award Level 1 and is working towards the next stage.

It also has the Healthy Schools Plus Award.

Children are encouraged to showcase their talents and all classes hold a special assembly for parents each year to share what they have achieved.