NESTLED in a unique village on the edge of North Oxford, Wolvercote Primary School prides itself at being at the heart of its community.

With a less transient population than other parts of the city, generations of parents and children have gone to the same school, giving it a special feel.

Headteacher Anna Ballance said: “The most unique thing about Wolvercote Primary School is that it is a village school in the city.

“Socially, our pupils are more diverse than people realise, but the whole local feel is really important to the school.

“A lot happens out of school hours and at weekends, so we are part of the community.

“We have a close relationship with St Peter’s Church, and the farmers’ market takes place here every Saturday.

“Lots of people in the village are interested in the school, even if their children no longer go here.”

She said the school’s aim was to give youngsters the broadest possible curriculum while keeping standards high.

“Sometimes it is difficult to achieve both, but generally when children are motivated and interested, then standards are going to go up,” added Mrs Ballance.

“What we do well is offer breadth.”

Rated ‘good’ across the board by Ofsted, inspectors said: “Pupils’ outstanding spiritual, moral, social and cultural development enables them to develop a strong sense of right and wrong, and caring for others.”

The school is active in the School Sports Partnership, saying that it “wins what we can” in inter-school competitions.

Music is growing, with a visitor from the county music service teaching samba drumming to children when the Oxford Mail visited.

Forty children play chess, others get interested in business through the enterprise club, and a school newspaper, The Wolvercote Waffler, is produced by the children every half term.

Mrs Ballance added: “The children here are really active and keen to do things.

“Our big focus is trying to get children to take responsibility for their own learning.”

The site, at the heart of Wolvercote village, also presents one of the biggest challenges to the school, which has become a victim of its own popularity.

More and more parents from across North Oxford want to send their children there.

Last year, 16 families in Lower Wolvercote were told there were not enough places for them by Oxfordshire County Council, before the school arranged to make 15 extra foundation stage places.

Council consultation on proposals to reduce the catchment area, to prevent the problem reoccurring, ended on Monday.

But attempts to expand the school have met with obstacles.

The Victorian building cannot easily be expanded, and some governors and parents worry the school’s ethos will be lost if it grows too much.

Parent, PTA chairman, governor, classroom volunteer, teaching assistant, teacher – Karen Donaghey has done just about every job you can do at the same primary school.

After spending her first career working as the marketing manager at Blackwell’s bookshop, she took her PGCE at Oxford Brookes University at 45, and now works as a Year One teacher at the school.

Mrs Donaghey, pictured teaching six-year-old pupil Emily Stott said: “I have had a complete life change. When my children came to the school, I volunteered here, and got more involved in the PTA and as a school governor.

“I remember sitting at a table as a teaching assistant and the head walked past, heard me talking to a child, and said: ‘When are you going to do your PGCE then?’ “If anything, I wish I had done it earlier because it takes a while to get the experience.

“In some ways my last job was quite similar. Marketing is all about dealing with people and so is teaching.

“I think having your own children makes a difference, and I hope that I understand parents.

“The frustrating thing about teaching is that you cannot do all the things you would like to, just in terms of time and money.

“But when you build up a relationship with the children, it is really special.

“I find it quite difficult to hand them over at the end of the year because I have grown so fond of them and watched them progress.

“I love the fact that I live in the community and work in the community.

“I think that is really important, and the school is very much part of the village.”

She urged other people wondering about going into teaching to give it a go.

Head Anna Ballance said it was immediately obvious that Mrs Donaghey should become a teacher.

She said: “She was just hugely creative and always wanting to be involved – so we kept her.“