DROVE Primary School has been hailed as a national example of how to reach out to the local community.

The school has been nominated for outstanding community involvement in the first ever Times Educational Supplement awards.

Headteacher Nick Capstick and his team will head to London in June for the awards ceremony.

Mr Capstick said: “This nomination is wonderful as far as the school is concerned.

“This is the pinnacle of all the work we have done.

“We have moved from being an ordinary school to what schools minister Ed Balls called a community school for the 21st century. It is everything we wanted it to be.”

Drove children did well in their Key Stage 2 results with 79 per cent getting required grades in English, 81 per cent in maths, and 87 per cent in science.

Children at the primary speak nearly 30 different languages and Drove runs Saturday morning classes in English to promote integration.

Mr Capstick decided to introduce the lessons to help children whose second language is English, as the school caters for multi-cultural families.

South Swindon MP Anne Snelgrove is pleased Drove has been recognised nationally.

She said: “I know Government ministers Ed Balls and Jim Knight were blown away by the work the school does with the local community when they visited. Drove is also receiving high Sat results. I wish Nick and the team all the best and hope they do well, as they really deserve it.

“All the staff work as a team and put in a huge amount of work, which I think is the secret of their success.”

Mr Capstick said: “We have had a fantastic year, with the two visits from Government ministers and our best Sats results ever. The type of community we serve is known as being traditionally difficult to engage.

“Achieving this has been dead easy as I am surrounded by people who are brilliant at what they do. Everyone I work with makes a significant difference to all of the community.”

The Times Educational Supplement’s awards for England and Wales cover categories measuring schools’ success in literacy and numeracy, among other factors.