GAZETTE & HERALD: Colerne Primary School is having a half day on Fridays to give teachers time to prepare lessons and mark work.

It is the first school in the country to run such a scheme to help staff manage their schedules.

Headteacher Anne Orme said school governors had a legal obligation to balance teachers' work and life.

By September 2005 ten per cent of teaching time must be taken up by planning and assessment, according to Government targets.

"It is all about workforce remodelling in teaching," Mrs Orme said.

"There is a national agreement to try and address the problems of recruitment and retention of teachers."

The school is minimising disruption to parents by introducing an after school club.

The Me 2 Fun Club runs until 3.25pm and costs £5 a week per pupil.

The club, which is seeking charitable status, has begun fund-raising to keep the costs down.

It is being managed by two parents and school governor Megan Jones.

Mrs Jones said: "We will initially be charging £5 a week but we will be raising money to get costs down.

"The support for the club is phenomenal, well above our expectations."

Activities on offer will include drama workshops, circus skills, dancing and specialist rugby and football training.

"Everyone is really excited about it and we are looking forward to all the different activities," said Mrs Jones.

The half days start in September and school will finish at 1.30pm on Fridays.