Those dark day days are over

NYTHE Primary has come a long way since the dark days of Government inspections and closure threats.

When headteacher Debbie Kalynka arrived 18 months ago, the school was in "serious weaknesses" and losing pupils fast.

Today the school is flourishing under the new leadership, celebrating being ranked among the nation's top five per cent improvers.

In addition, league tables published last week show it is the sixth best primary school in Swindon.

Mrs Kalynka remains modest, insisting credit is given to the people behind the scenes, including parents.

Five years ago, parent power successfully prevented the school from closing due to dwindling numbers.

Three years later the Nythe Action Group or NAG came to the rescue yet again to prevent another closure bid.

She said: "The parents have been extremely supportive and have been crucial to improving things at Nythe.

"I knew the situation when I took the post and I wanted to get everybody on board so we all knew we were working in the same direction.

The headteacher, who entered the profession in 1977, also praised the work of her predecessor Creighton Muirhead, who joined the school on a 12-month loan from Ruskin Junior School.

Mr Muirhead took charge in April 2001 after Jan Chapple retired on health grounds.

Mrs Kalynka said: "Everybody has worked tremendously hard to turn things around and we have done it we just have to maintain that and keep going forward."

In the past 18 months radical changes have been implemented.

Just one teacher who was on the payroll when the school was first put in special measures back in 1998 remains.

"I was looking for a team that would work well together," said Mrs Kalynka.

"There had been a lot of changes and some people felt that they could not take any more upheaval.

"The staff all knew what I wanted to happen and we started to put the plan into action."

To help ease the pressure, Mrs Kalynka taught three days a week, which she says allowed her to see the problems from the ground as well as get to know both teachers and pupils better.

Although core subjects maths, English and science were focused on most, the school has encouraged growth in other areas.

Mrs Kalynka said: "Every member of staff has a club or society that he or she runs.

"The list is growing and includes computers, football, netball, gardening and model making.

"The children are delightful and have responded really well to the changes. They are keen to learn and their behaviour is not an issue."

There are currently 141 pupils on the books. But Mrs Kalynka is determined for the school not to become a victim of its own success.

"Strangely, I think the fact that the school is so small allowed it to improve quickly," she said.

"The average class has 25 or 26 pupils, compared to 30 in other schools. This is something that attracts parents.

"Nythe Primary feels like a village school with everybody knowing each other. This is rather unusual in a town and we don't want to lose that element."

Mother-of-three Debbie Black, 39, of Broadmead Walk, is the chairman of Friends of Nythe, a fundraising group committed to improving standards at the school. Its splinter group Nythe Action Group (NAG) successfully fought education chiefs twice to keep the school open.

She said: "We think the transformation has been marvellous. The atmosphere in the playground has improved significantly and the school just seems generally brighter.

"Parents are now encouraged to play a role and are often invited to the school to attend assemblies.

"Mrs Kalynka has brought in many extra-curricular activities, which has made a big difference. The children are all a lot happier.

"It was extremely disheartening for everybody concerned when there was talk of closures. We were fighting one battle after another. But it's all changed now."

Kevin Shoesmith