BUDGET problems hit Kingdown School in Warminster earlier than most and the school is now getting back on its feet after a four-year struggle.

Headteacher Shelagh Brown, who admitted she was close to quitting over financial problems two years ago, said the school is now heading out of the red.

She said: "We have operated with a deficit budget for the past four years because funding has been fairly grim in Wiltshire for many years.

"This year is the best budget we have had for many years. We are still a little bit in deficit but we should be balancing by the end of this year."

Mrs Brown believes the funding problem is a 'swings and roundabouts' situation for most schools in the area.

She said: "The problems hit us a couple of years ago and since then we have been making that up, now it seems to be hitting other schools."

The school, which has 1,400 pupils, has even increased staffing levels for September, hiring three extra teachers.