A TIGHT budget is in operation at The John of Gaunt School in Trowbridge, but the school has managed to avoid redundancies.

It is not running with a financial deficit, which deputy headteacher Roger Gilbert puts down to good financial management.

He said: "The governors have worked extremely hard to ensure we have a balanced budget for 2003-4 without having to make redundancies."

Mr Gilbert said mixed messages from central Government have made the task of balancing budgets a very difficult one. "This year we have had to take on additional costs with increased national insurance contributions and teachers' wages and pensions which have been significantly more than was first indicated even when considered with the increase in funding from local and national Government."

Some slight alterations have been made to the sixth form curriculum but, as the school operates as a part of the sixth form partnership, students can also take advantage of classes offered at the nearby Clarendon School.