MORE than 100 pupils marked a moment in history as they flooded through the gates of a new Oxford school.

The six ‘very excited’ teachers at the temporary Swan School site rallied together to welcome the first cohort of Year 7 pupils today, dressed in fresh uniforms for their very first day.

It was the first time in more than 55 years that a completely new school has opened in the city, and headteacher Kay Wood said the reaction had been ‘overwhelmingly positive.’

Oxford Mail:

She said: “I am hugely excited, it now feels like a real school.

“Everybody has come past and commented on it, even members of the public.

“It’s a historic landmark and we are keen to learn from excellent schools. We just know we are going to work really hard to make this excellent.”

More from the Swan School in Oxford:

The school has started life in mobile classrooms on fields at The Cherwell School’s South Site, in Marston Ferry Road.

Pupils expect to be there for up to two years before moving to the academy’s permanent site further along the road, at the former Harlow Centre, where construction is ongoing.

The Swan School is run by the River Learning Trust, which also runs The Cherwell School and many other Oxfordshire academies.

Waving an emotional goodbye to her son for the day, mum Charlie Floyd said she was ‘more than excited’.

She explained that she wanted her son to be in a smaller school, and that the Swan School was perfect as there were just 120 places in the first intake.

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She said: “I think this is going to be the best school in Oxford.

“I am more than excited. My son chose this school all along, by himself. He was reading all the articles about it. It’s just amazing and he’s part of its history.

“It’s all super exciting and has a big thumbs-up from me.”

Oxford Mail:

Science teacher Jess Shakespeare was a teacher at Cherwell for 10 years, before joining the team at the Swan.

She said: “It’s very different. It’s very, very rare that you can design and make a whole new curriculum from scratch, and that’s what we’ve been able to do – so hopefully it will be amazing.”

The school day starts at 9.15am, slightly later than is usual, and ends later at 4.45pm, except on Fridays.