LYING hidden between the A34 and rolling fields, North Hinksey Primary does not feel as if it is just a few miles from the centre of Oxford.

And, according to headteacher of seven years Sally Wheatley, once you come to the school, you never want to leave.

She said: “It is a fantastic community. It is small enough for every child to be known well by every member of staff, and for us to reach the parents and involve them in life at the school.

“Children who start here settle down very quickly.

“They are very socially aware, and the school helps them to feel part of a community, both friendly and open.

“The children feel very safe and secure.”

A church school, North Hinksey has fostered strong links with St Lawrence in the village, and SS Peter and Paul in Botley. When the Church of England’s The National Society last inspected the school, it labelled it “outstanding”.

The inspectors said: “Pupils have acquired a considerable sense of self-worth which underpins the way they value and support each other.

“They also respect the dedicated care and concern the adults show towards them.

“It is a caring, kind community with a strong sense of social responsibility.”

The Rev Anthony Rustell visits fortnightly, delivering an assembly and working with individual classes.

He also runs a philosophy group on Monday afternoons as part of ‘Happy Hour-ish’, so named because it lasts just 50 minutes.

During the weekly sessions, parents with any skills they can share, from felt-making to drama, come into the school to run classes for children.

Mrs Wheatley said: “The children love it.”

Over the past three years, the school has changed the way lessons are planned to focus on cross-curricular skills.

Mrs Wheatley said: “We have different set skills each term, for example asking questions, finding answers, and using information.

“We use these and develop them in every area of the curriculum.

“If children are doing theme work on space, they might spend time developing their own questions and doing their own research to answer them.

“They are really important skills they need to acquire for adult life, and they can apply equally to English, Science or Maths.”

Ofsted inspectors noted the effects of the new curriculum when they last visited in 2009, a year after it was introduced.

The inspectors reported that it had “several excellent elements” as subjects were drawn together under topics and themes to “enhance pupils’ interest and enjoyment”.

Mrs Wheatley said academic standards were high and improving, with 45 per cent of children getting the higher Level Five grades in English and Maths at Key Stage Two last year.