DURING the eight decades it has spent educating the town's children, its dedication to the community has not faltered.

Witney Community Primary School has built strong relationships with families, charities and surrounding schools to share practice and improve provision for pupils.

This year the 200-pupil school in Hailey Road celebrates its 80th year, and parent fundraisers are set to stage a 1930s-themed fete this month to mark the occasion.

Headteacher Jill Meyer said: "The Friends are fabulous at supporting the school and at present are raising funds to pay for developing outdoor play equipment for children."

Reading is a key focus of the school, which is supported by volunteer readers as well as Oxfordshire charity Bookfeast.

The latter's Lunchboox Club at the school is sponsored by the Witney Educational Foundation (WEF) Trust, a charity that supports schools in the Witney Partnership.

The partnership is a collaborative group between schools in Witney and surrounding villages.

WEF Trust is also supporting a Witney Town Council project, challenging schools to create a mosaic each to commemorate 100 years since the First World War ended.

Mrs Meyer is proud of the school's facilities including 'extensive grounds', a gardening area and forest school run by Mandy Warwick.

Pupils also get to enjoy the on-site swimming pool, with lessons taken by Water Babies and a free 10 weeks of swimming each year.

The school has now set its sights on creating a sports track for pupils to complete their daily exercise, as one of the first schools in Oxfordshire to champion the Daily Mile challenge.

Mrs Meyer said: "We promote all subjects to enrich and extend the children's curriculum, allowing all children to succeed and even excel in an area of the wider curriculum, as well as core subjects."

She praised her specialist team of staff such as PE teacher Tina Hepworth, music teacher Lizzie Soden and 'mastery' maths teacher Sam Hudson Shaw.

Miss Soden takes many pupils' piano lessons and the Music for Schools Foundation provides woodwind lessons.

Children can attend the site from age two after childminder Carrie Currell set up preschool provision there.