Titchfield Primary School has begun to really make its mark in the Fareham area. In the summer of 1999 our Year 6 children, who were about to leave us to start their secondary education, produced Titchfield's best ever set of SATs results. This earned us the accolade of "the most improved school in the Fareham and Gosport area".

This strong upward trend in the performance of our school has made it attractive to new parents and numbers are growing with 173 children currently on roll, rising to 180 in September.

The energy and enthusiasm from teachers and children is almost tangible as you enter the school in its lovely wooded setting. The buildings have been completely refurbished within the last two years making each classroom and working space a warm and friendly place.

One of the most exciting and ongoing projects is the development of our millennium trail around the school. The mature grounds offer a landscape structure that provides a wonderful environment for children to enjoy.

Early in 1999 the idea of an environmental trail was proposed and the new project was put in the general care of teacher Claire Frampton, working with Fareham Borough Council, with additional valuable advice and guidance from one of the school governors, Barry Duffin, who is also the warden of Titchfield Haven Nature Reserve. Volunteers and a group of willing parents carved out the woodland path and glade and were able to reinstate some part of the sensory garden. The construction of the trail has been completed with the help of the children and a wild flower garden planted that should bring results in spring this year.

The "mole maze" sculpture was built from willow branches and the "counting caterpillar" among others, is very popular, adding an extra dimension to numeracy skills in Key Stage 1.

The next target is the pond area, where a bog garden has already been created and there are plans to extend the dipping platform.

Two of our Key Stage 2 classes entered the county millennium song competition. They wrote the lyrics and composed their own music. The song, A Whole New Future, reached the final 12 and will be included in the county children's songbook and recorded onto CD.

We have a thriving Friends of Titchfield association who organise a range of social and fundraising events.

The annual strawberry fayre held on the last Saturday of June is always a huge success, well supported by parents and local residents. To mark the new millennium, a skilful mum, Mrs Dale, has sewn together a quilt made up of squares decorated by the children, staff, other adults and organisations associated with the school.

Although Titchfield is a small school, we are very busy. Everyone regularly takes part in a variety of community events as well as working hard on everyday curriculum activities.

We have strong links with St Peter's, our local church. The Rev Bill Day, a recently appointed governor, is a regular visitor. His assemblies are magical!

The future for Titchfield is bright and exciting. As headteacher I feel privileged to be part of its successes and in the words of our millennium song: It's a whole new future in a whole new world When new people rise and grow Reach up high and touch the sky "Cos the future's in our hands."

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.