The Village School at the Heart of a Thriving City

There is an old saying that claims ‘It takes a village to raise a child’, and we at Swaythling Primary School believe that there is a lot of truth in that.

When you take a tour of the school, and soak up the calm, purposeful learning environment, you would be forgiven for thinking that you were in a rural village location. The building was constructed at the turn of the last century on what was then farmland, and despite the aggressive development that has gone on elsewhere in Southampton, Swaythling has somehow managed to retain that small village feel.

Being a small school-helps. We only have 130 families; just one class per year group. The strength of the relationship with our families is a key characteristic of the school. We have a thriving parents’ association who organise a fete on the front lawn every summer, run hugely popular Bingo evenings, to raise funds for the enrichment activities we feel are important for children’s development, but most importantly, break down barriers between staff and parents so that we can work together to secure future success for your child. Many of our parents (and even some of the grandparents!) were pupils here themselves, and are fiercely determined to secure a Swaythling education for their own child.

We have managed to hold onto many of the traditional elements of education you may remember from your own schooldays. We still run lots of educational visits, we have a thriving musical programme which has produced musicians of real talent, we take regular trips to the Nuffield Theatre, and encourage the children to involve themselves in the youth drama groups, as well as having several theatre performances in the School Hall every year. Our children participate in competitive sport, and regularly give much bigger schools a real run for their money!

It’s also true that that time does not stand still and have embraced the best of what modern life has to offer. We are well-equipped with ICT equipment, and have a range of home-learning opportunities that mean the children can extend their learning beyond the normal school day. Our breakfast and after school club mean that we offer wrap around care at the school from 7.30 in the morning to 5.45 in the evening, for those parents whose busy working lives require this option.

You know your child better than anyone else; for some a larger, busier school will be what you and your child are looking for- these will inevitably have some opportunities and facilities that we cannot hope to offer. For other children, a small, friendly, genuine community school will be the perfect environment in which to thrive educationally and personally. If you think this might be the case for your own child, call the Office and make an appointment to see the school, meet the Headteacher and see for yourself Swaythling Primary; the village school at the heart of a thriving city.