The headteacher of one of the newest schools in the borough is working behind the scenes to ensure classrooms can open to children in September.

Catherine Davis started her new job with St Mary’s Hampton Primary School this week and will have her hands full getting the school up to scratch for a registration inspection by Ofsted in June.

She said: “It’s really a very exciting time for all of us.

“From my point of view I am really looking forward to getting the work that needs to be done to get ready for us to open and being able to establish a primary school with the vision and values we have in mind.

“The summer term is going to be amazingly busy.”

Miss Davis, who studied music and education at Homerton College, Cambridge, will recruit staff and oversee building work, which is due to start in May, at the site in Oldfield Road, Hampton.

More than 100 parents have named the free school as one of their six preferences and Miss Davis was expecting a full intake of 30 pupils in September.

Miss Davis led Trinity Church of England School in Devizes through a programme of improvement, expansion and relocation.

She said: “I am actually pulling on these experiences but with the excitement really of starting from scratch. I am very pleased to be here and also looking forward to it all.”

Proposers, St Mary’s Parish Church and parents were given the go ahead by the Department for Education to redevelop the Oldfield Centre for the new school, which will cater for 210 children aged four to 11.

The small family school will have a Christian ethos but be open to all faiths and hopes to provide a supportive and well-rounded learning environment.