Schools/colleges

A Staines prep school teacher is celebrating the first anniversary of her online creative learning service by launching a competition to find a superstar artist.

French teacher Claire Eastaugh set up Creat&Wait - a free service designed to encourage fun and imaginative learning - last year and its success has prompted her into launching a drive to encourage budding young artists to show off their work.

The head teacher of Staines Preparatory School claims that league tables are not the best way to judge the merits of a school, despite his school having risen 100 places in the Sunday Times's annual Parent Power league tables since last year.

The tables, which feature the UK's top 250 indepedent prepartory schools, ranked Staines Prep 108 in this year's table published November 16, up from 208 last year.

Head at the Gresham Road school, Peter Roberts, said: "No league tables based on tests alone reflect the true value of schools, especially when some schools do not do the tests.

Private Lee Williamson, 20, from Staines, has won an award after finishing his army training.

He passed the tough, six month-long Combat Infantryman's Course at the Infantry Training Centre in Catterick, North Yorkshire, and was named as top of the class.

With the title of England's most improved school 2004-2007 to live up to, Matthew Arnold pupils were under pressure to perform.

The Kingston Road, Staines, school earned the accolade in January and head teacher Jackie Pearson was delighted they managed to keep up their high standards this year, with 63% achieving five A*-C.

THE owners of Roslin Nursery in Rookery Road, Staines are planning an expansion.

The nursery, which was established in 1990, has submitted plans to Spelthorne Council to increase its capacity from 40 to 55 children and extend the building to incorporate a range of new features.

PUPILS from Buckland Primary School, Laleham, pored over books during a visit to Books Etc in Staines on Thursday last week.