ABSTRACT
Temple Primary School emerged from the amalgamation in 1997 of two very separate Infant and Junior schools. There are about 460 pupils, including nursery children, twenty full-time staff and a large team of part-time teachers, language support staff, nursery nurses and classroom assistants. They work in old buildings that are rapidly disintegrating; however, a new building is planned to open in 2001. Ninety-five per cent of the pupils speak English as an additional language. The majority are of IslamicPakistani descent, but there are usually fifteen to twenty nationalities and even more languages represented at any one time. Another key feature of the pupil population is the very high level of pupil turnover. Before 1998, Key Stage 2 National Curriculum National Test results had been consistently below national averages, and the raising of standards in the core subjects was the main issue addressed by the Headteacher upon amalgamation.
