A message from the Headteacher

Welcome to Long Wittenham CofE Primary School, a happy and thriving school at the heart of the community. We hold each and every child at the centre of everything we do, and we have exciting plans for the future. At Long Wittenham, we show our love through kindness, determination, and curiosity; strengthening both ourselves and our community. As a Church of England school, we are inclusive of people of any or no faith.  Everyone is warmly welcome in our community.

As a small school, each child is known and respected as an individual within our personalised and nurturing school experience. We are proud of our children, who are a real credit to our school, consistently going above and beyond to support one another. Our curriculum is broad and balanced, rooted in the local community, yet outward-looking and ambitious. Our transition provision for children joining Reception enables families to build strong connections with the staff before starting school, and from then on, we prepare our children for their next steps in education. We aim to instil in them the values and learning behaviours they need to become active citizens in the future. Children who join us from other schools quickly settle in, making lots of friends thanks to the family feel of our school.

We are proud to be a member of Ridgeway Education Trust. Our school benefits in many different ways from being part of a high-performing and successful multi-academy trust. The Trust’s resources allow us to offer specialist teaching in Music and French, providing our children with a rich and high-quality curriculum. Additionally, we receive specialised support for our Maths curriculum, ensuring highly effective teaching and learning and continual professional development for our teachers. Our children benefit from a wide range of extra-curricular activities in collaboration with the other Trust primary and secondary schools, including sport, music, reading for pleasure, and leadership activities. We also benefit from central support in finance, human resources, and premises management, which allows us to maintain incredibly low staff-to-pupil ratios - comparable to, or better than, those found in local private schools. These are just a few of the many opportunities made possible through being part of RET.

A new state-of-the-art school is coming soon as part of the Community Development Plan, and we are in the final stages of the legal documentation being drawn up.  We are so grateful to all the community members working hard to push this forward. This building will be carbon-neutral and unlike any other in the area, featuring expansive outdoor spaces, high-ceilinged classrooms with plenty of natural light, and a location within the new community hub, closely connected to the pre-school and village hall. 

If you are considering our school for your child, please call the school office to make an appointment and we would be happy to welcome you to our wonderful school, where you can meet our staff team and see the children at work and play.

Gillian Fraser
Headteacher