THERE must be something in the water at Hillbourne School and Nursery in Poole.

Every child, parent and member of staff has a wide smile, a positive attitude and an obvious love for the place.

They certainly haven’t let missing out on a badly needed £8million rebuild get them down. Two years after having vital funding pulled, Hillbourne is holding its own in the league tables.

The 365-pupil school ranks seventh in the borough for English and Maths, with seventy seven per cent of 11-year-olds getting a Level 4 last year.

But it’s the 99.8 per cent ‘value added’ results that mark a child’s progress that school head Keith Taylor is most proud of. This brings Hillbourne up to fourth against other, bigger schools.

Mr Taylor, who joined the school four years ago, said: “People sometimes look at the end product as opposed to the progress the children have made. We’re doing a really good job with the children we’ve got.”

The school – which merged from the First and Middle Schools in 2006 – is split across two outdated 1950s buildings in Kitchener Crescent.

“It was a real disappointment to lose out on our new building,” Mr Taylor said. “But we’re making do.”

The school reshuffle next year, when Year 7s will move to secondary schools, will give them a bit more room.

“Then we hope to bring Years one and two into this building,” Mr Taylor said. “That will help us to feel a little bit more as one. Our children feel happy coming to school. It’s the way we interact with them. We want them to be secure and feel that they are valued.”

The focus is on a welcoming, approachable team, and pupils can choose from a wide selection of clubs – from Rock School to cookery and art to gardening.

Assistant head Andy Hatchard said: “It’s the sense of community togetherness that I love.

“Staff don’t think of themselves but about the children and what’s best for them.”