Since the Rickstones School opened in Witham a quarter of a century ago it has moved with the times.

Foreign exchange programmes have been set up, the school has become grant maintained and gained specialist status as a performing arts college.

In 1977 Rickstones opened with 14 staff and 150 pupils, but now the Conrad Road school can boast 100 staff and a total of 750 pupils.

The school faced serious problems in 1999 when 60 per cent of the teaching accommodation was declared unsafe and teaching had to take place in temporary classrooms.

In this anniversary year, headteacher Terry Canty believes Rickstones has developed with the times in order to provide the best possible education for its pupils.

He said: "You can look at the pictures from 25 years ago to today to see the changes, the photos reflect the development of the school."

"The facilities are much better, the quality of the teaching has improved, and I am proud of the international links we have built up."

Former headteacher, Norma Turner was at the helm for 23 years before she retired in 2000, and Mr Canty said her legacy has lived on.

Mrs Turner was at the forefront of Rickstones' expansion as a grant-maintained school in the middle of the 1990s.

"The school is much more entrepreneurial now, we are a business as well as a school,'' said Mr Canty. ''We now have 55 teaching staff and 45 non-teaching staff."

He said teaching has changed beyond all recognition over the life of the school, with the introduction of more sophisticated methods and the developments made by the national curriculum.

Mr Canty added: "The future is a good one. We will work much more closely with our partner schools and take the mission outside our school."

Published Monday, January 27, 2003

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