HOLBETON Primary School has welcomed a new head for the new academic year.

Jackie Rundle was in post to greet pupils as they returned after the summer holidays, and said she was ’thrilled and inspired’ by the way the community had got involved to help spruce up the school.

Enthusiastic parents and friends of the school had given many areas a new coat of paint, while Flete Estate owners Anthony and Anne Mildmay-White continued their longstanding support by sending in a work force to help in the overgrown garden.

A recent opening to the public of Mothecombe gardens also raised £885 for the school.

The start of the year has gone swimmingly under the new head’s leadership, pupils taking advantage of the continuing warm weather until recently to use the school pool every day. New arrivals got to wear their school sweaters for the first time, having had an introduction to primary life during trips to the primary last year.

Jackie Rundle said: ’I am so thrilled and inspired by so much support in the community. My aim is to help every individual pupil relish their time here and benefit from learning in this unique environment.

’It is so important for our children to both enjoy the water and be safe.’

Holbeton school is in the heart of the Flete estate, enjoying access to Mothecombe beach and all the other benefits of its location in the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.