LOOKING into the city and out to the country is the motto of Chafyn Grove School in Salisbury.

On the edge of the city, the school is perfectly placed to introduce its children to the pleasures, experiences and interests of both the urban and the rural environments.

Chafyn Grove is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for children aged three to 13 years. The school is proud of its academic record, having won 32 scholarships in the last three years.

Facilities include ten acres of playing fields, a new astroturf pitch, 25-metre heated swimming pool, two tennis courts, two squash courts, a sports hall, music school, two libraries, a chapel, creative arts centre, two laboratories and a computer centre.

The school knows that early years education is the foundation on which all future learning is built and is totally committed to giving children the best possible start.

A recent review to ensure that children's diverse needs were being met has resulted in some changes from September 2004.

It may not seem significant, but installing a door between the nursery and reception classes will allow more flexibility in the way children are grouped.

This will enable, for example, a nursery-aged child with a flair for mathematics to join in a maths activity with older children, while reception-aged children needing practice in counting will be able to take part in number games with the younger ones.

However, while recognising the benefits of flexible groupings, the school feels strongly that young children need the security of a class teacher and a group of children with whom they can identify.

Early years children will be organised into three classes and a large part of each day will be spent in these groups.