WHEN Annabel Goodman bought the New Elizabethan School a year ago there were just 12 pupils on roll.

Now there are 32, with more due to start next term.

It has been an exciting, eventful and busy year for the mother-of-two, who is clearly passionate about ensuring all children have the right to an education that is right for them.

"So many of the children here had been written off by the education system, either because of their learning abilities or behaviour, and many had missed months or even years of schooling," she said.

"That is just not acceptable. Every child deserves an education, it is just about finding what is right for that child and engaging them."

In her work as a barrister in youth courts Miss Goodman has seen many young people who have slipped into crime through a lack of education.

"Many are illiterate and do not attend school," she said.

"I want to reach out to these young people and try to offer them a way of getting the education they need and deserve. It is so sad that society is letting these young people slip through the net."

Miss Goodman bought the Hartlebury school in January last year after it was threatened with closure. She had struggled to find a school that could cater for the needs of her severely dyslexic son, and was reluctant to let this one go.

And since taking over the school she said her son, along with all the other children at the school, had thrived and were now beginning to learn and achieve.

"The progress that the pupils here make is incredible," she said.

"Many who struggled to read and write are now able to do those things and the pupils are enjoying school, which is crucial."

One of the major successes of the school over the past year has been its accreditation from the Dore Foundation.

The school now includes the Dore Programme as a compulsory element of its education.

The programme aims to stimulate parts of the brain that prevent an individual from being able to carry out certain tasks and is used largely on those with dyslexia, dyspraxia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or attention deficit disorder.

It is essentially a gym work-out for the brain, using exercises such as juggling, balancing on a ball and standing on one leg while throwing and catching a bean bag.

"The Dore Programme has been an important part of developing the school," Miss Goodman said.

"We are setting up a special Dore centre at the school.

"The programme has had a marked impact on the pupils and is enabling them to do many tasks that they were once unable to do. It has been really fantastic."

Another success has been the on-going expansion of the school. There are now two primary classes, with a third opening next term. "We are growing all the time," Miss Goodman added.

"We have capacity for 100 children in the school. We have about another dozen starting next term, so we are getting there."

Miss Goodman is now taking on local authorities and the Government in an attempt to give more children the chance to attend the New Elizabethan School.

Most of the children at the school have a Statement of Educational Needs, which entitles them to extra support and funding.

"It is a local authority's duty to provide that help.

"It angers me when local authorities will fork out sometimes as much as £25,000 a year getting that extra help elsewhere, while still sending the child to mainstream school, but they won't agree to send them here, even at the request of parents, when our fees are less than half of what they are spending," she said.

There are just two children at the school who are funded by their local authority. The fees at the school are about £6,000 a year.

"One little girl who comes here three days a week had missed two years of school," Miss Goodman said. "The local authority refused to fund her, and her parents were unable to afford it.

"But with a bursary from the school and help from a charity she was able to come here."

"I have to persuade local authorities and the Government that it is not appropriate to disperse funds in the way that they do and to invest in the good things that we are doing here," she added.

A BBC documentary charting the past year at the New Elizabethan School will be shown next month.

A film crew has been following the progress of the school over the past 12 months.

The documentary will be shown as part of a series called Wonderland on Wednesday, March 5, at 9.50pm on BBC 2.

Producer Tim Green said: "We thought this was a really fascinating tale and so we decided we wanted to make a programme about the school and what would prompt someone to buy their child's school."

* The school is seeking new members of staff to join its dedicated team. Positions are available for teachers, teaching assistants and learning support. Contact the school for more information on 01299 250258.