On 1 September 1960 Sarah Diane Ellison commenced duties as head mistress of South Marston School and immediately a series of improvements began:
1961: Electric light was installed in the classrooms
1961: A staffroom, store and cloakroom were completed.
1961: The dividing wall between girls’ and boys’ playgrounds was removed and the entire area resurfaced. Segregated playtime became a thing of the past.
1963: The old gas fittings were removed.
1967: The school field was fenced.
1967: A further extension of cloakroom and toilets.
1967: The school also became the proud owner of a television set. Sadly, it was stolen during a break-in in 1971 but was quickly replaced.
1970: The old fuel stoves were finally removed, electric storage heaters installed and insulation added to the ceilings of the classrooms.
1971: A new mobile classroom was installed in the playground to accommodate the infants.
1974: The school was connected to mains sewerage
In addition to the popular country dancing festivals, the choir began to compete in the Wiltshire Music Festival. Another annual event was the carol service held at Wootton Bassett Church. Plays and concerts were performed in school with parents invited to attend. Harvest Festival was celebrated annually and the gifts of flowers, fruit and vegetables were auctioned or sold back to parents with the proceeds being sent to various charities.
School visits became more regular, with children enjoying trips to the Roman Baths at Bath, Bristol Zoo, Cheddar Caves, Bradford-upon-Avon and London by train, amongst many others. Swimming lessons at Highworth Baths were first recorded in 1968 and these were to continue weekly in the summer term. In 1969, the children were invited to look around “Raniket”, the house built by Alfred Williams, in connection with the Alfred Williams Festival.
The log book entry for 7 April 1973 records the school’s Centenary Celebrations – an exhibition of children’s work, folk and maypole dancing in the playground and then a further official Centenary Celebration on 25 June 1973 when parents and managers were invited to school for the presentation of Centenary mugs.
Sarah Ellison resigned in July 1974, having overseen an era of great change, both to school amenities and to enrichment activities for the children.