STAFF who want to sustain the future of a village school have been promoting the benefits of a smaller school.

St Weonards Primary School currently has 26 pupils but the the school has the capacity for more than 100.

Jacky Barley, school business manager, said: "We want to share with everyone what a good school we are. We have got a good Ofsted. We have got small classes.

"We have three classes at the moment and the teacher to pupil ratio is very low."

There are currently seven children in key stage one with a full time teacher and a teaching assistant.

Ms Barley said there are a variety of reasons why pupil numbers have decreased, including some families moving away from the area.

The school has been part of the Herefordshire Marches Federation of Academies for three years, which gives the school access to other facilities and also to sporting events.

Ms Barley said: "It works really well for us. For example, we never had a caretaker before. But now we can have one from the federation for once a week."

Headteacher Maggi Newton is also headteacher at Marden Primary Academy, while three teachers and one teaching assistant work at St Weonards.

As the school has a kitchen, hot meals are cooked on the premises for pupils at St Weonards and also at Llangrove.

The school's last Ofsted was in June 2013 and it was rated good overall.