How many balloons does it take to lift up a paper house?

By asking these kind of questions, Pam Ridgwell hopes to turn around a struggling Beddington secondary school.

Your Local Guardian:

Since becoming the headteacher of The Link in March, Miss Ridgwell has been tasked with reversing the fortunes of a school that was rated "requires improvement" by Ofsted a year ago.

One of the more striking tactics has been the introduction of half-termly "topic weeks".

So far the school has had Wild West week and VE Day week. Last week, lessons were themed around the Disney film, Up, which tells the story of a widower flying to South America in a house held up by helium balloons.

Miss Ridgwell said: "I think there is an appreciation that a topic based approach can really help some children. It can be really freeing for them. They're immersed in the subject for a week, so they link it all together."

"The quality of written work is noticeably improved during these weeks and the attendance speaks for itself.

“They were able to talk about things that they did that week. Parents say the children are talking about school more at home."

The Link school aims to meet the needs of pupils who have speech, language and communication difficulties in south London and Surrey.

Your Local Guardian:

Other new measures have included a new logo designed by staff and the introduction of a mandatory uniform.

Looking ahead to the school's next Ofsted inspection, Miss Ridgwell said: "I would hope that they would see a school that's clearly making massive changes, and the hard work that's gone into reviewing and evaluating every aspect of the school."

But the real question - how many balloons does it take to lift up a paper house?

Answer? "It varies!"