AT most schools the arrival of a new pupil is the highlight of the week for the other children in the class.

But at Hillside primary in Leeds, youngsters no longer bat an eyelid. New arrivals are now almost as routine as the literacy hour.

The school has the highest pupil turnover in Leeds, reflecting one of the most transitory catchment areas in the country. And headteacher Sarah Balfour has put special policies in place to deal with the changes.

She said: “Since September we have lost 52 children and 69 have joined out of a total school population of 250. Add those together and we are talking about a 50 per cent turnover in two terms. It could well be up to 75 per cent by the end of the school year,” she says.

The character of the Beeston housing estate around the school provides a clue to the enormous challenge it is facing. Closely packed, slightly dilapidated, back-to-back houses carry adverts in their windows for bedsits to rent. There is a hostel for the homeless round the corner.

The cheap, short-term rental properties are often the first place families come to when they arrive in Leeds. Many move on quickly.

Now the children of asylum seekers are also arriving at Hillside.

Ms Balfour did not have a clue about the catchment area when the school opened in 1995. She soon realised just how vital the skill of remembering pupils’ names would become.

“It’s really important for the children that we know who they are,” she said.

One class of 24 has lost nine pupils and gained another nine since September. Some children leave, only to return a few months later.

The constant changes can make life difficult for staff while the lack of stability is not conducive to producing good examination results.

Fewer than half the pupils who took national tests at 11 last year were at Hillside four years earlier to take key stage 1 tests.

“It is hard to judge what effect Hillside has had on their results, but these figures appear on the tables,” says Ms Balfour, who admits last year’s results were not good. “It is a big challenge to the teachers. They have to prepare better for new children and they have to integrate them into the class.”

The school has two learning mentors who liaise with the pupils’ previous schools to get records and assess their maths and literacy when they arrive.

They “buddy up” with new pupils in the playground on their first day and show them around the school.

“There are all sorts of challenges. They have often missed work, or the work they have done in previous schools does not follow on. A significant number of families have experienced trauma. We work really hard to make them feel that they belong,” says Ms Balfour.

Learning mentor Sidique Khan believes Hillside has adapted well in developing special policies for new pupils. “A lot of them have said this is the best school they have been to,” he says.

But Mr Khan, who lives in Beeston, believes it will still be years before government regeneration cash transforms the area.