BROCKENHURST Primary School is celebrating a boost to its budget, and parents and staff are hopeful that their lucky streak will continue and the school's long-awaited pelican crossing will soon follow.

The 211-pupil school in Sway Road has been told it is to get nearly 15 per cent more cash in the coming year, and an increase of 2.5 per cent in the number of pupils.

Hampshire County Council leader Ken Thornber - Brockenhurst's county councillor - has pledged to continue supporting local demands for an upgrade to the safety zone in Sway Road outside the school.

Nina Ball, parish councillor and spokesman for the school's governors said: "These days we keep reading that school budgets are being cut but ours is looking healthy. We seem to be bucking the national trend.

"Our chair of finance has asked me to pass on our gratitude to Hampshire County Council for what we're to receive."

Councillor Thornber, speaking at a parish council meeting in the village hall, said: "For Brockenhurst Primary to get an increase in its roll of 2.5 per cent and an increase in its budget of 14.97 per cent means a handsome difference. I hope this very good school will flourish."

Cllr Thornber also promised to follow up on road safety concerns expressed by parents of pupils at Brockenhurst Primary.

Bollards and coloured surfacing installed last year mark out the crossing used by many of the school's 4-11 year olds, but a couple of near-accidents have led to calls for the crossing to be mechanised.

Surveys by highways officers have shown that the crossing is not busy for enough hours to qualify for a pelican crossing, but Cllr Thornber says it is a vital facility and well-used at school-run time.

"I have been heartened by my discussions with parish councillors and I will do my best for Brockenhurst Primary School. I would like to see a pelican installed here to make the crossing safer," he said.

The school has seen its share of ups and downs in the last few years. In 1999 it topped the league tables in Hampshire, only to be slated by Ofsted in 2000 for "a legacy of decline".

Put into "special measures" - intensive scrutiny by educational officials - the school quickly restored its reputation and won release in 2001.