"Having been brought up in the heart of London surrounded by traffic, pollution, blocks of flats and more blocks of flats, to an eight-year-old-child it was heaven and I couldn't wait to start my new school."These are not the words you would expect to hear from a little girl about to move away from her parents, home and family.

Most children hate going to school, especially a new one, but then The Mulberry Bush school in Standlake is like no other.

Competition for the 36 places is furious because social services all over the country know that it is a one-off and the closest thing to a normal life the children they send there are going to get.

There is no waiting list because the children referred to the school are already in a desperate state and need immediate accommodation.

As director Richard Rollinson says: "We are taking on five extra children this month and, yes, there is a huge need for this sort of facility.

"Sadly, many children do not get the chance to come because their local authorities have very tight budgets so are unable, or unwilling to refer them."

The Mulberry Bush is for children with severe behavioural problems. They can expect to stay there for three or four years before they are returned to their homes, schools and communities, equipped to deal with life, complete their education and maintain or form successful relationships.

It is hard to quantify 'behavioural difficulties' but these children have suffered during their childhoods, often from abuse and usually from neglect, both emotionally and physically.

The harder they are to handle, the worse they behave and so the circle escalates out of control, until they get to The Mulberry Bush.

The school was a lifeline for Liz Mundy. Her partner - the father of her two children - left when her son, David, was just four years old. From then on he changed into an abusive, uncontrollable child.

In the end, Liz was advised by his school that they couldn't cope with him any longer. He was not learning anything because he was so disruptive and his behaviour was beginning to affect the other pupils.

Liz explains: "David was trying to protect me and his sister by acting as head of the family and being the man.

"The problem was that this followed through at school where he felt he had to take over, with both the pupils and the staff."

Liz, 49, was at her wits' end when she heard about The Mulberry Bush from a friend and contacted the school immediately.

Mr Rollinson agreed that the school would be able to help David, and Liz managed to persuade her local authority to pay the fees. David started there when he was nine years old.

Liz remembers: "He came home on visits every four weeks and at first found it hard to understand where he fitted in, but he soon got used to it. He could talk to the staff at The Mulberry Bush about stuff he couldn't tell me and eventually said he had all these angry thoughts racing around in his head without having the words to describe how he felt."

When David returned home after three years he was a changed child. Now aged 13, he has spent two years at secondary school, where he has fitted in easily.

Janet was eight years old when she was sent by her mother to The Mulberry Bush. She had been in a succession of children's homes after her parents split up and then moved in with her father and his new girlfriend.

She was a deeply unhappy child, so when she heard she was being sent to the school, she was delighted.

Now a mother of two she says what she learnt at the school has enabled her to deal with adult life, put the past behind her and bring up her children properly.

She says: "Each child at The Mulberry Bush was treated individually, and was made to feel special. The staff were exceptional, they moulded to our special needs, without letting us get the idea that we could get away with being naughty or nasty to another person, be it adult or child.

"I was made to feel loved and cared for, and not just someone that they had to look after because they were being paid to do so."

The bottom line is trust, as Richard Rollinson says: "The first thing we need to do is establish good relationships for the first time in these children's lives and it's these relationships that let them trust and make the world suddenly seem more reliable.

"Although they are relatively young they have already had a lifetime of negative experiences." It costs around £70,000 a year for each of the pupils aged five to 12 years old, which is paid by the local authorities, half the amount of a detention centre or child protection unit. But any extra money for new equipment, school trips or modernisation relies on fundraising.

Some of the school's most ardent supporters are in rehabilitation at The Ley Community in Yarnton, for former drug and alcohol addicts.

Mr Rollinson has huge respect for these supporters, who raised £2,000 by running the Reading half marathon last year. A team of 16 is taking part in the Tewkesbury half marathon in May.

He says: "It is a lot harder for grown-ups to address their problems, which is why members of The Ley Community, who have had the same childhood experiences without the same support from The Mulberry Bush, end up there.

"I think it's brilliant that The Ley recognises that if they had had our support they may not be where they are today and are supporting us for that very reason. It shows great insight."

The Mulberry Bush, which first opened in 1948, is involved in an enormous building programme involving updating the classrooms, administration areas and family rooms, for which additional funding is needed.

Liz sums up the vital nature of any fundraising perfectly: "If I won the Lottery, the school would get the whole lot."

Anyone wishing to sponsor a Ley Community runner can call 01865 378600.