LJS Prospectus

Our Big Book of Little Details

Welcome to Laxton Junior School

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to Laxton Junior School (LJS), an independent day school for boys and girls aged 4 to 11 in the heart of Oundle town and an intrinsic part of Oundle School. L JS is a very special school; we champion children, and our core focus is on creating a joyful environment where children’s learning and well-being take center stage. We understand that children flourish when they feel nurtured, safe, and valued as unique individuals and we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to foster such an environment for all our children. We wholeheartedly believe that every child entrusted to us can achieve remarkable progress during their time at LJS. Our dedication to their happiness, growth and success is unwavering.

The development of each child is so much more than their classroom achievements at LJS. Our extended, innovative curriculum of digital literacy, trips and residentials, educational visitors, extra-curricular activities, sporting fixtures, music tuition, charitable fundraising, leadership opportunities and dramatic performances, helps our children develop open minds, see the world through many lenses, have confidence in themselves and ensures their readiness to embrace life beyond Year Six.

Five core values sit at the heart of an LJS education: Care, a Love of Learning, Opportunity, Community and Quality. These resonate throughout everything we do and form the backbone of our daily life. Our values define the character traits we aspire to instil in our children as well as the qualities they will need to succeed and thrive in all aspects of their future lives.

As Head of LJS, my commitment is to cultivate a sensational school underpinned by a culture of ambition and kindness. Our collective, and relentless, goal as a staff is to instil confidence in our children and empower them to approach all aspects of life and learning with self-belief and positivity, knowing that they have a significant contribution to make to not only our community, but the world beyond.

With around 260 pupils, we are a school small enough for everyone to know and look out for each other, but big enough to have great reach and impact. We are proud of the high academic standard of our children, with the vast majority moving up to Oundle School at the end of Year Six.

At LJS we have some wonderful traditions, but we are not traditional in our approach. Indeed, this is not a traditional prospectus, but rather a collection of stories and little details, peppered with thoughts from the children themselves about what makes their life at LJS so special.

I hope to welcome you to LJS soon, so you can experience for yourself the buzz and vibrancy created by a happy, caring and inspired group of children and teaching staff.

Lydia Waller, Head

Our values

A LOVE OF LEARNING

We happily take risks and overcome challenges together, united by a shared motivation to acquire, share and celebrate new knowledge, skills, ideas and expertise.

OPPORTUNITY

We promote positive participation in a wide variety of events and activities, and the development of passions and talents that will last a lifetime.

CARE

We care for each other, ourselves, the community in which we live and learn, and the world around us.

COMMUNITY

We support, contribute to and are inspired by our community, with involvement both encouraged and appreciated.

QUALITY

We have the highest expectations of ourselves and each other in everything we do.

Our original LJS font was created using the wonderful handwriting of Charlotte W, Year 5.

Why our educational philosophy helps children achieve great things…

Children are singularly unique in the way they think and learn and in their passions, talents and dreams. Our educational philosophy holds up a mirror to this belief and reflects it in everything we do. Our culture is shaped by our five values and school mission, and enhanced with an understanding that young minds don’t think in straight lines.

We take time with every single child to understand what makes them happy and how we can harness this in school to engage them whole-heartedly in every lesson and in every activity. Contented children learn better and we encourage each of them to embrace their individual passions and the qualities that make them unique.

How this manifests itself in lessons is that teachers don’t follow a set plan if it doesn’t suit. Learning is not linear. Some children may get stuck for a time, while others make big leaps forward, so lessons are shaped by how pupils react to what they are being taught.

Our teaching staff are simply brilliant at this. If they see a better way to approach a particular topic, they have the expertise to change lessons in the way they see fit. We can do this because we ensure our teachers are highly skilled, adaptable and supported both by remarkable resources and time.

We never under-estimate the importance of time. Our approach to staffing means that we can always give children the attention they need, which in turn builds confidence and resilience, helping them to take risks, to challenge themselves and not fear failure.

The result is children who are inspired by the opportunities they have, who have the confidence to learn from mistakes and who ultimately develop real mastery of their subjects.

Their work, proudly displayed around the school, reflects this. At the beginning of each year, the walls and spaces of our school start out as a blank canvas, and then our children bring this to life with the fabulous things they have created and learned.

We often say that to understand the standard and breadth of education LJS offers, you need to come and look at what hangs on our walls. It’s truly inspirational.

Our mission

Throughout your child’s time with us, they will be encouraged to develop key characteristics that will set them up for life. We want our children to be:

CONFIDENT AND RESILIENT

Where a love of learning ensures challenges are embraced and obstacles are overcome.

KIND AND RESPECTFUL

Where the development of social and emotional skills ensures all relationships are positive and caring.

OPEN-MINDED AND WELL-ROUNDED

Where all opportunities, whether new or challenging or preferred, are embraced with enthusiasm.

COLLABORATIVE AND INDEPENDENT

Where the knowledge of how to work together, both within and beyond the school community, is balanced with a strong sense of who they are and what they can achieve as an individual.

How we instil a love of learning

There’s no such thing as a typical lesson at Laxton Junior School. Every class can take many twists and turns as we respond to how our children are learning a topic.

We adapt our responsive teaching to suit every class, every child, every day. It allows children to master subjects and to delve deeply into topics that fascinate them, and this in turn creates a love of learning.

Our curriculum is bespoke, exciting and constantly adapting. When we start a topic, it will often be taught across many disciplines, from English to Art, from Drama to Science, so our children get to discover it from every possible perspective.

The result is they get a true sense of the whole picture as well as a thorough understanding of the details. It also means that no matter what the topic, they’ll discover it in a way that inspires them and plays to their strengths.

While learning at LJS is always fun, it is not always easy, and nor should it be; the perfect amount of challenge ensures great progress can be made. We know that instilling a love of learning in our children must include the building of a resilience that will empower them to achieve, no matter the challenges they face.

Our children are encouraged to meet new learning experiences with confidence and are given tailored support that ensures if at first they don’t succeed, they have the determination and positivity needed to keep going until they do!

TAKING THE CLASSROOM OUTSIDE

It’s not just in the classrooms where our children love to learn: we have a Woodland Garden area where we spend time every week learning outdoors. And this area is not just used on dry, sunny days. Our children are out there in all weathers, with their wellies and waterproofs on!

“When I was on holiday, I saw a beautiful yellow bird. Mrs Ashby helped me search for it and we found out it was a yellowhammer, and made one out of clay. Mine’s called Tommy but he’s a bit thin. I think he might have been on a diet!”

ROSIE, YEAR 5

“We went on a treasure hunt in the Woodland Garden, and we had to get a key from a crocodile! We had a pirate lunch too, with sausages, sandwiches and grog. We sang pirate songs and danced, painted pirates and made treasure maps look old using tea.”

HAMISH AND MADELEINE, RECEPTION

Reception Learning through play

What fabulous adventures there are every day in Reception! Whether it’s a treasure hunt dressed as pirates or watching butterflies emerge from their pupae, there’s always something to fire the children’s imaginations and send them off down all sorts of new paths of discovery.

No two days are the same in Reception, because it’s a time when children quite simply fall in love with learning, finding out about new things and mastering new skills. Because they are so inquisitive and keen to learn, we encourage them to play purposefully, yet independently: they choose the resources they need for their own particular games or projects, and we help them by channelling all that fizzing enthusiasm in to something constructive.

Our Reception children have their own indoor space, along with an outdoor area unique to them. During selfinitiated free play sessions, they can zip between these areas, imagining new worlds and dreaming up fabulous new characters.

That’s not to say there isn’t structure, and with subject specific lessons such as PE, languages, swimming, computing and music complementing our phonics, writing and maths programme, the key educational building blocks are carefully assembled.

Reception sets strong foundations, fostering a genuine love of school life and a desire to learn. They are wonderfully happy, exciting days.

DOWN IN THE WOODS

Our Reception classes extensively use the Woodland Garden for learning. They love going out there, exploring and appreciating nature, and just being outside. It’s possible they love getting a little bit muddy too!

But it’s all part of their development, about understanding the world around them as well as linking their learning. So, they might write and paint pirate stories indoors, then with treasure maps, they will head off on a journey to deep forests in search of gold, avoiding some pretty hungry crocodiles along the way…

Years 1 & 2

Developing the individual

In Years 1 and 2, our children are introduced to more detailed concepts and challenging skills, and they start to really understand their own minds, developing interests and talents that may last a lifetime.

It’s such an important time, as they become more independent and so wonderfully characterful. We take a lot of care to ensure each child has a bespoke learning and development plan.

It’s up to us to nurture all their abilities; to provide exactly the right amount of support and to stretch them just enough. They all learn differently, developing and progressing at their own pace, and so our teaching reflects this.

As parents, you will see it too, as we lay out how we will teach your child, and why the particular education they will receive is intended to help them develop in the best way possible.

YEAR 1’S BUG DAY OUT…

As part of their work on seasons, Year 1 visit Rutland Water Nature Reserve each term, and it’s always a brilliant day. One of the most popular activities is bug hunting and pond dipping.

We carefully turn over logs, rocks and stones before using a soft brush to gently sweep our finds into pots.

Once the children have grouped all the millipedes, centipedes, red ants, newts, beetles, worms, woodlice, slugs and snails (and more!) into trays, the Education Ranger shows us how to classify the bugs as carnivores, herbivores and detritivores.

We then move on to the pond dipping platforms, swishing our nets through the water in a figure of eight to catch tiny water boatmen. The children also find themselves netting lots of water fleas, a good number of freshwater shrimps, ramshorn snails and damsel fly nymphs. It’s creepy crawly heaven – and they love it!

“We learnt how Grace Darling saved nine souls when she and her father rowed out from the Longstone Lighthouse. We made models, wrote books, drew comic strips and made a Powerpoint presentation as well. Grace was very brave. If I had to do what she did I would be very scared.”

OLIVIA, YEAR 2

Years 3 & 4 Developing independence

The move into Year 3 is a big one, because it marks the move from the Infants to Juniors, and with that change comes far more independence.

At this stage, teaching is about giving our children confidence in their own abilities, and the skills to begin exploration, analysis and learning without being constantly guided. They are challenged more, but at their own pace and in their own ways.

The bespoke learning programmes of the early years might be updated, but they are no less individual, reflecting each child’s character, learning style and talents.

Our school environment is designed to help this, with a

dedicated Science Lab, Computing Lab, Art Room and Music rooms that allow the children to immerse themselves in subjects and projects that fascinate and intrigue them.

As well as a more specialist approach in subjects, and the challenge of attaining deeper understanding, they get to push boundaries elsewhere: trips away for the first time, including overnight adventure breaks in Year 3 and residentials in York to find out more about the Vikings, in Year 4.

With activities such as rock climbing and canoeing added to the already extensive outdoor learning and sporting curriculums, Years 3 and 4 are ones in which our children really begin to find their feet.

“I love experiments. We recorded how tall our plants were and made a table of how much they grew with the amount of water they were given. We found out that 50ml a week was the right amount. But some people who were supposed to give little amounts increased how much they did because they didn’t want their plants to die!”

ZARA, YEAR 3

Years 5 & 6 Encouraging mastery

By Years 5 and 6, our children can really take ownership of their learning. They are confident and know what they are good at, but not cowed by the things they need to improve on and work at.

It’s part of what we call Encouraging Mastery, in which children work to grasp fully the intricacies of a subject or skill, before moving on to the next one. They can explore a subject from every angle, whether it be artistic, cultural, scientific or technological.

As is the case throughout their school life, nobody is left behind. If they need a bit more time to master something or to come at it from a different direction, they can do just that and they will get all the support they need.

The consequence is well-rounded, well-versed and happy children who are ready to make the step into a wider world, and who make exceptional progress across, and beyond, the curriculum.

And before that happens we help to open up their world view. Trips to art galleries, theatres, museums, rivers and beaches ensure that learning is not confined to school. We host visiting authors, scientists and mathematicians, as well as making the most of our links with Oundle.

Staff at Oundle enrich the work already being done by LJS teachers, introducing our pupils to new ideas, techniques and thinking while facilities such as SciTec and the Patrick Engineering Centre offer the most incredible hands-on learning experiences.

TAKING THE LEAD IN SCHOOL LIFE

In Year 6, it is wonderful to see children take the lead, whether it be in School Council, sports teams, heading the charge in sustainability innovations or helping younger children to make friends and learn new games in the playground.

Years 5 and 6 at LJS are fabulous years. They represent the culmination of much hard work and dedication; a time when we are proud to see the responsible, caring, positive young people they have become, ready to make the move to their next school.

Why Outdoor Learning is essential

If you visit LJS, you might be struck by the number of children not in standard school uniform.

They’ll often be togged up in outdoor gear or still in their sports kit. That’s because being outdoors is part of daily life at school and our beautiful, bespoke-designed Woodland Garden is an intrinsic element of learning, whatever the weather!

Not only do we have structured sessions to find out more about nature and living outdoors – including making fires, using tools and building dens – but teachers use the many spaces to inspire our children and energise lessons across the curriculum.

A dramatic scene from history might need acting out in the wooden bandstand, or a maths lesson might be enhanced by working calculations out in the fresh air on the Art Wall. So off the class will march!

By weaving outdoor learning throughout the curriculum, it invigorates our children and helps them to work more creatively, encouraging them to refocus and think in different ways about what they are learning. This happens throughout the school, whether our children are in Reception or in Year 6.

There’s also an important well-being side to outdoor learning, with the benefits of working in fresh air, surrounded by nature. Our Woodland Garden is a sanctuary, playground and classroom, fizzing with activity all day long.

“I like building dens out of the sticks. And then I like to hide in them so nobody can see me when they walk by.”

HUGO, YEAR 1

THE FORT

The Fort is an exciting structure that acts as a base for the many games we play in the Woodland Garden –there are even some excellent hiding places underneath it! It also provides a great vantage point when we are being pirates, playing Capture the Flag or any other games we may create.

OUR WOODLAND GARDEN

THE FIRE GARDEN

This is probably the most popular place in the Woodland Garden, because it’s where we make hot chocolate and toast marshmallows. But there is a lot more to the Fire Garden than just food! We also learn all about fire craft, including how to light a fire using a flint and steel, choosing the best sticks, laying a really good fire and how to put it out safely.

THE ART WALL

The Art Wall provides a wonderful blank canvas that allows us to express ourselves across a whole range of subjects. We use chalk to write poetry, practise our lettering or get really creative with our artwork. You never know what you will find on there!

THE BANDSTAND

The Bandstand is used for all sorts of lessons, activities and events. Surrounded by bench seating for an audience, it provides a perfect outdoor stage for recitals and drama performances, as well as somewhere dry to store our things and shelter on those really rainy days.

“I like drawing and writing on the wall because you can express your creativity. There’s no right or wrong, but if you want to change what you have done you can get a mop and wash it off, or wait for it to rain. We have come out here to write on it as part of lessons. I did some art as part of our cave paintings projects too: I drew stick cavemen and sabre-tooth tigers.”

EDIE, YEAR 6

How a culture of care is created

We know that settled, happy children learn better, which is why we focus so much on ensuring all of our children feel safe and secure, and that they belong to something very special.

In the case of LJS, this means being part of a community where everyone looks out for everyone else. This encourages our children to feel safe to take risks, to settle into school life quickly no matter at what age they join, to be role models to each other, and to make strong and lasting friendships.

We call this the ‘LJS Family’ and this atmosphere of care and support manifests itself in many ways. One of these is the Play Leader system. Each class chooses a group of four play leaders, whose job it is to come up with ideas for break time playground games that are suitable for everyone. Of course, their classmates don’t have to play if they don’t want to, but the group takes on the responsibility to ensure anyone that wants to join in is included.

Then there’s the Buddy Bench. It’s a place where any child, of any age, can go and sit if they are looking for somebody to play with. It’s up to others in the school to go and ask a child on the Buddy Bench if they want to join in their game. It’s a system that works amazingly well –offering children the opportunity to ask for help in a simple, clear way, and providing pupils with the chance to show thought and care for others, even if they aren’t in their class or year.

Care at LJS is about all children taking responsibility for the happiness of others, and the culture of empathy permeates through every part of school life.

A SENSITIVE IDEA

The inspiration for a Sensory Room came from Year 6 pupils. Rion, Year 6, explains: “In School Council we discuss things that we would like to have in school. The Year 6s said they would like a way to help if somebody was worried, stressed or needed to take a breather.

“We came up with the idea of a Sensory Room, with relaxing lights and cushions. We’ve even got a fishtank and LED lights that change colour by remote control.”

Staff helped the children plan the room and then equipped it accordingly. It is now open to everyone in the school to use.

PLAY LEADERS

“As play leaders, we come up with games to play at break times for everyone in the class. It’s really important to choose games that everyone is included in, and it’s something that everyone wants to play.”

MILES, CRISTIAN, BEA AND LUCY, YEAR 5

BUDDY BENCH

“The Buddy Bench is where somebody sits if they are lonely or show they want people to play with. We like to ask children to play with us. If you see somebody there, you go over to help, and sometimes they can be older children than you, or younger.”

WILLIAM AND ISABEL, YEAR 4

“I’ve been playing the cello since Year 2. It is such a deep, thoughtful instrument to play, with such a friendly sound. I like playing ’Hornpipe’, because it is fast and jaunty.”

BEA, YEAR 6

“The saxophone feels very natural to play and I love being in all the woodwind ensembles with all the other instruments. My favourite music is ’Phish and Chips’. It’s fun and very jazzy, both slow and fast.”

GEORGIE, YEAR 5

“The tuba makes a very satisfying sound that’s really deep and makes everyone smile. I love the ‘Blackadder’ theme. It’s a bouncy, funny tune that’s brilliant to play on the tuba.”

CHARLIE, YEAR 4

Why Music resonates for all LJS children

Music is an intrinsic part of daily life at LJS, and all our children join in with gusto. Whether it’s the early years singing together and experimenting with instruments, from pianos to didgeridoos, or older children playing orchestral pieces and writing scores, you’ll find the halls of LJS constantly echo with music.

We are very proud of pupils who go on to play in the National Children’s Orchestra and other prestigious groups, but equally delight in seeing children take part in choirs, lunch-time clubs, regular House competitions, weekly assemblies, community events and workshops. We’re sure you will too when you come to see them perform in school concerts.

From Reception we have regular singing and dancing lessons, and by Year 2 all children choose either viola, violin or cello.

As they progress through LJS they have the opportunity to learn other instruments, and even compose their own pieces, with lessons delivered not only by our own staff but also by specialist music teachers from Oundle School.

Lessons are not just about learning an instrument. They help our children develop wider learning skills, understanding how to work both logically and creatively, as well as improving co-ordination and teamwork – and, of course, instilling a love of music that will last a lifetime.

Why Sport wins, on and off the pitch

Winning is great, but there is so much more to playing sport at LJS than that. From Reception upwards, games and PE sharpen fine motor skills, spatial awareness and provide an outlet for all their fantastic, bubbly energy.

While they’re taking their first swings at cricket or rounders balls, or learning how to grab a flying rugby winger’s tag, our children are also beginning to form ideas about participation, strategy and taking pride in teams and performances. And, of course, they are learning how to win, and lose.

There is a structure to our programme and from Reception we teach the core skills and rules for a number of sports. But there is also flexibility: children are encouraged to try all sports and commit to those which excite them. We don’t limit our children to traditional gender-based options either. The result, we believe, gives them the foundation for a lifelong love of sport.

Every child gets to play in House and school teams as well as to compete individually, no matter how naturally talented, and it means they learn that effort, commitment and tactics play just as big a part as being the biggest, strongest or fastest. If you can’t run through obstacles or the opposition, you have to think your way round them!

OUR SPORT FACILITIES

LJS benefits from extensive playing field facilities as well as a multi-use games area. In addition we access further facilities at Oundle School. These are used for training and fixtures, and children all have weekly swimming lessons at the Oundle School pool. Across both sites our children enjoy:

• Rugby pitches

• Football pitches

• Rounders pitches

• Hockey pitches (astro)

• Cricket pitches

• Basketball courts

• Netball courts (indoor and outdoor)

• Artificial cricket wickets

• Cricket nets

• Tennis courts (hard and astro)

• Badminton courts

• Mini basketball court

• Indoor volleyball courts

• Athletics track

• Sports Hall plus Oundle School Sports Centre: 50m pool, eight-court sports hall, 70-station fitness suite, dance studios, three multi-purpose studios, climbing wall

“I love running around and playing sport with my friends. I’ve got four favourite sports: football, hockey, cricket and running. I enjoy playing sport at LJS because they make it fun, but they also put you on the spot and make it a challenge. Our coach is really great.”

TOBY, YEAR 6

How does Drama help in life, and other lessons?

Our Drama lessons build confidence and resilience. They help children to make sense of the world around them, instilling a feeling of belonging to a greater whole and enhancing understanding of other lessons.

If a class is learning about maps, we might create scenes from Treasure Island, or if the children are discovering the world of the Tudors, they will put on Shakespeare plays.

Drama helps develop self-confidence, too. Nurturing children’s ability to speak and perform publicly starts when they are young, so as they get older, it becomes second nature. By Year 6, the continual, nurtured expansion of their comfort zones means even previously shy children are performing in plays and reading in chapel services at Oundle School. And for those who really want to push themselves, we run public speaking and drama competitions too.

But it’s not just about the individual. The whole is important too, and Drama at LJS fosters the idea that achievement comes by working together. All our children produce regular class assemblies and plays (you’ll enjoy coming to our performances and seeing what your children have created!), and can join after-school clubs, such as Telling Tales.

FROM LUNCH MENUS TO MONTAGUES

Cressie and Jem love drama. So much so, that as well as singing and acting, they’ll even read the lunch menu out to the class. Anything to perform! But it wasn’t always that way.

“At first, I was nervous about talking in front of class, but then I started reading the menu out every day and it was great because everyone always cheered,” says Cressie.

“The favourite character I have ever played is Augustus Gloop from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, because he is so gross. Unfortunately, I had to pretend I fell in the chocolate, rather than the real thing like he did.”

“From Reception we have always read poems in front of the whole year. I was worried about it to begin with, but you soon get used to it,” reckons Jem.

At LJS we use drama and performance to not only build self-confidence but to increase understanding of topics.

“We acted out the beginning of Romeo and Juliet and it helped us to understand what the play was about,” says Jem. “My favourite part was Tybalt, because he is a very scary character, and I got to kill Mercutio with a sword too.”

“We made a film called ‘El Dorado’. It was really enjoyable! We got to do things that we’ve never done before, like acting with a green screen. We all wrote the script and acted in it, had a premiere and an Oscar ceremony too. It was a really unique experience.”

JOHN AND LUCY, YEAR 5

“I love acting because I like making people laugh and I really enjoy being in front of people.”

JEM, YEAR 6

“At first, I was nervous talking in front of class. Now I always sing a song in front them every Friday to celebrate the weekend!”

CRESSIE, YEAR 6

“Chess is quite exciting! I love that it is competitive but always great fun! I really look forward to playing in tournaments.”

ELIZA, YEAR 4

Clubs where children can unearth new hobbies and interests

Just because the bell sounds for the end of classes, that doesn’t mean our children stop learning and exploring.

The extensive and eclectic range of clubs gives our children the opportunity to uncover new talents and passions. Whether it’s learning Russian or karate, creating wooden toy cars in our workshops or playing chess, exploring nature in our Woodland Garden or learning Scottish country dancing and cross-stitching, there are numerous new hobbies or interests to discover.

All clubs are overseen by specialist instructors and teachers, including our own staff and colleagues from Oundle School, as well experts from outside. So far, we’re running more than 40 clubs a week. But it’s an ever-expanding list, and they change termly.

Whatever your child’s interest, we are sure they will find something they love. Here are just some of the clubs they can choose from:

• Mandarin

• Adventure Island

• High Five Netball

• Explorers

• Woodland Fun

• Chess

• German

• Let’s Get Messy

• Drama Club

• Hockey

• Art Detectives

• Cricket

• Fun with Music

• Multi-sports

GRIFFIN CLUB: WRAP-AROUND CARE

Our Griffin Club offers in-house before and after-school childcare for all LJS children, and is open from Monday to Friday during term time.

From breakfast at 7.30am to a late session at 6pm, there is always healthy food on offer and a fantastic variety of fun activities to take part in, including arts and crafts, construction, sensory play and outdoor games.

Most importantly, it’s a fun and happy environment that our children love, helping make busy family life a little more straightforward!

“Griffin Club is brilliant - it’s like one giant play date every day!”

JEMIMA, YEAR 4

How does our community instil kindness and empathy?

We don’t confine our community to pupils, parents and staff. Our children forge links with the wider world and, through helping others, they develop a tangible understanding of the importance of community and kindness.

Our Community Kids’ Club provides entertainment for nearby care home residents, from letter writing to music making and art creation. We bring the Oundle community into school as well: we often hold concerts where people can come in for recitals and a cup of tea, while the children run pamper afternoons for elderly people from the local community, too.

Charity and giving is another important area. Our children are incredibly enthusiastic: they organise regular fund-raising events and, at Christmas, bring in gifts for Santa to hand out to less fortunate children.

During lockdown, when members of the Community Kids’ Club couldn’t get involved in all the activities they usually do, the children thought creatively about how they could engage the local community and decided to make story book videos to share with local nurseries.

ECO CREDENTIALS

LJS children are committed to caring for the planet. The pupil-led Eco Committee regularly comes up with ideas for the school to run in environmentally-conscious ways and is determined to make sustainability at LJS count.

From making stickers reminding us to turn off lights when leaving a room, to promoting safe cycling courses which encourage pedalpowered commuting to school, our pupils are fully engaged in finding clever new ways to help the planet.

They are helped in turn by our resident green superhero, Eco Man, who zooms in to inspire them with new ideas and challenges.

“We filmed ourselves reading different books and edited them together with pictures of the pages. Miss Sandall sent the videos to local nurseries so it was like we were reading the children a story. We think they really enjoyed it as one sent us a banner of them saying thank you.”

JACK AND FINN, YEAR 6 COMMUNITY KIDS’ CLUB

Why being part of Oundle matters

Afeature of the close relationship between Oundle School and LJS is the extraordinary number of opportunities available to our pupils. Specialist teachers come to teach our children or host events in their own departments, while Oundle pupils set challenges and help with clubs.

We also use Oundle facilities such as the SciTec building, the Patrick Engineering Centre, the sports campus, the Stahl Theatre and the Yarrow Exhibition Gallery, so the horizons of our pupils are constantly expanded.

It means we can support our children to find things which inspire them, and then have the resources both at LJS and Oundle to bring those interests vividly to life.

LJS is also a founding member of the Oundle, Peterborough and East Northants (OPEN) Learning Partnership, allowing our children to meet and work with

young people from other schools with similar skills and interests, as well as those from different backgrounds.

We are thrilled to take part in events such as the OPEN STEM Festival, the OPEN Mathematical Enrichment Conference for able and interested mathematicians, a creative writing competition, language and art days – all hosted by schools from the partnership.

We also benefit from exceptional opportunities such as visiting the Imperial College London Planetarium and a science roadshow delivered by The Royal Institution.

After LJS , where will your next steps take

you?

Every year, the vast majority of our Year 6 children are offered a place at Oundle School. There is no academic entry criteria at LJS, so our children make remarkable progress to achieve this and we work hard to ensure that the transition is as seamless as possible.

For some children, and for a variety of reasons, Oundle may not be the right choice of senior school. We pride ourselves on preparing children for any senior school and have plenty of experience in guiding and supporting both families and children through this process.

“I like how supportive it is in Scott House. I was nervous when I came from LJS, because I thought I would get lost as Oundle is a very big school. But Scott is a place you can always come back to. There’s a coffee shop, a quiet room with sofas and desks, an area for prep and a locker room for your things, as well as the Berrystead House gardens to play in. It means that you can meet lots of new friends here.”

JESSICA, SECOND FORM, SCOTT HOUSE, OUNDLE

MAKING THE TRANSITION TO OUNDLE SCHOOL AS SEAMLESS AS POSSIBLE…

Scott House is the dedicated day House for pupils in First and Second Form (Year 7 and 8) at Oundle. Located just across the road from LJS, Scott House shares its extensive site with The Berrystead, Oundle’s junior boarding House.

While most LJS pupils moving up to Oundle join as day pupils, some join as boarders. Others may opt for boarding a little later in their school career, when moving into a senior House.

How to get in touch with us, and see LJS for yourself

There is so much to see and learn about LJS, and we would love for you and your family to come and see us to find out more.

Most pupils join us in Reception, where we have two classes, each with a maximum of 20 children and each with a dedicated class teacher and teaching assistant.

Entry is non-selective, with guaranteed places offered to the first 40 families to register their child. For all children holding places, we offer a transition programme prior to entry which ensures that they get to know LJS, and each other, ahead of starting Reception.

For children joining us in other year groups, we work closely with the children and their families to ensure a smooth transition. To support this, we invite the children to spend two days with us in their potential class prior to entry, enabling them to get to know their teacher, teaching assistant and classmates.

As we are a non-selective school, any assessment during the two-day visits for Year 1 upwards enables us to gain a picture of where your child is at on his or her learning journey.

For those children joining in the latter part of Key Stage Two into Years 5 or 6, the two-day visits also help inform thinking around potential senior school options.

For more information on admissions and school tours, please contact Rachel Waterhouse, our Assistant Head –Admissions. She would be delighted to talk to you and to introduce you personally to our wonderful school.

Mrs Rachel Waterhouse, Assistant Head – Admissions

E: admissions@laxtonjunior.org.uk T: 01832 277159

www.laxtonjunior.org.uk