Dear Landmark Community

We are now coming to the end of the summer term and Landmark’s fifth year. The school has grown considerably during this time, both in terms of numbers of students and learning provision.

This has been an unusual and challenging year, with term two being impacted by a national lockdown and a number of isolation and home learning periods for students and teachers due to COVID. We are proud of how well the staff and students have adjusted to the demands of the situation and are grateful to you for your support throughout the pandemic.

As a school we are mindful of the impact the pandemic has had socially and academically. This has been at the forefront of our minds as we have planned for next year. From next year we are excited to have increased provision in terms of study skills and intervention work. To do this we have concentrated on two key areas: bringing in a Librarian who will support students in best utilising the library and its resources to support their learning, and we have increased the time that can be given to small group intervention work.

Primary teachers completing a workshop activity on the PYP’s Key Concepts

Moving into next term we are excited to announce that we have been accepted as a candidate school for the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Programme. We will be having parent sessions in September to further explore the programme and how it will support learning at Landmark.

The summer term started well with us all back in school and some regulations lifted. We were delighted to welcome six new students at the beginning of the summer term; they have all settled in very well and are enjoying life at Landmark. The term has been a busy one and here are some of the great activities that our students have been involved in.

In April the Years 5 and 6 students took part in the Bikeability Course for the week. They practised in the school playground and then around the village of Fulbourn. They all behaved very well and are now confident and safe cyclists.

In May we celebrated World Maths Day at Landmark. Students and staff enjoyed taking part in a range of maths related activities during the day and the primary students and staff wore maths themed costumes - there were some very clever creations modelled by staff and students.

Primary students enjoying a climbing activity at Eaton Vale

Later in May was a trip to Eaton Vale Activity Centre for Toucan and Eagle classes. They had a wonderful time and enjoyed archery, shelter building, climbing and a trip on the cave bus, amongst other activities. They finished up with the Buggy Derby, which was great fun. The second day was postponed due to a student testing positive for COVID, but fortunately the trip was rescheduled for June and the students and staff were delighted to be able to enjoy a second day at the centre. Well done to Mr Townsend and Miss Bennett for scaling the heights and swinging alongside the students.

In PE all our students have enjoyed being able to visit Fulbourn recreation centre again; they have played tennis and cricket as well as athletics. The students have enjoyed sports days - sadly without their parents watching this year due to regulations. You can see lots of photos of the event on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.

At the end of May the Year 7 and 8 students enjoyed a trip to Grafham Water. They had a fantastic time sailing, cooking outdoors and swinging on the giant, very high, swing!

On Friday the 18th June we held our Careers Day for Landmark secondary school students. Four professionals in the fields of economics, HR, cyber security and acting spoke with the students about their jobs, what they entail and the journey to achieving their roles. The Landmark Careers Website was launched; this includes a wealth of information which all students and parents can access - the link is on the Landmark website. During the afternoon of the event Johnny Lightbody, a TV, radio and Shakespearen actor, conducted workshops with the students; he commented on how engaged, enthusiastic and well behaved the students were.

Students engaged in a workshop on National Writing Day

We had a fantastic time last week with the whole school engaging in activities for National Writing Day. The students completed a workshop on writing and then developed pieces around connection and nature.

As many of you are aware, GCSE and IGCSE exam grades this year have been awarded by teacher assessment. Students have taken papers and alternative tasks which have been set and marked by teachers. The process has been challenging and we are grateful to our Exams officer Rebecca Gibbs for helping staff and students navigate this alternative to normal process. We are delighted that many of our year 10 students have, despite all the challenges of lockdown, been able to take several language examinations a year early.

Today we have had a leavers' assembly outside in the sunshine and we are very sad to see students leave us, but we wish them all good luck and hope that they will stay in touch and share their adventures wherever they are in the world.

We are very sad to say goodbye to Emma Howlett, Anna Tauwhare, Tara Leeson and Olivia Bennett this term. They are all off to enjoy new adventures and we wish them all the best. We hope they will keep in touch and share their new experiences with us.

We are delighted to welcome Laura Monk, who will co-teach Robin Class with Jenna Fritz, Alek Klosinska, who will work in the breakfast club and after school care, Connie Jagolinzer, who will be our school librarian, Emma Venables, who will be working in the inclusion team, Louise Campbell who will be increasing her support in the science laboratory, Emma Rapley who will be teaching music in the primary and Katherine McGuire, who has been appointed as our new full-time receptionist. Vickie Jackson will now work in the finance department alongside Deb Jewitt-Harland, our Bursar.

We would like to wish you all a happy, healthy and relaxing summer holiday. We are so grateful to you for being such supportive members of our wonderful school community and entrusting your children to us.

We will look forward to welcoming you back in September.

With warm regards

Gareth Turnbull-Jones and the Landmark Team