WHAT? WHERE?

Laxton Junior School prep school Oundle, Northants. Children in uniform in front of school.

At the edge of the beautiful Northants market town of Oundle, Laxton Junior School was founded in 1973 as the preparatory school for Oundle School. LJS was originally located on North Street, Oundle in what is now known as Old Dryden, but moved to its current building in 2002 which is purpose-built with children in mind and set in established grounds. The building itself was commended in the RIBA East Midlands Design Awards.

Award winning architecture Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northants

At Reception, admission is non-selective and thereafter involves a soft suitability assessment which takes place over the course of a two-day visit, with a holistic approach. LJS attracts families from both within the town and local villages, and as far afield as Lincolnshire and Cambridgeshire and most pupils (around 90 percent) move on to Oundle for senior school. However, Oundle School itself is academically selective and won’t be right for all children, so there will be those who choose alternatives and this is wholly supported by LJS.

From Year 4 upwards (and to an extent in the lower years) children are taught by specialist subject teachers, a relatively new approach that’s been in place since the start of the 24/25 academic year, but which was in development for at least a year prior, with the aim of allowing a deeper dive into each individual subject. You can read more about the structure here.

Imperial College London at Laxton Junior School Oundle Northants

The school is part of the Oundle, Peterborough and East Northants Open Learning Partnership. This partnership includes Oundle School, four maintained-sector schools, and Imperial College London, and has the aim of increasing opportunities and raising aspirations for pupils, and to build a broader life experience (find out more here). This means that fellows from Imperial come to visit the schools and vice versa, aiming to inspire and open new horizons for the children. It also helps to dissipate that old ivory tower notion by connecting the pupils to a wider community and new opportunities.

FACILITIES

Sports Hall children at Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northants

Facilities at Laxton are outstanding, not only is the school built for purpose on a 5-acre site, it also shares many of Oundle School’s facilities (with 120 acres to make use of). On the main school site, the hall, which is the central hub of the building, is a multi-purpose space used for assemblies, PE, and drama and music performances. The school in general is spacious, with wide corridors allowing for lots of traffic to move around without that feeling of crowdedness you occasionally find in older school buildings. In addition, the school library is pretty huge, with a dedicated Librarian in post, and loads of space to sit and read on comfy sofas.

outside play Laxton Junior School, Oundle

There are two playground areas outside, the School Yard and, beyond that, the Barnyard, so loads of space to run around at break time. And if that’s not enough, The Woodland Garden is a charming and well-utilised addition to the outside space, with meandering paths through mature trees (with a red kite nest in situ) and flower beds (which aren’t over cultivated but allowed to be a little wild) and which the children helped in designing.

Forest School teepee Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northants

There’s an enormous teepee, which is set up to have a fire inside and is great for outdoor learning when the weather is a bit less clement. The children come outside for regular curriculum lessons from time to time – during my visit there was a Year 2 English class using the outside space to help inspire their understanding of similes – but they also get to have specific outdoor learning days on a regular basis. These days include fire building, den building, ecology, sustainability.

SPORT

Sports facilities Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northants. Happy children at school playing outside, running

On-site, LJS has its own playing fields, sports hall and courts. Core sports are rugby, hockey, netball and cricket with a new focus this year on engaging girls more in rugby, drawing inspiration from Leicester Tiger, and LJS alumna Charlotte Fray. LJS benefits from a strong partnership with Northampton Saints Rugby Club and works alongside Oundle School’s sport staff to boost the quality of coaching on offer.

Pupils also benefit from the range of modern sports facilities shared by the Corporation of Oundle School, including the exceptional state-of-the-art Sports Centre that opened in 2020. There are expansive team sports pitches, tennis and netball courts, a 50m swimming pool (with movable floor to cater for all ages), and an athletics track, all regularly used by LJS pupils.

Girl playing football at Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northamptonshire

All pupils, from EYFS to Year 6 are taught by sports specialists and each year group benefit from weekly swimming lessons at the Sports Centre as a core part of the P.E curriculum. Fixtures and team sports are a key strength, with every pupil getting the opportunity to play in team sports from Year 3 upwards, while a full competitive fixture card is in place for Years 4, 5 & 6. There’s a strong emphasis on the importance of taking part and teaching the children how to both win and lose.

Year 6 children look forward to an annual Sports Tour, during which they play fixtures against a range of schools and children take part in competitions in Swimming, Cross-Country and Football. Most recently, the U11A Boys Rugby Team achieved an unbeaten record at an IAPS Tournament winning every game and conceding only one try, whilst last academic year, LJS won every swimming gala entered – quite an incredible achievement.

CREATIVE ARTS

School production Stahl Theatre Laxton Junior School Oundle Northants, Mary Poppins

There’s a fully functioning theatre, The Stahl, part of Oundle School and set in a former chapel in Oundle, which seats 280 and where some of the older year groups get to perform. There’s also an art gallery in town, The Yarrow Gallery, similarly owned by Oundle School, which the children utilise for annual exhibitions.

Music lessons violin Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northants

Music is a very strong suit at Laxton. There’s a dedicated music classroom and a huge range of optional music lessons offered from French horn to baby harp and everything in between. Children can even learn the bagpipes if they wish. There are 4 music practice rooms and a whopping 7 acoustic pianos in the school (2 grand and 5 upright). In total there are over 170 music lessons a week on top of curriculum music, which is led by the Head of Music from Reception through to Year 6. In Year 2 all of the children learn violin or cello in a classroom context to introduce them to playing an instrument and open potential new doors. Top marks for having a staff choir too, in addition to over 10 different music ensembles (strings, woodwind, brass, percussion to name a few) and two student choirs with over 100 children involved.

Winter and Summer Concerts provide the main performance opportunity for instrumentalists, with other smaller performances throughout the year. House Sing at the end of the Michaelmas Term involves all children from Reception to Year 6, and House Music, in the Lent Term, provides an opportunity for solo performances.

STEM

Children working in Science Lab, Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northants

There’s a large and recently (2022) refurbished dedicated science room, which has been specifically designed with junior sized kids in mind, and which comes with a dedicated science teacher, in addition to a large computer room, which is used by all year groups. The Year 5 pupils having a lesson during my visit were clearly far more advanced than I think I will ever be in the use of Excel spreadsheets, which they were using to create a budget for a project to create and run a theme park. The children will also learn coding from Reception onwards and in Year 6 they are expected to use Python coding – all new generation tech skills that will stand kids in good stead for their onward paths.

ACADEMICS

Children in lessons at Laxton Junior School Oundle Northants

100% of children gain entry to their senior school of choice with LJS being the top feeder to Oundle School at 11+. 18% of the 2024 Year 6 leavers cohort received scholarships and awards. Additionally, Year 6 learn Latin, very unusual in a junior setting but which is taught by a subject specialist in Classics from Oundle School, and helps to ease transition into independent senior schools where Latin is often taught.

LITTLIES

Reception children at Laxton Junior School Oundle Northants

The Reception class is pretty outstanding, a huge space (it was originally two rooms but has been merged into one to make it open plan), which has been cleverly divided up into smaller zones to allow the children to move easily between tasks (some free play areas, some desk zones). Soft colours and soft lighting make the space feel calm and soothing – a really lovely introduction to school life. Interestingly, Reception class wear their comfy PE kit instead of the more formal uniform, inviting them to be active both in the classroom and outdoors (and reducing the need to change clothes too often – big bonus). There’s also a canopied outside play space with all kinds of fantastic equipment (sand kitchen, climbing apparatus) to allow the children to learn and play outside in all weathers.

PASTORAL CARE

Pastoral care Laxton Juniro School, Oundle, Northants

There’s a dedicated Assistant Head Pastoral – which is still fairly rare in a junior school – and a Pastoral Therapeutic Mentor, who works across Laxton and Oundle Schools and thus providing that continuity of support where needed, in addition to two Wellbeing Mentors on the staff.

Children here get the benefit of the fantastic Oasis, a cocooning space with calming sounds and essential oils – honestly, it’s a bit like being at a day spa – where children can go for some relaxation, breakout space, or for one to ones with the pastoral team. It’s an idea that was originally proposed and planned by a group of Year 6 pupils on the School Council – great to see the children’s ideas being considered and put into action.

Regular mindfulness sessions are delivered to each year group to support children’s mental wellbeing, whilst each year, a group of Year 6 pupils is selected to serve as Wellbeing Ambassadors. These children are encouraged to model kindness, empathy, and self-care, fostering a culture of peer-led support.

HEADTEACHER

Lydia Waller Head Teacher Laxton Junior School

Lydia Waller is a warm and very likeable Head, she has the approachability you’d want from a junior school teacher, along with a tenacious work ethic. Waller took up post as Head of LJS in September 2023, joining from Pennthorpe in West Sussex, a co-educational prep school for children aged 2-13. During her ten years at Pennthorpe, Waller has worked across a broad range of roles, including Head of English, Assistant Head Pastoral, and Deputy Head as well as finishing her tenure as Head. She has also held previous teaching positions at Heath Mount School where she was Head of History, and Bishop’s Stortford College Junior School, where she taught History and English. She also holds a Masters in School Improvement and Educational Leadership and has been the instigator behind the recent curriculum changes at the school and there’s certainly a sense that she wants the education of the children at Laxton to be really cohesive and intentional and to give the pupils every possible opportunity.

QUIRKS

Laxton Giraffe, Laxton Junior School, Oundle, Northanta

I was pretty enchanted by The Laxton Giraffe, which stands tall and proud in the hall (the only space with high enough ceilings). The giraffe was made in papier maché by the students in 2020 as part of an exhibition at the Yarrow Gallery. Oh, and the opportunity to learn to play the bagpipes is pretty quirky too.

ISI REPORT

The 2022 Report says it all really, with outstanding results in all areas. You can read it for yourself here.

MOBILE PHONE POLICY

Children are not permitted to have mobile phones or smart devices, including smart watches, in school. Social media is not accessible to the children and online safety is consistently taught.

WRAP AROUND CARE

Wrap around care Laxton Junior School Oundle Northants

Griffin Club offers flexible wraparound care from 7.30 in the morning and children can stay until 6pm with the option to do prep or clubs and have a hot meal if needed. There’s a broad and varied range of clubs on offer, which include Mandarin, Debating and Classics. There’s also a good contingent of chess players in school, with two current pupils playing at county level. Children can also opt for yoga, cheerleading, canoeing and climbing.

FEES

For Reception and Year 1, termly fees are £4,938, rising to £6,054 for children in Years 2 & 3, and £7,176 for Years 4, 5 & 6, inclusive of VAT.

WORD ON THE GROUND

Parents I’ve spoken with are pretty happy with the way the school balances caring for their children in a very nurturing way at the same time as driving them forwards with a sense of ambition and limitless potential. This really seems to be the magic formula at Laxton, producing children who are well-rounded, polite, open-minded and enthusiastic about learning.

THE MUDDY VERDICT

Good for: If you’re already eyeing up Oundle School as the next step for your child after junior school, there’s no better option than LJS, but aside from that there are very few children who wouldn’t be able to fulfil their potential here, with such a breadth of opportunity on offer.

Not for: Whilst LJS is part of the Corporation of Oundle School, there isn’t a boarding option for under 11s (though Oundle School does offer boarding from 11+).

Fancy a visit? Arrange a personal visit to see how things work during the school day, or book you place on the Reception Open Afternoon on Saturday 17 May 2025.

Laxton Junior School, East Rd, Oundle, Peterborough PE8 4BX

Laxton Junior School, Oundle

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