Expansion plan for Lindfield Primary Academy

Trust confirms details of LPAs expansion plan

The University of Brighton Academies Trust is delighted that West Sussex County Council have agreed to fund Lindfield Primary Academy in undertaking two temporary bulge years to accommodate the increased demand for places. As a result, the academy will be moving to a 4 form entry academy in September 2021 for the next two years.

The need for a temporary bulge is due to the delayed opening of the new school nearest to Lindfield. West Sussex County Council have plans to open two new primary schools in the locality to accommodate the need for additional primary school places. Alongside welcoming 30 new children into the academy, this exciting development will further support the local community by significantly improving academy facilities in a two-stage approach.

To ensure all children can be taught alongside one another in comparable accommodation, the initial ‘Stage 1’ refurbishments will occur over the summer holidays to create a new classroom for the additional early years class. In the autumn term, a multi-surface play space will be developed to enable early years children to have year round access to an additional secure play area. On the academy field, a multi-surface games area will be established to provide pupils with an all-weather play space whilst the redevelopment is underway. This new play facility may be used in the future to support PE and after school clubs. The music and IT suite will be redeveloped into a new classroom for Key Stage 2 pupils in September 2021.

When ‘Stage 2’ of the project is complete in September 2022, the classroom will no longer be required, and pupils will benefit from a refurbished and enlarged music and IT learning space and the significant investment in new mobile laptops. Although their final location is yet to be confirmed, ‘Stage 2’ of the project will also see the two new West Sussex County Council-approved permanent classrooms being built. This exciting part of the project will start sometime in early 2022, with the completion timed to be ready for September 2022.

In addition to the new classrooms, a large multi-surface play space will be created between the Key Stage 2 and Year 1 learning areas. This will allow for more pupils to experience safe, imaginative play spaces during play time. The academy’s Parent Teacher Association and staff are helping to design these new play spaces. If you have any questions about this exciting development, please get in touch with Alice Allen (Chair of the Local Board) at a.allen@brightonacademiestrust.org.uk.

Lindfield Primary's clever comic writers

By Ayesha Gilani

Meet best pals James and Jensen. The dynamic duo - who attend Lindfield Primary Academy by day - are joint creators of Dumb Comics, a comic book series that has taken their school by storm.

Both boys - aged 10 - are avid readers, love drawing and relish time together creating comic adventures for their friends and family. “We love working together. James inspires me as we’re always making each other laugh,” said Jensen. James agreed: “We’re really good friends and like the idea of running a business and coming up with new comic ideas and merchandise ideas.”

The prolific pair have three comic titles to their brand name JJ Comix. Each edition is teeming with the escapades of amusingly quirky characters like Annoying Cat, Clueless Clown and Sir Fergus Bibble-Bottom. There is also a page dedicated to puzzles and games. Jensen said: “We draw as a team and enjoy making up the stories as we go along. We contribute eight pages each, every time. I’m inspired by a comic called The Phoenix.” James said: “I’ve always liked drawing and I’m inspired by Jamie Smart author of Looshkin and Bunny vs Monkey.”

So far the comics have been a huge hit, with the boys selling 128 copies to friends at school and clubs. A share of the profits from the first two editions were donated to Lindfield Primary Academy PTA and the NHS. They planned to donate more funds to the PTA and a charity of their choice by selling their third edition - Annoying Cat - at the school’s summer fair. Due to Covid-19 restrictions the fair could not go ahead.

Jensen said: “We already have copies of our third comic printed and will be selling them virtually again. We’ll also have JJ Comix hoodies, t-shirts and a website coming soon, and we hope to have a stall at Lindfield Village Day in September. We are proud that we can do something that is fun for our friends and raise money for the PTA.”

James and Jensen’s comics, priced at £1.50 each, can be bought by contacting: jjcomixinfo@gmail.com.

Murder Mystery at Lindfield Primary - PTA fundraising

It’s Village Day in Lindfield, and the Primary School hall is a hive of activity as staff, family and friends prepare for the annual carnival. But the activity screeches to a halt with the shocking news that village Mayor Morris Bonson has been found dead floating in the village pond!

But who could have carried out this horrific crime?

Could it be Mr Bottingham the butcher, the PTA chair from rival Whitethorns School or the brash American tourist?

That’s the question posed for players of Lindfield’s thrilling new Murder Mystery game.

Devised by Lindfield Primary PTA members Anna Shears and Robyn Baker-Schiau, the game invites players to take on the roles of key suspects and challenges them to work out who carried out the crime.

The game was unveiled earlier this month and is already being played out by families with older children in the village. “We began writing the scripts back in January when we were still in lockdown, so the original idea was to play it over a zoom call,” Anna explained. “But it’s great that we can now get together in person to play.”

The mystery has three scenes, and each player is invited to step into the role of one of either six, or eight, characters. “We have tried to make the characters larger than life and have included a few accents for fun,” said Anna. “They include the French husband of the PTA chair who is opening a patisserie in the village, the primary school caretaker and even an up-and-coming young journalist from the village magazine Lindfield Live!

“We’ve had some lovely feedback so far, and one player described the characters as similar to those in Motherland, which was great!”

During the game, as the plot unfolds, players try to work out who has committed the crime before the murderer is revealed in the final scene.

“We hope that, by this time, people will have enjoyed the various twists in the plot, as everyone’s lives are intertwined,” said Anna. “It’s a silly game, but hopefully as lot of fun, which people can play at their leisure over the summer, at home, in the garden or even on holiday. All you need are the scripts – dressing up is optional!”

The game (suitable for adults and children 16+) costs £5 per player and all proceeds go directly to the Lindfield Primary School PTA.

To find out more, and order your copy, email: lindfieldmurdermystery@gmail.com.