A scarecrow-making project marked the first day of a new school year for pupils at a Newmarket primary academy.

Lisa Tweed, headteacher of Houldsworth Valley Primary Academy in Newmarket, who started her position this month, launched the creative activity to welcome children back to school.

The project involved everyone from reception to Year 6 and pupils were greeted with a letter from a local farmer and straw scattered on their class tables.

Mrs Tweed said: “The main aim was to get pupils thinking creatively, get them outside and teach them using a cross-curricular approach.

“I wanted to use the project to make learning exciting and bring it to life and I am delighted with how it has gone.

“Pupils have shown fantastic imagination, cooperation, teamwork and respect for one another.

“I wanted pupils to design the scarecrows but also think about them and write about them and use maths to work out the height and weight of their scarecrow.

“I am very pleased with how the children have responded to the project. They have enjoyed it and shown a lot of enthusiasm.”