Welcome

Dear Families,

Welcome to St Mark's CE Primary School.

We are a small school with a big heart, situated in the heart of the East Sussex countryside, close to Uckfield, Buxted, Heathfield and Crowborough. We pride ourselves on nurturing every child’s individuality and on our Church school distinctiveness, which shines through our mission statement: “St Mark’s, with the love of Jesus, will give us wings to fly.”

We are delighted that in our most recent OFSTED inspection (July 2025), St Mark’s was judged Good in all areas. Inspectors praised our nurturing family-like atmosphere, our ambitious and engaging curriculum, and the way pupils are encouraged to take on responsibility and leadership roles within the school.

The school community and our local village of Hadlow Down are at the heart of everything we do. Working closely with our many partners, we provide children with exciting and enriching experiences that build confidence, kindness and resilience—helping them to truly have their “wings to fly” and reach their full potential.

St Mark’s is a wonderful, close-knit community. I warmly welcome visits from prospective parents who would like to see our school in action. Please contact the office to arrange an individual tour with me.

Karl Luckhurst

Head of School

Dear Families,

I work as Executive Headteacher across the three small schools that comprise Sussex Spires Federation working closely with our three talented Heads of School. I am responsible for overall leadership including the strategic decisions and processes across the schools whilst the Heads of School deal with the day to day management and leadership.

I love the process of learning and want to pass this on to the children in our schools.  Learning for me is not always an easy process. It should be challenging and rigorous, but also creative and engaging. I love lateral thinking and getting people to look at things in new ways. I want our children to live in a deliberate and responsible way, to engage with life’s big questions, to be curious and to understand that they can make a difference in the world. In today’s changing times, our children will need to think differently and adapt to new roles and responsibilities and we need to equip them to do this effectively. 

My priority is always to do my best to enable all in our school community to be they very best that they can be. I am completely committed to the children in our care and love seeing them learn and flourish during their time with us.  They are the reason I do my job and they are at the heart of everything I do.  Sometimes as Executive Headteacher, I face difficult decisions, but if I’m ever in any doubt, I simply ask myself, “What is best for the children?”

Catherine Cottingham

Executive Headteacher, Sussex Spires Federation