April 2019
Apr 2019
20 excited children and 4 eager staff packed their ski gear and headed to La Thuile in Italy for the St John’s 2019 ski trip. The resort has beautiful views of the Aosta Valley and the Mont Blanc Massif and, from the top of the ski area, of the Tarantaise Mountains in France and the Matterhorn on the Italian/Swiss border. After checking into the hotel and eating dinner in a lovely Italian restaurant, the children headed for an early night ready to test the pistes the following day.
The first day on the slopes arrived quickly, skis and boots were fitted and the children were divided
Apr 2019
During the Easter break, a group of Senior House Geographers and Scientists set out to explore the wonders of Iceland. The children investigated volcanic activity, lava fields, hot springs, geysers, stunning waterfalls, dark, mysterious beaches and got to experience the heat and vibrancy of flowing lava.
Their first stop was the Leif the Lucky Bridge that divides the North American and Eurasian tectonic plate and spans the fissure called the Mid Atlantic Ridge. The children witnessed the effects of continental drift before relaxing at the Blue Lagoon. The geothermally heated seawater
Apr 2019
St John’s children and their families recently celebrated Red Nose Day to raise money and awareness for Comic Relief. The budding philanthropists rolled up their sleeves to bake to contribute to a cake sale. Byron House children also paid a suggested donation of £1 to come to school with ‘wacky hair’ for the day and, across both sites, St John’s raised £378.70 for the charity.
This year, £63,938,072 was raised for Comic Relief and, since its launch in 1988, it is the day when people across the UK can get together and raise money at home, school and work. “When you donate to Comic
Apr 2019
Four environmentally passionate St John’s Form 6 children took part in a ‘strike’ on 15 March and marched through the streets of Cambridge, joining other secondary school children, calling for climate change to be declared an emergency. Demonstrations and rallies took place in more than 64 places in the UK, including London, Bristol, Cornwall and the Scottish Highlands.
The event forms part of an international demonstration designed to show pupils across the country are ardent about raising awareness of climate change, demonstrate the seriousness of the situation, as well as making a
Apr 2019
At the end of the Lent term, the whole of Kindergarten visited Hamerton Zoo near Sawtry. The zoo stretches over 20 acres so there were lots of different wild and domestic animals for our youngest children to explore, from looking into the eye of a tiger to venturing into cheetah country, as well as giant anteaters, wallabies, Corsac foxes and the more familiar donkeys, rabbits, sheep and alpacas. The children's zoo experience was made more memorable with a hands-on workshop where they got close to and handled different small animals.
Other groups of animals included: big and small
Apr 2019
305 teams took part in this year's 11th National Inter-Schools Science Quiz Championships and one of our two St John's teams reached the Finals at Oxford University Museum of Natural History. AS always, the questions were above and beyond the knowledge of the National Curriculum but the children took the challenge in their stride and battled it out for second place. Amanda Blair, Science Quiz representative, praised Miss Brunning and the successful team, "We are so pleased you enjoyed the quizzes throughout the year and especially the Finals and congratulations to your team for their
Apr 2019
The St John’s passion for books and reading was confirmed once again across a wide range of book-related activities, all designed to increase the children’s enthusiasm for all things literary. The Byron House Book Week and the Senior House Literary Festival is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, of reading.
Author Tracey Corderoy was a huge hit with the Byron House children. She brought her stories of Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam alive with puppets, props and games. With tips from Tracey’s illustrator Steve Lenton, all the children had a go at
Apr 2019
Form 3 visited Shimpling Park Farm in Suffolk, which has been shortlisted for Bayer award for exceptional farm visits and accredited by the Countryside Educational Visits Accreditation Scheme (CEVAS), to get an invaluable insight into the countryside, the business of organic farming and the fun of learning outside the classroom. Time on the farm reinforced aspects of the children’s curriculum from maths to science to PHSEE. Head of Geography Miss Grant, described the trip as, “An excellent way of linking food to farming and for the children to learn specifically about wheat as a case study
Apr 2019
The performance of the Passion of Christ that closed the Lent term was accomplished by a mature and talented Sixth Form year group. The play recalls the final days of Jesus’ life – from his entry into Jerusalem, to his crucifixion five days later – and all of the complex plotting, political side-stepping and betrayal that facilitated Jesus’ downfall. The Passion Play is a moving story that required a deep intensity and thoughtfulness, which the Sixth Form delivered.
The play was led by a striking and convincing Jesus, whose authority lay not in his anger but in his calm acceptance
Apr 2019
Form 4 visited the Cambridge Synagogue as part of their Judaism studies and had the opportunity to explore the beliefs and practices of the Jewish faith with a Cambridge University undergraduate. The children were given the opportunity to see and touch many different artefacts that are involved in Jewish worship and scholarship.
Teacher of RS, Mrs Fran Hawkins, explained, “We were welcomed by Samuel Isaac, a third year student, who gave us a fascinating and informative visit. He allowed the children to roam the synagogue so that they could experience the place of worship and what it