News list
The Choristers embarked on a pre-Christmas tour of the Netherlands with the St John’s College Choir and performed five concerts in five venues in six days. Based in Utrecht, the Choristers also took time to sample the local cuisine and delve into the Dutch culture.
The last Thursday before the Christmas holidays is always one of the most anticipated days of the year at St John’s. Festive jumpers and sparkly attire made the atmosphere jolly before the day had officially begun.
The Master and Council of St John’s College, and the School Governors are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Neil Chippington as the new Head of St John’s College School from September 2016.
Children in years 1 to 4 started the new academic year in bright new classrooms. The internal building works of the interior spaces at Byron House, home to Reception to Year 4, were completed during the Summer holidays with the delivery of six completely redesigned classrooms and a large learning space for child-initiated learning and digital learning. The works follow last year's successful delivery of much enlarged Kindergarten classrooms and a new outdoor play space.
A Year 5 pupil, Madiwa Adjepong-Boateng (aged 10), has received an award for his novel-writing efforts at a ceremony at the Cambridge University Faculty of Law. Madiwa was presented with a certificate by Dr Nikhil Seth, a senior United Nations director, for writing novels for the UN’s Voices of Future Generations children's book series (VoFG), marking the anniversary of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The certification event celebrated the first three child authors in the VoFG series and their contribution to human creativity and inspiration for current and future generations.
35 excited children and 5 eager staff packed their ski gear and headed to La Thuile in Italy for the St John’s 2015 ski trip. The group arrived at the resort to find 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. Skis and boots were fitted, ready to test the pistes the following day, and the remainder of the afternoon was spent getting to know the resort.
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 and dark, mysterious beaches.
This year’s Passion Play proved to be a worthy successor to those of years past, with strong and moving performances throughout the Sixth Form cast. Chronicling the final week of Jesus’s earthly life and culminating in his condemnation, torture and crucifixion, the production offers a first-hand and very personal account of the suffering of Christ. The play demands the utmost in dramatic intensity and professionalism from a relatively young group of children and St John’s Sixth Formers were not found wanting: the result was a stirring ensemble performance that served as the ideal close to
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 is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, of reading.
The Fifth Form show at St John’s is traditionally one of the most highly-anticipated and much-hyped events on the school calendar, and anyone who attended this year’s The Jungle Book, a dramatic adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s timeless work by Neil Duffield, will understand why: a tour de force from start to finish, this wonderful production brought together some of the best theatrical talent the school has to offer with wonderful costumes, a dazzling backdrop and mesmerizing choreography in an engaging and hugely entertaining feast for the eyes.