News list
Form 3 visited Shimpling Park Farm in Suffolk 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. It also enabled them to get a sense of place and to explore a working farm and link to the work in Geography lessons.” Shimpling Park Farm has been
In lockdown, all children at Senior House took part in the Spirited Arts competition as part of a specific Religious Studies unit of work. This competition gives children the chance to be creative and imaginative in this subject and is linked to the children's spiritual ideas and skills. Last year over 50,000 pieces of art and poetry were created for the competition and some of these are displayed online. After much careful deliberation, ten pieces were selected to be sent to represent St John's with the winners being announced after the end of the academic year. Winning entries will
Director of Music, Mr Andrew Nethsingha, and The Choir of St John’s College, Cambridge, release Magnificat 2, the second volume in their highly-praised Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis series. The album, which was released on Signum Records on 16 April, features nine settings of the Evening Canticles. This album continues to explore the breadth of imagination with which composers have approached the Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis texts, having been utilised in Christian worship for over 1,000 years. This repertoire is the lifeblood of the Choir, who sing settings of these texts on a daily basis
One of the aims of the Sports Department is for each child at the school to find a sport they will enjoy pursuing at their senior school. The School strives for excellence in attitude and caters for everyone, regardless of ability, by providing a high standard of opportunities to train and compete with high level coaching for each sport. St John's nurtures the sporting values of good conduct, respect for players, discipline, excellent sportsmanship, leadership and teamwork, learning the merits of winning and losing and, most importantly, having fun. Head of Sport, Mr Gareth McComb, comments
Every year children throughout the school are given a chance to design and create a Christmas themed card in their art lessons. These are then printed and sold to St John's families with money going towards the Parents' Association's chosen charity at that time. It is a fun way to raise funds for good causes whilst also being able to purchase high quality personalised cards made by the children. Due to the pandemic this was not able to happen this year so Head of Art, Mrs Sam Downer, offered the children at Senior House the chance to create Spring or Easter cards to take home at the end of
Our Form 2 classes benefit from a Wednesday afternoon of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) every week throughout each of the three terms. During non-Covid circumstances, the children are able to use the extensive facilities on offer at Senior House in our two Science labs and computing suite. Since returning to school they have continued with the STEM project they began during remote learning on plants and plant growth. This has been combined with two other projects, one centred around coding with micro:bit mini computers and the other on investigative teamwork structural
Every year the ‘Passion Play’ is performed by the whole Sixth Form year group at the end of the Lent Term. This important milestone for children who are midway through their final year before leaving for their senior schools, is not only a retelling of the Easter story itself, but also a significant step in their development as communicators, learning to engage with serious subject matter in a thoughtful and sensitive way. Undaunted by the restrictions of the pandemic and the national lockdown which closed schools across the country for over two months, the children and staff instead
Red Nose Day organisers stated, ‘This year it never felt more important to have some fun and raise money to support people living incredibly tough lives. We need the power of funny to turn laughs into lasting change’ and children and staff at St John’s certainly rose to the challenge of hanging their best jokes on our 'laughing trees' in the Piazza and Forest Garden for all to enjoy. Coming to school with ‘hot hair’ also created a real buzz of excitement. The money raised currently stands at £578 for Comic Relief.
On 18 March, St John’s entered two teams of four Year 5 and four Year 6 pupils into the National Inter-Schools General Knowledge Championship area heat. With more than 400,000 children taking part each year, it is the largest Inter-School Quiz competition in the country. The Inter-Schools organisers explained, 'In light of the unusual situation schools find themselves in this year, we have decided to run all our Championship events live online with year groups each having their own competitions to ensure children in the same bubble play together as a team.'
In the first week back at school three teams of superb scientists made up of pupils from Year 5 and 6 took part in the online Inter-School National Science Quiz Championship heats. The competition was fierce with a number of schools from all over the country competing to show off their knowledge. Both Year 5 teams made it to the Finals after battling for 1st and 3rd places respectively. The top 10 teams from each Area Heat are invited to take part in the National Finals which will take place next term online.