At St. John’s we aim to support our children in developing the skills to be able to lead a life where they are happy to strive to achieve their best in all their endeavours whilst still recognising and responding to the needs of those around them.
A traditionally academic school, St John’s provides an outstanding, progressive and supportive curriculum that evolves with the needs of our pupils and society.
Above all, our values have always been based on the needs of our pupils.
OUR SCHOOL AIMS:
- Academic Excellence – Academic achievement is at the core of our mission. Through the study of the various disciplines, a child gains length, breadth and depth of understanding as to the ‘reason why’ of things. His/her attitude and outlook then begins to harmonise that much closer to the realities of life. Academic excellence also brings commendation which in turn, promotes a positive self-image. Once a child acquires the latter, there is no hurdle that he/she will not be prepared to tackle.
- Social competence – Today’s children are tomorrow’s adults. To cope with what lies ahead they need to develop their own value system and use it to guide their behaviour. We base our whole ethos on the generally recognised ideals of encouraging our children to develop sympathy and sensitivity towards the needs of those around them, which in turn helps them to acquire fine personalities, the ability to work well with fellow pupils and with colleagues later in life.
- Environmentally aware – We are fortunate to be situated in a total of 28 acres of green belt countryside, which provide a safe, inspiring open, fresh-air space where our pupils can enjoy, appreciate, understand and care for a beautiful campus.
- Support & Growth – Provide a learning experience where the physical, academic, creative, social, moral and aesthetic needs of every pupil can be met, allowing them to reach their full potential.
- Holistic Education – encourage self-awareness and a healthy attitude to the well-being of self and others, providing a curriculum to support the development of the whole person with a strong emphasis on sport and the arts.
- Life long learners – provide time and space to reflect on learning and develop skills in self-evaluation of Achievement and Personal Development
- Global Citizens – develop our pupils as Global Citizens in a truly integrated multi-national and multi-cultural learning community, who reach out to the wider world to understand their role and responsibilities.
- Community – build a strong partnership with home and extended community to maximise our pupils’ opportunities to succeed.
- Christian Values – our community is based on a moral framework that reflects the Christian values upon which St John’s principles are founded. Our aim is to develop pupils, who demonstrate a growing understanding of the spiritual and non-material aspects of life and their role in nurturing and developing these in themselves and others
Our Expectations
St John’s School is a highly academic school which aims to educate the whole person to the highest standards.
Whilst instilling academic ambition, the wider aspects of our curriculum such as music, the arts, theatre and sport, combined with social and moral awareness underpin our aim to develop the whole person. We understand the importance of a positive mind set and the well being of our community. The majority of our staff are trained mental health first aiders.
In this context, we believe in setting out our expectations of both pupils and teachers.
What is expected from pupils:
- To care for each other.
- To work as hard at their studies as they do at play.
- To be brave (but always courteous) thinkers.
When dealing with a problem to ask this of themselves:
‘How can I use my common sense to answer this question – rather than rely on my memory alone?’
This should be the principle of learning right across the board.
What is expected from teachers:
- In all that we do in the school, to be guided by the following questions:
- Is the content of my lesson good?
- Is the material relevant?
- Is my teaching effective?
- Through my teaching, am I inculcating in the pupil an interest in my subject and a fine attitude to learning?
- Through my teaching, are my pupils learning good study habits, good learning skills? Do I reason with them and develop them as independent, aspirational, resilient and above all happy, lifelong learners?
