29 September 2023
Dear Parent / Carer
Since my last newsletter to you, such a great deal has happened I’m not quite sure where to begin! The clear highlight of the last two weeks was our Years 5 and 6 Open Evening. Despite an apocalyptic, lightning-struck and rain-washed sky, we were delighted to welcome over 600 parents, carers, grandparents and prospective students to The John Warner School. Dr Josephine Valentine, OBE for Services to Education, and CEO of Danes Educational Trust, opened the evening and our lovely Head Boy, Alex Quintin, and Head Girl, Charlotte Bacon, both spoke engagingly about the opportunities they have received across six and a half years of schooling. They were followed by two of our community’s newest members, Year 7 students, Cem and River, who stole the show with their lively and joyful overview of their first two weeks at our school.
My thanks go to all colleagues who provided such a rich, informative and interactive evening for our prospective students and their families, and to those parents and members of the broader community who have taken the time to send their very best wishes to us in response. Please see below for a visual snapshot of all that took place.
We were also delighted to welcome interested stakeholders to the Danes Educational Trust Parent Consultation Evening last night, 28 September. Thank you for taking the time to attend this important meeting. I trust that it has helped to both inform and reassure you as we take the next steps in The John Warner School improvement journey together.
I am sure that the following articles will further confirm for you the array of opportunities available to our students. My congratulations to so many of them for seizing these opportunities with both hands and my thanks to you for supporting them in all their endeavours. In keeping with this focus upon engagement and success…
...MANY CONGRATULATIONS go to…
Year 9 student, Teddy Walsh, who has been selected to represent the Hertfordshire U14 Boys county football team after a successful trial period. We wish Teddy all the very best as he pursues his love of football.
Teddy Walsh - Year 9
Warmest Regards
Rachel Brindley
Interim Headteacher, The John Warner school
In keeping with the upcoming opportunity to sit The John Warner School Technology Aptitude Test on 10 October 2023, please read below a comprehensive outline from Stuart Higham of our latest Technology, Engineering and Robotics Updates.
Arkwright Scholarship
FOR ALL YEAR 11 STUDENTS:
On 9 October 2023, applications open for this year’s ‘Arkwright Scholarship’. The scholarship is open to any Year 11 student who has a desire to enter a career in engineering and who will continue to study towards this aim throughout Post-16 course choices.
The scholarship not only provides a financial reward, but also opens opportunities to work with industry leaders, to take part in STEM related activities and to gain mentorship from previous Arkwright scholars.
For further information, please click below.
VEX Robotics Regional Competition
On Saturday 23 September, The John Warner School hosted the first VEX Robotics competition of the academic year. This exciting opener to the new season had students from across the country coming together to pitch their robots against each other in this year’s game, ‘Over Under’. As the first opportunity for teams to compete, it was a great chance to see what solutions students had for the new season and how they had each interpreted the challenge.
11 May Deutsche Bank
A select group of females studying Engineering were invited to attend Deutsche Bank’s ‘Future Females in Tech’ day. The day was spent learning about prospects in the Technology sector in a wide range of overlapping industries from manufacturing to banking. The afternoon was used to develop skills in team work, leadership and working together with all of The John Warner students having a strong presence in each of their groups. The goal was to develop an entire city, built from LEGO, following principles of management. The day was an absolute joy with all of the students appearing alongside Mr Higham in the wrap video, here; wrap video
9 June Raytheon Quadcopter
On 9 June and for the fifth year running, The John Warner School participated in the Raytheon Quadcopter Challenge. For the past three years our students have made it to the regional final and alternately had success in the presentation or the flying – never both at the same time! This year, the team is adamant that they have the necessary blend of presenters and pilots to make it through to the grand final, to be held in Scotland, at the end of the year.
19 June IMechE STEM Day
SheCanEngineer through the Institute of Mechanical Engineers laid on a STEM day at their headquarters in London on 19 June to promote young women in engineering. Nine young ladies who have opted for Engineering or Technology at The John Warner School were accompanied to a day of building, programming and engineering. The morning session saw them replicating the Mars rover, assembling and programming a simple Lego robot to follow a given path. In the afternoon, they became project managers, planning a new sports arena using civil engineering practices. Our students also managed to get a glimpse of Buckingham Palace en-route to a very informative day that was inspirational to all in attendance.
20 June Rotary Technology Tournament
Four teams from The John Warner were entered into this year’s Rotary Club of Hoddesdon Technology Tournament in the basic, intermediate and advanced categories. Despite the local private school sweeping the board, the intermediate team and advanced John Warner Team managed a very respectable 2nd and 3rd respectively. Thank you to Mr Bower and Ms Dane for organising the teams.
Maths Challenge
Autumn 2023 University of Hertfordshire Royal Institution (Ri) Mathematics Masterclasses for Year 9 students.
The John Warner School is delighted to have been offered the opportunity to nominate two Year 9 students to take part in the Royal Institution Mathematics Masterclasses. These two students are Felix Coleman Green and Harry Campbell who are to be congratulated on their nominations.
Royal Opera House: Identity
Current Year 10 students from The John Warner School have taken part in The Identity Programme with Trestle Theatre Company, funded by The Royal Opera House Bridge and the Department for Education Expansion fund:
Exploring Identity at John Warner School
‘I’m counting down the laps of a clock,
I am on the last lap
Pushing, praying, don’t catch me!
I am the winner,
Undefeated victory!’
Kenya Expedition, 2024
COMING SOON….
JOHN WARNER SCHOOL KENYA EXPEDITION 2024
As a school, we have worked with Camps International since 2009 travelling bi-annually to take students away for 28 days to volunteer in rural communities around the world. We have worked in the following countries: Kenya, Borneo, Ecuador & the Galapagos, Uganda, Cambodia & Tanzania and we know we have done our part to create lasting change in these countries, impacting upon the lives of local people, villages and supporting local wildlife.
Parent / Carer Thank yous
In each newsletter our final item will be a short extract from one of the many ‘Thank yous’ staff have received over the previous two weeks.
‘Good Morning,
Thank you for your response…
As an additional note I would like to add that when attending the open evening (my daughter) showed myself and her younger sibling around and we were also later joined by my son…who is also at John Warner. It was very heartwarming to see the relationship that they had with their teachers and how comfortable and proud they were showing us around the school.
…Finally, the speeches by yourself and Dr Valentine were both very reassuring. So much so that many parents who had virtually ruled out John Warner on reputation alone are now going to be putting it as their first choice as they now believe John Warner has a bright future.
John Warner has so much to offer and I am now confident with the right leadership in place that it will be an excellent school to attend.
Keep up the good work.’
With many thanks to Charlotte Dodd for taking the time to write the above. It is very much appreciated.