“Every Student Thriving”
Embedded Files
Headteacher's Welcome
Headteacher's Welcome
Our new students are now settled, drills have been exercised (Fire and Lockdown), our first round of house competitions has been completed and there is no scaffold to be seen on site for the first time in many moons! School has now settled into good routines with a real sense of purpose and the new academic year is now well and truly underway.
The Autumnal weather has made our surroundings even more glorious than usual. With it has come jarring changes in temperature and the usual raft of colds and sniffles. It is always good to see our students demonstrating strong character in their attendance of school when faced with minor ailments as this builds resilience and determination.
You will find in this newsletter many examples of the extra-curricular activities that our students participate in and it gives a great flavour of the rich number of opportunities our students have to develop not just their mind but their body and spirit as well.
Have a good half-term.
Mobile Phone Policy - 'no use, no see no hear' from gate to gate.
Mobile Phone Policy - 'no use, no see no hear' from gate to gate.
From September 2025 mobiles phones policy update: This is an area of interesting contention. Last year we moved to a ‘gate to gate’ system. The students responded to this incredibly well. Nearly all major issues were reduced. Next year we will go one step further and require that phones are off and in bags as well. Young people need to learn to be disciplined and the vast majority of our students are excellent. I therefore feel that those students who are self-disciplined should be acknowledged and respected as they will follow the rules. It is now about ensuring the very small percentage of students who are left learn to ‘switch off and bag up’.
During school hours, should you need to contact your child please telephone the School Office and we will get a message to them. Alternatively if a student needs to contact their parent/carer they should go to the Student Support office or School Office to ask them to contact home on the students behalf.
Unfortunately, at times parents try to contact students directly which causes their phone to go off during lessons - this results in the student having their phone confiscated as per our school policy and it will be a parent/carer that will have to pick the mobile phone up from the School Office. If you are unable to collect the phone please arrange for a family member, or responsible adult to collect it on your behalf. Students will not be able to pick up their phone themselves under any circumstance. A number of students have raised the issue of having to use their phone to pay for transport home. If this is the case the student needs to come and speak to the School Office. We will arrange for a loan which will need to be reimbursed the next day.
Homework Club
Homework Club
Reminder that Homework club which runs everyday after school until 3:50pm
Here at John Colet, we are committed to maintaining high standards of attendance and punctuality. Regular attendance is essential to ensure that all students reach their full potential, and we would like to work closely with families to ensure students attend every day.
Punctuality
Punctuality
The school day begins at 8.27am, and students arriving after 8.30am will receive a C1 - late to school. In the unlikely event they are late twice in a week, this will escalate to a C3 - after school detention and persistent lateness may lead to further action. We know some families travel quite a distance to choose John Colet for their education however we have the same expectation that all our students will allow sufficient time for their journey and arrive on time so please plan accordingly.
The school day begins at 8.27am, and students arriving after 8.30am will receive a C1 - late to school. In the unlikely event they are late twice in a week, this will escalate to a C3 - after school detention and persistent lateness may lead to further action. We know some families travel quite a distance to choose John Colet for their education however we have the same expectation that all our students will allow sufficient time for their journey and arrive on time so please plan accordingly.
Reporting an Absence
If a student is going to be absent, parents/carers must log the absence using the Arbor App only on the first, and every, day of absence before 8.30am. Unavoidable medical appointments can also be reported in this way. Students should not be absent from school with minor symptoms such as headaches, colds, period pain and sore limbs from exercise. They should also come to school if they are tired from a busy weekend or late night, it is their birthday, the family pet is unwell or you have family visiting the area as these are not valid reasons for missing school.
Returning to School
Returning to School
When returning after an absence, your child's form tutor will meet with them to discuss their absence and ensure they are able to catch up on work they have missed. This will be an opportunity for the tutor to support them, and also to find out more about their absence.
Unauthorised Absences
Unauthorised Absences
Holidays during term time are not permitted. Unauthorised absences may be reported to the local authority and could result in penalty notices.
Holidays during term time are not permitted. Unauthorised absences may be reported to the local authority and could result in penalty notices.
Monitoring Attendance
Monitoring Attendance
Attendance is monitored weekly, and we will contact you should we become concerned about your child's attendance. Students with attendance below 90% in a five week rolling period are classed as persistently absent and will fall in to our attendance process. This is designed to be supportive so you can improve your child's attendance, however persistent low attendance may result in penalty notices.
Attendance is monitored weekly, and we will contact you should we become concerned about your child's attendance. Students with attendance below 90% in a five week rolling period are classed as persistently absent and will fall in to our attendance process. This is designed to be supportive so you can improve your child's attendance, however persistent low attendance may result in penalty notices.
Celebrating Success
Celebrating Success
Excellent attendance is celebrated through rewards and recognition including R1's for weekly 100% attendance, rewards for best form attendance, and rewards for improved attendance. More sustained excellent attendance is recognised with increased R points and celebration events. We will be running attendance competitions throughout the year so watch this space!
Excellent attendance is celebrated through rewards and recognition including R1's for weekly 100% attendance, rewards for best form attendance, and rewards for improved attendance. More sustained excellent attendance is recognised with increased R points and celebration events. We will be running attendance competitions throughout the year so watch this space!
Working Together
We appreciate the continued support of families in ensuring students are present, on time, and ready to learn. Every day counts—let’s make each one matter!
If you have any concerns about your child's attendance, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Di and Natalie, the Attendance Team
Robotics Club
Robotics Club
Robotics Club is back and hitting the ground running with new Year 7 students, photographed showing off their latest creation BOB. The Year 7s robotics team are up against seasoned Year 8 competitors. Robotics Club is run by Ollie D in Year 13 and he has been joined by Harry B in Year 12, who is running coding for students who want to get ahead! Robotics Club has lego kits, cutebots and is open to any student who wants to improve some aspect of their coding skills - we run a little bit of games development and coding for all students of all abilities. Last summer, we had a thrilling Bot Battle and are looking forward to another Bot Battle Finale in March next year.
Design and Technology
Design and Technology
Year 7
Year 7
Back to school means back to practical lessons! Our new Year 7 students are doing fantastically so far, learning lots of new practical skills over the different technology areas! Keep up the great work everyone.
Year 9
Year 9
Year 9 students rose to the challenge of creating Pasta Ragu entirely from scratch, and the results were nothing short of impressive. They mastered the delicate art of pasta making, rolling and shaping dough with patience and precision, while also learning the complex techniques behind preparing a rich and flavoursome Ragu. The process damanded high level culinary skills, from careful kneading to developing deep flavours, and the students pushed themselves far beyond the basics, showing real determination and resilience. Their hard work paid off in a dish that was both authentic and delicious.
Year 9
Year 9
A new year! A new set of classes! Our Year 9s this year will be competing each month against one another in the Great Colet Make Offer. This month's challenge is to make a high quality series of comb joints based on a set of criteria. Well done to Beau, Evan and Finley for being our top performers for this round.
Announcement - Forgotten items after Half term
Announcement - Forgotten items after Half term
Following on from Mr Brierly's notification in Parent Briefing on Friday 17th October, students will receive a C1 for not being fully equipped if they require the office to call home for, or for parents to drop off forgotten items to the school office for either in school or after school activities. This includes PE kit, Chromebooks, homework, pencil cases etc. Certain exceptions will be made.
Drawings from 7Z
Drawings from 7Z
These are observational drawings of potatoes from 7Z.
A Level Art
A Level Art
A look back at some of our amazing A level work from our 24/25 Year 13 Art and Photography students.
Open evening painting
Open evening painting
This Year's giant open evening painting inspired by Yayoi Kusama.
Well done to the Year 7s and 6s who contributed!!
We have activities and guest speakers already arranged for this year but we always like to hear from people outside of our school community. If you would like to come and speak to our students or know someone who would please email tsinacore@johncolet.co.uk. We are particularly keen to hear from anyone who has completed an apprenticeship or can talk about roles in construction, law, plumbing and heating, marketing and finance.
Work Experience
We have our year 10 and 12 students out on work experience from 29th June to 3rd July, if you are able to offer a placement please email wex@johncolet.co.uk. Thank you.
Our Year 11 students took part in mock interviews last week and we received very positive feedback from our volunteer interviewers. Thank you to all the interviewers who gave up their time.
Some of our Year 12 Physics and Maths students attended the Schools Careers Aerospace Show with Mr Naylor. The students found the talks and demonstrations very interesting and they got to meet Spot the robotic dog.
Year 7 - Team building
Year 7 - Team building
At the beginning of September, we took the whole of Year 7 out on a Thursday afternoon to visit the Action 4 Youth Outdoor Centre in Milton Keynes. The students all participated in a range of activities from raft building to bouncy castle races! The students were an absolute credit to the school and tackled the activities as a team and were fantastic. We had a lot of fun.
Rewards and Consequences
Rewards and Consequences
Year 7
Year 7 have had a fantastic start to the year and have all settled in so well so far. It has been fantastic to see. At the moment, as a year group, the students have achieved an amazing total of 7900 Reward points this half term. The form group leaderboard is currently as follows:
Year 7
Year 7 have had a fantastic start to the year and have all settled in so well so far. It has been fantastic to see. At the moment, as a year group, the students have achieved an amazing total of 7900 Reward points this half term. The form group leaderboard is currently as follows:
1st - 7G
2nd - 7Z
3rd - 7J
4th - 7C
5th - 7A
6th - 7T
Well done 7G! With a hats off to Amelia P and Mattia B in 7G who are the two students with the most R points in Year 7.
Keep going, everyone!
Year 8
It’s been lovely to welcome my year group back to John Colet, now they are no longer the newest students in the school.
Year 8
It’s been lovely to welcome my year group back to John Colet, now they are no longer the newest students in the school.
8C have made a great start by accruing the highest number of R-Points in Year 8 this Half Term - great work, 8C, and Miss Smith!
The Year 8 ‘league table’ for R-Points is below:
8C 1682
8Z 1588
8T 1532
8G 1503
8A 1298
8J 1215
Special shout outs to Owen in 8T, Ahmed in 8C, Daniel in 8T, and Hen and Mia in 8Z, for reaching the Top 5 for R-Points in the year so far.
Year 9
Year 9
Year 9 – A Fantastic Start to the Year!
Year 9 – A Fantastic Start to the Year!
What a brilliant beginning to Year 9! It’s been wonderful to see everyone return with such a positive attitude, ready to learn and take on new challenges. Your enthusiasm and maturity are setting the tone for what promises to be a great year ahead.
A special well done to Jack, whose fantastic DJ skills at the Year 7 and 8 disco really helped make the event such a success—great job! We would also like to say a huge thank you to Jack and Lilia for their thoughtful contributions in raising awareness for ADHD, by creating a number of support ribbons and preparing a presentation to help educate and encourage understanding across our school community. This act of kindness and leadership really embodies what it means to be Ready, Respectful, and Responsible.
Our attendance has also been excellent so far, showing your commitment to being in school, learning, and supporting one another. Let’s keep that consistency going, it makes a real difference!
When it comes to R-Points, we’re off to a fantastic start this year:
🥇 9C – 1,999 points
🥈 9T – 1,846 points
🥉 9A – 1,806 points
Followed by 9Z (1,722), 9G (1,676), and 9J (1,513).
These scores show that Year 9 students are already demonstrating strong teamwork, responsibility, and positive attitudes. Let’s keep that momentum going, supporting one another, celebrating each other’s successes, and showing what makes Year 9 such a special year group.
Keep up the great work, Year 9, you’ve made an excellent start!
Year 10
Year 10
As we begin a new academic year, it’s been wonderful to see such enthusiasm, positivity, and teamwork throughout the school community. A huge thank you to everyone who supported our recent Open Evening — your efforts truly showcased the best of what our school has to offer.
I’d also like to give special recognition to some of our outstanding students who have already made a brilliant start to the year with their reward points. Well done to Jessica Gomez Gomez, Molly Farr, and Ashveen Bhatia, and to Jaydan Tucker, Dylan Newark, and Radley Howard — your dedication and positive attitude are setting a fantastic example to others.
Year 11
Year 11
Year 11 have hit the ground running from September and have shown us that they are ready, respectful, responsible and kind.
As a whole their attendance is fourth in the school. This is of concern due to the importance of this year, so please do have conversation with your child regarding the importance of attending.
Congratulations to 11G who have had 100% attendance for 2 weeks in a row and are one of the top forms in the school.
This week they’ve engaged with mock interviews and the general feedback is that we have a cohort of polite, engaging and ambitious young people. I hope they all gained some confidence from the experience.
Top R point earners so far are:
Isaac Temple (83)
Lily Thomas (77)
Ahmed Ibrahimi (73)
Tara McEvoy (65)
Charlie Gerrell (61)
Alfred Pollington-Byrne (61)
Archie Archer (60)
The R point standings for our 7 forms are:
11C
11Z
11J
11G
11A
11TB
11TA
I am looking forward to seeing year 11 tackle their mock exams next half term and continue to see them fully taking advantage of our after school revision sessions.
Year 12 and 13
A wonderful start to the year for both Year 12 and Year 13! Students who receive the top R points each week are now recognised with a certificate. Being awarded a certificate comes with rewards at key points in the year; sweets and even extra flexis too! Year to date, Harry B and Ben D (Year 12) are tied on 33 with Ollie D leading the way in Year 13 with 23 points. Let’s hope the sibling rivalry is good-natured between Ollie and Ben! Top girls are Aimee F (Year 12) very close to the top with 32 points and Joely B (Year 13) with 16. Top forms are 12GJ (312) and 13B (165). An excellent first half term with a Sixth Form total of 1310 points!
Year 12 and 13
A wonderful start to the year for both Year 12 and Year 13! Students who receive the top R points each week are now recognised with a certificate. Being awarded a certificate comes with rewards at key points in the year; sweets and even extra flexis too! Year to date, Harry B and Ben D (Year 12) are tied on 33 with Ollie D leading the way in Year 13 with 23 points. Let’s hope the sibling rivalry is good-natured between Ollie and Ben! Top girls are Aimee F (Year 12) very close to the top with 32 points and Joely B (Year 13) with 16. Top forms are 12GJ (312) and 13B (165). An excellent first half term with a Sixth Form total of 1310 points!
Year 7 & 8 School Disco
Year 7 & 8 School Disco
The DT Department hosted a fantastic Halloween Disco for our Year 7 and 8 students, and it was a huge success! The school hall was transformed with spooky decorations, and over 120 students arrived in amazing fancy dress. Everyone had a brilliant time dancing to fantastic music provided by our DJs, Jack and his father. A huge thank you to them both!
Staff and sixth formers also joined in the fun, dressing up and showing off their best dance moves. A big thank you to the sixth form team for running the tuck shop and to the staff who helped the evening run smoothly.
It was a wonderful night full of dancing, great music and brilliant costumes. We can’t wait for the next school disco!
PE Department
PE Department
The Year 7 A, B and C team had their seeding tournament at AHS. They all worked exceptionally hard with the As placing 3rd in their league, Bs placing 1st and Cs placing 4th. We have a great season ahead with this year group.
The U12s kicked off their County Cup campaign with a fantastic start. Considering this was their first fixture together at John Colet the team came together with a huge 6-3 win.
County Cup football for the year 7 boys football team. This was the teams first competitive game for the school. Although the result was not the one Colet wanted,the way theory created chances throughout the game and played the majority of the football in their attacking half was very impressive.
This year's sixth formers created a netball battle. With the boys winning one, girls winning one and the finalist winners being the boys.
The Year 9 boys football team came together after having a terrific season last year. The team can take so many positives from the performance despite losing 3-2. Not only did they massively improve their result, they showed huge character to come back from a goal behind on two occasions, never letting their heads drop.
Our U13 girls put in a fantastic performance against Pipers Corner. The team played brilliant football, scored an incredible 10 goals and kept a clean sheet. POTM being Megan T for her outstanding contribution on the pitch.
The Year 7 boys football teams continued their preparation for the season with both the A and B teams travelling to Tring for some friendly fixtures. Player of the Match the A team - Leo and Nathaniel and Player of the Match for the B team - Dylan
League netball officially started for the Year 9B team. The girls embraced the sunshine as well as their match against Cottesloe, winning 7-5. Player of the match was Nevaeh.
Year 8
Year 8
After a tough first league match for the Year 8 B team last week they came back stronger. Beating Aylesbury High School 5 - 4. Player of the match Leah. The A team had a very tough game but showed great resilience and determination to keep fighting to the end. Player of the match Isla. Well done girls.
Tooled Up
Tooled Up
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Spicy Pies with Sweet Potato Mash
Spicy Pies with Sweet Potato Mash
Pumpkin Muffin
Pumpkin Muffin
Early Help
Early Help
In Buckinghamshire, there is a wealth of support available for families within our community for a wide range of needs. Sometimes, it can be tricky knowing where to turn and what is available. The Family Centre Plus has a welcome desk where young people, families and parents can drop in and talk to someone between 9am-5pm Monday to Friday. Families will be supported to know what supports and services are available to help them with their needs as they emerge. The Family Centre is also contactable on 01296 383 293.If you would like any further information on Early Help support please do contact Mrs Pearcey- Student Engagement Coordinator on 01296623348.
Free School Meals
Free School Meals
If your circumstances have changed recently and you think you are eligible for free school meals please get in touch via pupilpremium@johncolet.co.uk and we can complete a simple check for you.
Lost Property
Lost Property
We have numerous items of unnamed lost property including coats, shoes, trainers, water bottles and food tech containers/equipment. If you are missing any items, please ask your child to visit Main reception Office. All unclaimed items will be donated to charity at the end of term.
Please can I ask that your child's name is put on everything. Thank you.
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