“Through hard work, inspiration, mutual respect and enjoyment, we will achieve success together.”

Headteacher's Welcome

As you will see from the articles in this last newsletter of the academic year, it has been a very, very busy half term. Although Focus Week and Work Experience take months to organise it all becomes worth it when we see how much students have enjoyed and grown in character as a result. In my final assemblies of the year I will return to the two cornerstones of the JCS experience, which are the development of our students academically and in terms of character. This has been evident with the completion of exams for Years 11 and 13 and the vast range of events that have taken place in June and July.

It has been an honour to be Headteacher of John Colet School since January 2018 and I will leave with many golden memories. I would like to thank you all for making my last years as a headteacher such an enjoyable experience, but have to say that I am looking forward to a less challenging routine from September. I am sure that the JCS community will be just as welcoming to my successor,

Mr Brierly, as it has been to me.

I hope that you all have a restful summer break.

Vehicles on school grounds

Remember that vehicles should not be driven onto campus unless you are authorised to do so by the school office. Please park and walk. Unauthorised drivers are increasing the risk of accident by significantly adding to the volume of traffic, especially whilst the building work is on-going.

If authorised to do so, parents should drop-off directly in front of reception. Please do not use the parking bays for drop-off. The car-park directly in front of school is for staff vehicles only.

Mobile Phone Policy - 'no see, no hear'

At John Colet we have a 'no see, no hear' policy for mobile phones while students are on school site.

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 student support office where they will be allowed to ring home.

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 it 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.

School Attendance

As we come to the end of the year, we felt it might be helpful to remind you of the expectations we have for attendance and punctuality.

The school days begins at 8.27am, and students should be on site at this time ready to be in their form rooms at 8.30am. Where students arrive after 8.30am, we will send a message home and issue a C1 on each occassion. If you receive a message advising your child was late for school, please discuss their punctuality with them to enable you to support them in arriving on time. Should a student be late twice in a week, they will receive a C3 - after school detention - and this can be avoided by simply arriving to school on time. We know that roadworks and traffic can be unpredictable, and encourage you to leave plenty of time for your journey. Students also tell us they are late because they got up late, couldn't find a piece of uniform or equipment, and left the house late. It would be helpful if you could help them prepare for the day ahead by reminding them to pack their bag the night before, go to bed at a reasonable time, set an alarm to get up and leave the house at a suitable time.

We have seen a huge increase in the number of families who are taking time term holiday, and ask that you make arrangements for travel during the school holidays. It is very disruptive for children to miss lessons, and we often see students having difficulties catching up when they have been away. We are aware that some parents and carers report their child as absent due to illness when they are not unwell, and we kindly ask that you don't do this.

We know that there is a strong link between attendance and attainment, and, from analysing our results data, we can see that, on average, students drop a whole grade at GCSE for every ten percent of school that they miss. To support them in achieving their very best, we monitor attendance, and will contact you if we become concerned. If you have any worries about your child's attendance, please don't wait for us to contact you - you are very welcome to call or email and we will be very happy to offer support. Students do not need to miss school for minor illnesses such as a mild cold or headache, if they are tired or feel a litle under the weather. Please also don't keep them at home if they have fallen out with their friends or are worried about school or homework, as this often makes the sitution worse. If you have any concerns in this respect, please do let their form tutor or teacher know in the first instance and we can offer support.

We do hope that the long summer break will give students a chance to rest and recharge, and look foward to seeing everyone in September.

With kind regards

Mrs Di Bull and Mrs Natalie Preece, the Attendance Team

Sports Leadership

Little Acorns Sports Day

Well done to the year 9 students who have recently completed their level 1 qualification in Sports Leadership. It has been a very busy year with events and we have received such wonderful feedback from the primary schools and parents. Recently we organised and delivered Little Acorns Sports Day. The students were kind, caring and very enthusiastic with the students. A credit to the school. We are looking forward to another busy year next year with a number of events already planned and the qualifications already launched to selected year 9 students. We will also be launching our level 3 qualification to the year 12 students early in September.

Mrs Anns

Duke of Edinburgh Award

It has been another successful year for the Duke of Edinburgh award at John Colet School. Congratulations to all Bronze, Silver and Gold students who have recently completed and passed their qualifying expeditions. In the new academic year we will have the celebration events for this year's awards. If you are currently working towards a qualification please make sure that you get all your sections completed over the summer holidays. From September we will be launching Bronze to year 9, Silver to year 10 and Gold to year 12 students. We hope that many students will continue to choose to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh awards. The awards not only creates lifelong memories for the students, help them form new friendships and help develop important life skills. The award also is internationally recognised and beneficial to build CVs and strengthen applications to university or college.

Mrs Anns DofE Manager

Club Card Newsletter

The PE department is excited to announce that we will be launching a new reward system for extra curricular PE. In September we welcome the launch of the new Club Card system. Students will receive a stamp for every club or fixture in which they attend. The stamps will then add up to a reward.

15 stamps= R3

30 stamps= Rewards Trip

45 stamps= Prize

Please see below the extensive extra curricular timetable that will be on offer in September. We hope your child will take up some of the fantastic activities.

Mrs Anns

Year 10 Cricket

An enormous win for Year 10 Cricket on Wednesday 21st June. Beating Aylesbury Grammar School with 2 men down when fielding. A huge well done to the team and a special congratulations to Emile Jansen van Rensburg with 102 runs !!!

Careers Update

It may be the last half term of the academic year but it is one of the busiest times with Work Experience taking place. We had 209 students from year 10 and 12 out on placement for a week.

Students were based with a wide variety of organisations and we are grateful to all the employers who offered placements. We received great feedback about our students and several were offered part time jobs.

It was not only students visiting employers as Mrs Kennedy and Miss Harling from the Science Department got the opportunity to find out more about all the different roles within the NHS at a Teacher Encounter Event.

Many of the Year 12 students visited The University of Hertfordshire on a taster with the opportunity to attend lectures and look at the facilities including accommodation.

The year 7 students took part in a competition to name a tunnel boring machine by EKFB. The winning name was Patricia and this was suggested by Hannah. Hannah and the runners up got to meet Patricia before she started work.

The JCS finalists from year 9 Business Studies took part in the grand final of The National Careers Challenge at the International Conference Centre in Birmingham. The team was tasked with coming up with a product for the Next Big Thing category. Sadly they did not win but gave an amazing presentation to the panel of judges. Thank you to Print Lab who supplied the team t-shirts.

The final careers focused trip of the year was a trip to The Waterside Theatre for a Technical Theatre Workshop to find out more about technical careers and roles. The students got to explore backstage areas of the theatre and hear more about roles within sound, lighting and front of house.

A small group of our students attended the Confident Futures Show organised by Bucks Skills Hub and had the opportunity to meet employers and education providers from across the county.

Events and activities are being planned for next year, including the annual careers fair, and we are always keen to hear from parents, ex-students and employers that would like to come and talk to our students, please contact careers@johncolet.co.uk in the first instance.

Mrs Sinacore

Careers Coordinator

6th Form Prom

‘Following a busy summer exam season, during which our Year 13 students worked so hard, it was fantastic to see them party the night away at Prom. The event was held at Pendley Manor and the prom committee and their friends did a wonderful job of decorating the suite for the evening. After food, the DJ had the students filling the dance floor for the rest of the evening. Everyone looked very smart and had dressed up beautifully for the occasion. A really wonderful celebration to mark the end of their time at John Colet School. We wish our Year 13 Leavers all the best on results day and in the future.’

Mrs Fanchi

Head of Sixth Form

Tooled Up

If you haven’t signed up to ‘tooled up’ yet I urge you to. We subscribe to a library of resources for parents designed to boost children’s resilience, self-esteem and mental health to help them thrive throughout their educational journey and beyond.

Go to www.tooledupeducation.com/register.
Fill in your name, email address and chosen password.
Add your unique school PIN. Our PIN is JCS2206

If you already have an account, simply log in here using your email address and password. If you forget your details, use the reset password function to reset your account.

If you ever need assistance, contact the Tooled Up team, who will be happy to help: support@tooledupeducation.com.

Once you are logged in, click on the Resources button in the top left corner to discover the vast library of evidence-based support at your fingertips

Car Parking

Please can all visitors, staff, parents and students who drive to school be considerate when parking nearby. Please do not block our neighbours driveways, park directly opposite them or endanger lives by parking on the yellow lines.

Whilst parked and waiting would you kindly turn off your engine so this does not pollute the atmosphere or have future health implications for your child or the public.

Also, please be aware that the Memorial Hall Car Park and the Wendover Health Centre are not to be used for dropping off and collecting students to and from school.

Astronaut Talk

What a privilege for students, parents and staff to spend an evening hearing from Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger, retired NASA astronaut, about her time in space on Discovery. Dottie talked to her enraptured audience about her early childhood, her love of science, and how she came to be selected for the space programme via a career in teaching. She is a knowledgeable, engaging and enthusiastic speaker and this enthusiasm was contagious in the room - you could tell by the number of excellent questions which were asked! Mrs Fanchi accepted a beautiful book mapping the surface of Mars and signed by Dottie, which will be available for students to view in the school library. Thank you to all who came along to share in this really informative and enjoyable talk

Raspberry and Pistachio tea cake

Summer veg tostades

Current Job Vacancies

Full Job Descriptions are available on the John Colet School website. These can be found under 'About' tab on the 'Vacancies' section of the website.

Focus Week - June 2023

PGL

Activities were at full flow. They have been navigating obstacles blindfolded, completing high rope courses, learning woodland survival skills, climbing Jacob's ladder and the vertical challenge.

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Year 7 Programming

Programming BBC micro bits

Copy of 08 CuteBot Run Along the Black Line (27 Jun 2023 at 12:12).MOV

On Monday and Tuesday of Focus Week, Year 7 students took part in a series of programming activities. They spent their day programming little robotic vehicles to do things like following courses, turning on their lights, and playing melodies, culminating in an obstacle course.

Willen Lake

Articles from students:

Today we went to Willen Lake which was all water based activities. I was most impressed with the Kayaking and this was really fun. I learnt many skills during the water sports and also alternate ways to paddle with oars and paddles.

By Sophie - 8C

We did many different activities at Willen Lake such as archery, stand up paddle boarding and many more. The stand up paddle board was great because there were fun games within the activity. It was good to work with a group of people you might not know very well.

By Aiona and Sophie - 8A

The day was very busy with activities like tree climbing, raft building, stand up paddle boarding and many more. I found the paddle boarding and raft building most enjoyable. The best part of the day was learning how to build a raft.

By Teo - 8A

We had to build a raft and race to a certain point. Whilst doing the tree top activities this involved climbing and jumping over obstacles high in the trees. Another activity was Katakanu where we learnt how to row and raced, played a lot of games. This was something I had not done before. I liked how much control we had over rowing and steering it. The most interesting part of the day was I learned how to tie a knot and build a raft.

By Evan - 8J

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Go Ape

Year 9 Go Ape trip to Black Park in Wexham took part in two activities. The Treetops challenge which involved high ropes and navigating through tree tops for 90 minutes. The other activities were to challenge themselves safely on various obstacles before the adrenaline of the zip wire at the end of the course. The nets adventure is also set in the forest canopy with nets, trampolines and treehouses for exploration. Black Park covers over 500 acres of woodland, heatherland and open space in South Buckinghamshire and is a beautiful location for this fun day out.

Whipsnade Zoo - 28th June

Some articles from the students:

Visiting Whipsnade Zoo and seeing all the amazing animals as well as the visit to the gift shop. One of the best things we enjoyed was seeing the giraffes and elephants. We found out that lions can sleep for 21 hours. One of the interesting things was how the elephants keep cool by spreading dry mud on themselves and how many different butterflies and fish there were.

By Hebe and Keira - 7Z

I enjoyed the variety of animals and visiting the gift shop. It was nice to be with my friend and seeing my favourite animal. An interesting fact I learnt was that flamingos are pink because they eat a certain shrimp. The monkeys were the most interesting as they are so clever.

By Sophie - 7C

Seeing the many varieties of different animals and seeing different species of animal. This included penguins which you could see easy in their enclosure. I think the elephants and giraffes are my favourite.

By Holly - 7A

My day at Whipsnade Zoo was very good and I enjoyed looking at crocodiles, cheetahs and the elephants. My favourite animal at the zoo was the tigers. I learnt that the animals can be harmed when they are kept away from their natural habitat.

By William - 7G

Rumsey's Chocolate

It was very exciting when Rumsey's took time out of their busy schedule to come and show some students how chocolate was made. The students were able to sample some of their award winning chocolate.

All Rumsey's chocolate is handmade in small batches from their chocolateries in the Chilterns. The team of chocolate chefs have all been personally trained by Master Chocolatier and founder, Nigel Rumsey.

Raksha Bandhan

Reason for the celebration of this festival and what is its meaning.

The festival of Raksha Bandhan is observed as a symbol of duty between brothers and sisters. The occasion is meant to celebrate any type of brother-sister relationship between men and women who may not be biologically related. Raksha also abbreviated to Rakhi, is the Hindu festival that celebrates brotherhood and love. It is celebrated on the full moon in the month of Sravana in the lunar calendar. The word Raksha means protection, whilst Bandhan is the verb to tie.

I enjoyed my day very much. Throughout the day I took part in many interesting and unique activities, I think my favourite had to be bracelet making. Whilst partaking in these activities I have learnt the importance of tranquillity and mindfulness and how it can be very beneficial in your everyday life.

Article by Sienna - 9

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RAF Museum

The day started with some free time to explore on of the hangers. This was nice because we got to do this with our friends and it gave us some freedom. After this we went to a lecture theatre with really comfy seats. A lady gave a talk about people of colour in the RAF throughout the years. Some students dressed up as well which was funny. After this we had free roam of the hangers which was fun. It was nice to be able to explore by ourselves.

Personally, I found the talk called 'flying colours' the most enjoyable. It was very educational and interactive. During the talk the speaker spoke about people of colour breaking the future of RAF standards. This was really interesting when they used a voice to tell their stories. This was very different but made it so interesting. It changed my perspective of what it was/is like to be able to make a change. The freedom to explore the hangers was also really fun and enjoyable to have.

The trip showed me more about aircrafts but also the importance of the RAF. The speech was really inspiring for me to show that change can happen. Being able to jest explore the museum was interesting. You were immersed amongst airplanes and history. Overall it was a very fun day.

Article by Bella - 9Z

We were allowed to walk around the hangars and take pictures. I found it really interesting learning how the pilots looked and all the instruments inside the plane.

Article by Archie - 9C

On Monday 26th June, all the year 7s and the teachers/sixth formers left John Colet School by coach to arrive in Portsmouth. Then we got on the ferry, where there were many things provided to entertain us, which made time fly by!

There was an arcade, several movie options to watch, a place to get food when we needed it, and several quizzes and games available to do!

We arrived in Caen around 10-11 pm French time and settled into our hostel just in time to get enough sleep. When we arrived, we were shown a new experience as sharing a room with 3 other girls was a new concept to most. We got used to making our own bed (if we had not already) and learnt to share a living space with other people our own age. We all got used to sharing and making sure each person had an equal amount of space when they needed it. Overall, the experience of living in a hostel for 4 days actually strengthened my relationship with my peers/friends.

In the mornings, we were provided with a variety of food to choose from for breakfast and an opportunity to make our lunches with a wide variety of ingredients to choose from! The staff made sure to vary the food choices to make sure we got what we thought would be best for us, which everyone was grateful for.

On Tuesday, we visited Pegasus Bridge! While at the museum, we were told the history of the bridge!

For example, the code name ‘Ham’ and ‘Jam’ for the bridges! We were also given a chance to go onto the beach! As our Hostel was right next to it (Conveniently!) On Wednesday, we visited Bayeux, and the Bayeux Tapestry! It consists of 75 scenes each depicting the Battle of Hastings in the form of tapestry. It gained its own stitch name “The Bayeux Stitch” We visited a Cathedral and explored a Marketplace with the task to find the ‘Most French thing they could find for 10 euros’ which turned out to be a team-testing task, which resulted in the discovery of even more surprising and useful knowledge and bonds with others! While we explored the marketplace, we were given the opportunity to interact with French people and the French language, which was amazing, confusing and new all in one! Our school french skills were put to the task, but with the help of teachers and conversation starters, we were able to communicate (mostly) successfully with the people in the marketplace!

After visiting several commonwealth war cemeteries on Tuesday and Wednesday, on Thursday we visited Colleville- sur- Mer. This cemetery was not a commonwealth one, but instead one owned by the USA. We were told the stories of several soldiers buried there, although it being a sensitive subject and location, we were able to quickly learn how to be respectful and quiet while learning. After the visit to Colleville-sur-Mer, we went to one of the most memorable locations of the whole trip: Festyland! There were a variety of activities to experience, the most popular being the roller coasters or water rides, after this experience we headed back to our hostel. By Friday, we’d all packed our suitcases and cleared out our rooms. After a coach drive to the port, we started our trip to return to England.

After a delay on the ferry, we all managed to make the best of it in one way or another, in several ways, but by making valuable memories either way.

Overall, On this trip most would say they’d had a very enjoyable experience, one I will not forget for years to come. With the help from all the wonderful teachers, students and hostel staff who made our experience even more memorable, we had a successful trip to Normandy and back, even if it was (for most) the first time out of the country without parents or carers, it was an unforgettable experience!

Article by Jennifer

Normandy

Year 7 trip to Normandy on Monday 26th - Friday 30th June 2023

The trip was a language based trip including a cultural aspect too. The visit comprised of The Bayeux Tapestry, the Normandy Landing Beaches, Pegasus Bridge and Festyland.

After our long anticipated arrival at Portsmouth for the ferry boarding, we explored the boat. After our 6 hour crossing of the waters of the Channel we arrived in France and headed to the hostel.

Over the week we went to many war cemeteries and paid our respects. These were very eerie with rows and rows of pearly white crosses with the odd Star of David or Soviet Star. Two of the cemeteries we visited had sections of unknown German soldiers.

Pegasus Bridge was an interesting one as I'd heard of it but didn't know much about it. There was a museum on site where we could see the actual bridge. It was one of the keys to allied success in WW2 as it was the only crossing point for a river.

Behind the museum we could see a glass encased real life training module of a glider which was found in Britain.

We visited Bayeux and saw the tapestry and got an explanation of what it showed. The Cathedral there is massive.

We had a fun trip to the theme park Festyland.

On our final hours in France we visited a hypermarket which was at least four times bigger than an Asda!

Overall this trip to Normandy was a great experience for us all. I learned a lot about the places we visited. But most of all we all had fun.

Article by Cameron.

My day consisted of visiting cemetery's and learning about d-day and how it was caused. I enjoyed festyland (the theme park) the most and I found the exhibition the most interesting.

Article by Amy - 7J

Resilience and Growth Workshop

The day began with an outdoor growth mind-set assembly and BMX trick display. Throughout the day students were able to take part in a practical BMX workshop to test their growth mind-set approach to learning tricks on bikes. Students took part in various other activities during the day to further develop their growth mind-set approach.

Science Museum

This trip was a valuable opportunity for students to see many dynamic, up to date, interactive exhibitions which complement and enhance the understanding of the Science National Curriculum. Students were able to have hands-on experience and were encouraged to take part in experiments with exhibits such as Space, Who am I and Flight. They also took part in the Wonderlab interactive gallery.

Article by Charlie - 8G

Whilst at the Museum we went to the Wonderlab and there were other galleries to visit. I found learning about weight friction and space was very interesting. Overall the day was good.

The Bodleian Library in Oxford

Year 7 students went to an exhibit in the library which looked at the importance of gift-giving through books. Students were able to share book recommendations and experiences they have had in relation to the giving and receiving of books. The photos are of students writing their recommendations and hanging them on the wall.

Awards Evening 10th July 2023

Well done to all the students who received their rewards on the Evening.

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

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

We have numerous items of 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 Student Welfare Officer's 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.