08 November 2024

Dear Parent / Carer

I am pleased to be writing to you as we begin the second half of the term, reflecting on an incredibly busy and rewarding start to the school year. The first half-term was filled with enriching events and activities that have brought our school community together in meaningful ways.

Our Year 11 and Year 13 students have broadened their horizons with educational trips to London and Southwold, respectively. We were delighted to welcome our Year 13 parents to a successful Parents' Evening.

To support academic success, we held valuable Elevate sessions for Year 10 and 11 students and their parents, where strategies for effective revision were shared. Our recent “Wear it Pink” day also brought a splash of colour and raised awareness for a good cause, demonstrating our school’s spirit of togetherness and compassion.

Finally, I’d like to remind everyone of the importance of good attendance and punctuality. Students must not arrive later than 8:35 a.m., as this is crucial for their progress and attainment. Working together to support your child’s success, let’s continue to make this school year, one of growth and achievement.

Thank you for your ongoing support and partnership.

Warmest regards

Chris Price

Acting Headteacher, The John Warner School

Duke of Edinburgh Awards Evening

The Duke of Edinburgh Award embodies the spirit of adventure, resilience, and personal growth, and the students who completed this award have embarked on a transformative experience, pushing their boundaries, stepping out of their comfort zones, learning new skills, developing old ones and helping out in the community. The students who have completed this award have showed incredible determination, commitment, courage and resilience to complete all parts of the award - volunteering, physical, skills, expeditions, and for Gold, the residential.

To highlight the successes of many of our students, on the 10 October, all students who completed their Duke of Edinburgh Award this year were invited to an evening of celebration. During this evening, we highlighted their achievements, and identified specific students and events which made the expeditions particularly memorable to both students and staff.

A huge congratulations to all the students who have completed their DofE Award this year.

Year 11 Geography Canary Wharf Trip

The Year 11 Geographers had a fantastic two days in London, successfully completing their human geography fieldwork. Highlights included crossing the Thames by cable car and traveling on the Uberboat, all before undertaking various fieldwork methods to investigate differences in quality of life across three areas around Canary Wharf. Well done to everyone involved!

Year 13 Geography Southwold Trip

The Southwold trip was an enriching experience, giving me experience in fieldwork skills and independence in my study. The center we visited, which organised our fieldwork, was very useful in helping choose our question and sub-questions, as well a providing the equipment for our research. Chris, the center worker, took us on a tour of the town on the first day, which gave us a strong basis for our questions. The next day, we were given full freedom to conduct our research, which gave a level of independence we had not yet had in any other fieldwork trips. I focused my question on the way in which sediment was transported down the coastline, and conducted experiments, including longshore drift measuring, groyne height measuring, and beach width measurements. On the third day, we were given access to their drone to take aerial photos for our NEA. Overall, the Southwold trip was greatly productive and useful for our Geography coursework.

Murray (Year 13)

JWS Student Zone: Get Involved!

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Musical Theatre

This term, KS3 students were introduced to Musical Theatre as a new subject. They studied Grease, with a key focus on body percussion, learning both the dance and song to "Hand Jive." In the final lessons, students took on creative roles as set designers, exploring the responsibilities involved in this role.

Miss Brenton and Miss Curaba have thoroughly enjoyed teaching this topic and have selected seven set designs that showcase wonderful creativity.

Reading with the
Sixth Form

This term, Sixth Form students dedicated time to help Year 7s with their reading fluency — a wonderful initiative that strengthened reading skills and fostered new friendships. Their support created a positive and encouraging environment, making a lasting impact on both academics and connections across year groups. Well done to everyone involved!

School goes Pink!

On Friday, 25 October, it was wonderful to see so many students and staff showing their support for people affected by breast cancer.

By giving, we are doing something truly impactful, helping to fund life-changing breast cancer research and support. By coming together on ‘Wear it Pink Day,’ we know we’ve made a difference in someone’s life.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who supported our charity fundraiser and contributed so generously. So far, we have raised £317 for this worthy cause. If you would still like to make a donation, you can do so via ParentPay.

Sixth Form Open Evening

Tuesday 12 November 2024

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Regional Robotics Event

On Saturday 28 September, The John Warner School welcomed 24 teams from 14 schools to the first VEX Robotics regional event of the season. This term, students have been asked to design, build and programme an 18” cube robot that can gather plastic rings and place them on a range of mobile and fixed goals inside a 12-foot squared arena. Teams of two, randomly selected robots, compete against two opposing robots in a 2-minute match up to see who can score the most coloured rings. At the end of the match, teams are encouraged to elevate their robot on a specifically designed climbing frame to gain additional points.

The day was full of excitement with John Warner teams making it though to the semi finals and receiving commendations on the design of their robots.

If you are in Year 7 or 8 and would like to participate in the next competition, please see Mr Higham or Mr Bolton in room 107 during lunch time.

Robert Warner Lecture

Every year the Worshipful Company of Founders invite John Warner students to the Robert Warner lecture at their headquarters in London’s Cloth fair. This year’s lecture was given by Dr Hayatun Sillem CBE, current CEO of the Royal Academy of Engineering. She has been named as one of the ‘Inspiring 50’ women in tech in Europe and one of the most influential women in both UK engineering and UK tech. She was made a CBE for services to International Engineering in 2019. Hayatun spoke about the challenges we face with modern technology and the impact of this on society before opening the floor to questions. Our students asked her a wide range of fascinating questions including how AI is going to affect their future and how women can be successful in a male dominated environment.

New scholars’ applications

Following on from the lecture, we have three new applicants who are studying Engineering that are hoping to be successful in applying for this year’s scholarship. Students who are successful will receive a grant to spend on educational supplies such as 3D printers, scientific calculators and software and will have opportunities to engage with younger students in projects such as the industrial cadets alongside graduates from GSK in Ware.

The Institute of Civil Engineers

The Institute of Civil Engineers (ICE) is one of the countries oldest institutions, helping to guide students into careers relating to civil engineering. With 97,000 members worldwide, the ICE exists to improve lives by ensuring the world has the engineering capacity and infrastructure systems it needs to enable our planet and our people to thrive.

On the 7 October, Kathryn Denham-Maccioni visited the school to speak to a select group of Year 11 students about careers in civil engineering. Students were shown through a new website designed to engage young people in future careers. The students then had the opportunity to feedback what they thought about the website and how well it convinced them that a career in engineering was rewarding.

As a thank you, Kathryn has supplied the school with several books on Civil Engineering!

Celebrating Success

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PE UPDATES

Girls ’Introduction to Rugby’ session

Thank you to Jack Simpson of Junior Sharks Rugby Camps and Schools Coaching for coming in to share his expertise and lead our girls for a special 2 hour rugby session ahead of their first ever tournament later in November.

We are really proud of the progress the girls made in such a short period of time, especially with so many new rules to remember!

Year 7 Boys Rugby Success

Congratulations to the Year 7 boys rugby team for winning their first game of full contact district rugby. The boys played Leventhorpe School and won 10 tries to 2 tries. The boys have been training really hard with Mr Creasey on a Monday after school and were dominant in the match.

Senior Boys Football Success

Congratulations to the sixth form boys (ably assisted by a number of Year 11 boys) who played Nicholas Breakspear in round one of the county cup and came away 1-0 winners. The game was tight and hard fought but the boys stuck to their task remained focussed and deserved the win.

RSHE Update

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Thank yous

Good afternoon,

I was wondering if you could help me to find a member of staff?

Last Friday, the 1st November, a kind John Warner teacher helped my nan and grandad after a fall. He was driving through Waterford when he stopped to help them.

I was wondering if you could provide me with his name or email so we could thank him for his help and support that day?

Thank you.