As we move towards the end of 2011, we are reflecting on a year that has been filled with important events and achievements for St John’s. Early in the year we celebrated Gerard Moran’s designation as a National Leader of Education in recognition of the excellent standards being achieved within the school over a sustained period. This success also led to the school achieving National Support School status, enabling us to support other schools throughout the region in Teaching and Learning, Behaviour and Leadership Development. Our skills in these areas also led to the school being designated by the DfE as a Lead Behaviour School and by National College for School Leadership as a Leadership Development School.
In 2011 we celebrated the school’s best ever exam results for the 9th time out of the last ten years. As well as continued success at GCSE, we are especially proud of our Key Stage 5 results in which 36% of all the A Levels taken in the school achieved A*-A grades.
Following our outstanding Ofsted in 2010, St John’s was invited by the DfE to pursue Academy status. As a result, during this year the Governors of St John’s have been engaged in a careful process of consultation leading to a decision that Academy status would be the best way to move the school forward at this time. Consequently, from 1 December the school is to be known as St John’s School & Sixth Form College – A Catholic Academy. Our new status provides us with the freedoms and resources to continue to create the outstanding learning environment which has led to the success of St John’s for so many years.
We remain committed to being A Learning Community Guided by Gospel Values playing our full part in the lives of our students, their families and the many partnerships to which we belong.
You will see in this newsletter some of the remarkable activities and achievements in which we are involved. We are constantly amazed and proud of the richness of talent present in our school community. We hope you share some of these sentiments as you read through these pages.
We wish you a peaceful and blessed Christmas and New Year.