It was a great pleasure to see all of our students end term four, and celebrate their successes with such positivity. We were able to see the students off on their Easter break, and handed out chocolate bunny lollipops to students on the main gates and were met with swathes of smiles. Certainly a positive end to a term filled with hard work and achievement.
As we welcomed them back to school last week, the sunshine came with them, and we have had a cracking start to this term, a term that is filled with all the promise of spring. Last week saw a hugely successful Elevate session running for our year 11 students as they hit the ground running with external exams for practical subjects and hand-in deadlines fast approaching for non-examined elements of their courses. With that in mind, we had our Drama GCSE text in-performance exam, which was a roaring success. Performers and designers shared two extracts for their play text choice and shared this with a visiting examiner, and performed with skill and aptitude, both impressing their peer audience, and examiner alike. The Photography and Art exams are also in full flow this week with their final project exam coming together in examined conditions. Well done to all the year 11 and 13 students who have been completing these exams, and good luck to them in the exam window that is about to commence.
Attendance has once again been at the forefront of our drive for school improvement and I have delivered Attendance and Punctuality assemblies for all year groups, driving the message “Moments matter, attendance counts” to support students in increasing their attendance and working towards positive patterns and routines. It was excellent to see, and hear the reactions as to why school is so important for holistic development, goal-setting and ambition driving.
We had the year 5 maths challenge this week, and invited over 100 mathematicians to the school to compete and show their aptitude in the subject area. Students have shown excellent drive and positivity when responding to the challenges and the feedback from students and staff is that there has been a great sense of pride in the hard work and dedication to the event.
The sixth form has been busy, not only in their preparations for the up-and-coming exams, but they have also been to visit a UCAS fair in Newport which has inspired, and directed many of our wonderful students to complete applications and work out their next steps for their educational journey.
Finally, it has been a great pleasure to support the Student Leadership team in attending Senior Leader Team meetings this term discussing a relaunch of the house system, new moves for recycling as well as how to tackle litter more effectively across the school. We have big plans for future things, and I am so proud of their growing confidence and considered care for our school.
This term, I am sure, will provide a challenge for many, and promise for all.
Izzy Nevill has just completed our Gold Award for our Employability Skills Program in the Sixth Form.
Izzy has now completed over 70 hours in a variety of different settings. Perhaps the most impressive aspect of her community service is the radio show that she presents every Saturday for Warminster Radio.
During her show, Izzy gives information on a variety of musical artists, as well as provides key information on local events for residents to get involved with.
Izzy has also been an instrumental part of our Sixth Form and has helped at a number of Open Evening events, in addition to parental tours and prospective candidate student panels. Izzy is a fantastic ambassador for The John of Gaunt School and a great role model for both her peers and students in lower year groups.
Well done Izzy!
Sixth Form Team.
Champions 2024!
Year 9s bring home the title for a second year in a row, and Mr Merriman gets the bragging rights over his dad (who is Head of year 9 at Sheldon).
The boys put in a fantastic display, taking a 1-0 lead into the second half after a tight first half. They then turned on the style in the second half to win the game 6-0 against a very strong Sheldon side. Goals from James x2, Ollie and a hat trick for Lucas (MotM)
The boys represented the school brilliantly. Please pass on a well done from us!
Dear Parents and Carers,
We are launching our first Affordable Schools uniform swap with the help of our excellent Year 9 Affordable Schools Leaders. We hope to gather any unwanted school uniforms that could be used by other members of our school community. Not only will this help with the cost of uniform, but it also reduces the number of items going to landfill.
Please drop in any items that you wish to donate to reception where they will be collated and sorted. Our first swap meet will take place in Term 6, once donations have been received. However, should you have any specific requirements before this date, please email pp@jogschool.org.uk and we will endeavour to support you.
It’s not too late to have your say about the cost of the school day. Your responses will help us to understand how we can support with any future costs. Please complete the survey listed below.
On Saturday 13th April 20 students from JOG attempted the brutal Imber Range Perimeter Path, 31 miles on tough hard tracks and notorious for causing massive blisters and sore feet. This would help prove if they had the determination, fitness and resilience to succeed in the Ten Tors Event taking place in early May.
The students had to carry full equipment on top of coping with the distance, and as temperatures soared around midday, the Warminster hillforts and contours of Salisbury Plain began to really challenge our students.
Remarkably, not a single student failed to complete the hike - the teams were superb in the way they supported each other and encouraged each other to keep going. The final stretches of the hike were completed under the shadow of darkness for many of our walkers, but all of them would have been glad to get home for some much-needed rest. We have one camping expedition to Dartmoor remaining before the event.
A superb effort from a superb bunch of kids. Well done!
Mr Gray
We wanted to highlight to you the revision resources that are available to our year 11s to support their studies at home. We have centralised this information so that it can be easily accessed by your child and you. This information can be accessed at:
The resources included have been selected by your child’s subject teachers and will guide them to ensure they are focusing on the correct information and exam skills when they revise.
During the tutor time revision sessions, we have highlighted effective revision practices such as:
Creating flashcards and testing themselves.
Creating revision clocks.
Accessing practice exam questions, mark schemes, examiners' reports linked to the correct exam boards.
Revising one topic for 30 mins, moving on to another topic for 30 mins and then returning to their original subject and testing themselves.
Year 11s have been told that shorter spaced out revision sessions switching between subjects is far more effective than spending hours on one subject.
If you have any questions or concerns regarding your child’s revision or wellbeing in the run-up to the exams, please contact your child’s tutor or the Year 11 Team.
Izzy Nevill has just completed our Gold Award for our Employability Skills Program in the Sixth Form. 
