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St John's School in Porthcawl has a reputation for not only providing boys and girls with a superb academic education, but it also prides itself in offering a welcoming and nurturing environment where children are encouraged to develop their personalities as well as their intelligence.
FIRST CLASS
Vale Life went back to school for a morning and talked to St John's Head, Carol Clint, one of its Governors Karen Jones, several of the happy children and their parents about what makes St John's such a brilliant school.
What makes St John's so good?
I love the fact that within the school we have pupils of such a range of ages, 2½ to 16 and a good mix of boys and girls. Also, because we are a small school, there is a real family feel about the place, with children and staff knowing everyone. We operate as a small community where we encourage traditional values and mutual respect and my favourite sort of days are when we have an event such as a concert or a house competition. Everyone gets involved and it is good to see pupils supporting their peers and mixing with both younger and older children. I also really enjoy seeing the confidence that our children develop through being in such a supportive environment where we celebrate success. To me our independence as a charitable trust is very important and, within this system, I appreciate the support given by our local governors.
How does St John's compare with other schools?
I began my teaching career in a state primary school in England before moving to a prep school in the independent sector. That school grew to be much larger than St John's is. Being here, I really appreciate the small community and teachers who are prepared to be very generous with their time. The high expectations from staff of how pupils should behave is of great importance. We operate an 'open door' policy at St John's and there is always a welcome awaiting visitors, pupils and parents. It is easy to contact the office, the bursar, a teacher or myself and I believe this is important in the very personal service we offer.
Where do pupils come from?
We do have a large number of local pupils but we also operate a transport scheme. This uses our fleet of three minibuses with our own drivers who are also part of the school team. Each morning there are pick-ups along routes that go from Porthcawl out to Neath, around Bridgend and out to Pencoed and Cowbridge, and these runs go out from school at the end of the day too. This service is really popular now with all ages of pupils using it.
What achievements has St John's enjoyed recently?
We regularly achieve excellent results at GCSE, comparable with other good independent schools. We recently have enjoyed success in UK maths challenges and some excellent results of full marks for several pupils in GCSE Science modules. A large number of pupils have taken part in a variety of sports fixtures and have enjoyed success in tennis, cricket and rounders. Many children learn to play musical instruments and regularly achieve very pleasing results in their examinations.
Have you had any famous pupils?
Probably the most famous and wellknown is Eddie Izzard, who attended St John's as a boarder with his brother when aged just six and seven. They moved to the school for a while just after their mother passed away. Eddie paid us a surprise visit recently and impressed pupils with his knowledge and passion for science. Another now famous face is Rob Brydon who was also a pupil and Graham Roope, the cricketer.
What are your aspirations for the future at St John's?
I am very happy as Head of St John's and look forward to many successful years for the school in the future. Our numbers have increased recently which is really pleasing in the current economic climate and we aim to maintain our family style environment and small class sizes.
Last year we improved our facilities with a brand new building for our Early Years and Pre Prep classes and in the future we will continue to update and improve other parts of the school.
Extra projects are often supported by the Friends (our parents' association) who also form a valuable part of our community. I am confident that we will continue to achieve in every area of the school - academic, sporting, musical, extra-curricular activities and in developing confident young people who are aware of, and can work to, their potential - and often succeed beyond expectations!
Vale Life spoke to Karen Jones who is one of the school governors and asked her what brought her to St John's.
What brought you to St John's?
My younger daughter Sophie, came to the school in year 10, having had a miserable time at our local Comprehensive. She was struggling academically and emotionally. The two years that she spent at St John's changed her life, she passed her GCSE's and went onto college and passed her 'A' Levels and has just finished her first year at the University of Gloucestershire. I can honestly say that St John's saved her.
Tell us about your role as one of the school governors
I am a newly appointed Governor at St John's and I have been given the task of fundraising. Having worked as a fundraiser for a charity before, I know how difficult this can be, but I look forward to meeting the challenge.
What do you like about St John's?
Where do I begin? I would say the most important thing is a sense of belonging - it feels like a family. St John's has fantastic teachers but it is also the pastoral care which is provided that I think is very important.
What pupils think of St John's
Adi age 8
I like St John's because it's fun. There are lots of exciting things like sports day, swimming gala and charity days. I travel on the minibus or car from Bridgend. I think the teachers are brilliant and I am happy in school. When I grow up I want to be a sportsman or a doctor.
Iskander age 8
I love doing science experiments and finding out about things. I do chess as an after school club and enjoy it a lot. I love geography because it's fun and I like using globes and finding out about landscapes. I want to be in the Olympics when I grow up.
Sophie age 9
What I like about St John's is that we work as a team. We are kind and friendly to each other and it's as if we are a big family. When I am older I would like to be a teacher.
Luca age 11
I was four years old when I started at St John's. The thing I like about the school is that it is a nice small, friendly place. One of my favourite subjects is art because you can express yourself and your feelings.
What parents think of St John's
"St John's came highly recommended by neighbouring parents. When we visited the school ten years ago we were impressed with the whole atmosphere which was extremely happy yet well disciplined. The excellent academic results that St John's achieve were also an attraction and having visited a number of other schools we knew at once that St John's was undoubtedly the best."
Mrs Catherine Perkins
"It just felt so right, from the moment we visited the school. The best decision we made for our boys was sending them to St John's."
Mrs Pam Bennett
"St Johns is a true family environment. The staff and teachers are always on hand to talk about your child's development and education." Mrs Clare Skalitzky-Newman
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