News list
This year’s Passion Play proved to be a worthy successor to those of years past, with strong and moving performances throughout the Sixth Form cast. Chronicling the final week of Jesus’s earthly life and culminating in his condemnation, torture and crucifixion, the production offers a first-hand and very personal account of the suffering of Christ. The play demands the utmost in dramatic intensity and professionalism from a relatively young group of children and St John’s Sixth Formers were not found wanting: the result was a stirring ensemble performance that served as the ideal
The St John’s passion for books and reading was confirmed once again across a wide range of book-related activities, all designed to increase the children’s enthusiasm for all things literary. The Byron House Book Week is a celebration of authors, illustrators, books and, most importantly, of reading.
The Fifth Form show at St John’s is traditionally one of the most highly-anticipated and much-hyped events on the school calendar, and anyone who attended this year’s The Jungle Book, a dramatic adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s timeless work by Neil Duffield, will understand why: a tour de force from start to finish, this wonderful production brought together some of the best theatrical talent the school has to offer with wonderful costumes, a dazzling backdrop and mesmerizing choreography in an engaging and hugely entertaining feast for the eyes.
An impressive £1,711.40 was raised from various events throughout the school in the Lent term for Comic Relief charity www.comicrelief.com. The children dressed ‘funny for money’ on Red Nose Day, spent money at the Easter Fair stalls and dressed as their favourite book character as part of our Book Week and Literary Festival, with all money donated going to the well-known charity.
Over 60 St John’s parents attended our first Emotions for Learning (E4L) Morning in Byron House. Parents were invited to watch aspects of our E4L curriculum and Mindfulness programme in action during the day, experiencing it with the children, as well as listening to key presentations from the staff.
The T1s (Year 1) visited the Scott Polar Research Institute (SPRI) as part of their Antarctica topic. The tragic events of Captain Scott’s last expedition were made even more realistic for the children with a question and answer session with the famous explorer’s granddaughter, Dafila Scott, who is an artist in residence at the SPRI.
The Fourth Form has been learning about Sikhism since the beginning of term and had a wonderful opportunity to see so much of what they had been studying on a recent visit to the Cambridge Gurdwara, the first such visit made by St John's as there has been a Gurdwara in Cambridge for only two years.
‘Keep Calm and Curry On’. This was the theme of the PA’s Quiz and Curry evening for the event on 7 February which was a well-attended and fun event. 14 tables completed against each other in a challenging and entertaining quiz with Head of Drama, Mr Tim Clarke, hosting the evening as the fabulous quiz master adorned in gold jacket. Proceeds from the evening will go to local charity, The Prospects Trust.
St John’s First Form regaled an audience of parents and pupils with their performance of The Bumblesnouts Save the World, a musical comedy with a strong moral message. In their voyages across the universe, a team of Bumblesnouts (an alien life-form) make a return journey to earth, a planet renowned for its beauty, diverse climates and wildlife, but are dismayed to find that the human race (who is ‘thought to be the most intelligent’ species on the planet) is not looking after it properly: they encounter violent bullies who drop litter; cleaners who use
One of St John’s College School’s pupils, Andrew Knight, has qualified for the British National Dance Championship Finals this November in both the Ballroom and Latin solo section. Andrew, aged 10, amongst approximately 200 other competitors, danced the Quickstep (Ballroom) and the Cha Cha Cha (Latin) in the regional rounds to qualify for the finals at the prestigious Blackpool Tower Ballroom.