News

On Friday 14th March, Year 12 students Anja P, Evelyn P and Paige D proudly represented John Taylor High School at the annual Lichfield School’s Speaking competition, debating alongside eight other schools.

Our students put forward the argument that the UK voting age should be lowered to 16. The girls impressed the audience and judges with a mature, well-researched argument developed by our talented writing team: Ellie W, Shauna S, Mykyla A, Hannah M, Maymunah S, Isla J, Laiba K, Abdullah K, Kyla E and Angus S. 

The standard of competition was extremely high, with all students delivering polished, persuasive speeches. The girls spoke confidently in front of a distinguished panel of judges, including Councillor Sam Schafer, Sir Micheal Fabricant, Simon Price, Kathy Coe MBE and Andrew Sims of the Rotary Club and the debate chair Dave Robertson MP.

Our students performed exceptionally well and overall provided a thought-provoking and inspiring speech. Well done!

During this week's ‘Hot Chocolate with the Head’, Mr. Blanchenot took time to recognise our school's aspiring young scientists.

Ava, Katie, Areesh, Hugh, Muhammad, Souvik, Eve, Fleurella, Momina, Paige, Henry, Joe and Jaina were all nominated by Mr Kelly for their outstanding efforts in the British Biology Olympiad, bringing home Gold, Silver & Bronze medals.

Mr Blanchenot spoke with Katie & Ava today who explained that they had to complete two 45-minute online tests. It assessed their wider biological knowledge beyond the A-level Biology specification. Mr Blanchenot acknowledged their perseverance, innovative thinking and outstanding achievements in successfully completing the tasks. The timing of this recognition couldn't have been better, as schools across the country are celebrating National Science Week.

The British Biology Olympiad is an optional, extracurricular challenge run by UKBC (UK Biology Competitions) in conjunction with the Royal Society of Biology and Warwick University. It provides an excellent opportunity to highlight the importance of scientific discovery and inspire the next generation of researchers, engineers, and problem-solvers.

18,533 students from 1053 schools participated this year. Certificates were awarded as follows:

 Katie achieved Gold, which means she's eligible for the team selection round to represent the UK at the International Biology Olympiad should she wish! All those that participated also received a free annual membership to the Royal Society of Biology.

Well done to you everyone, we hope you enjoyed your hot chocolate & goodies!

Thank you to all the pupils for their incredible enthusiasm during the trip and for representing the school impeccably.

Young Carers Action Day is an important awareness event that shines a light on young people who take care of family members or friends. These remarkable people, who make up about one in every eight children, provide unpaid care to loved ones who need help due to illness, disability, age, mental health challenges, or other conditions.

Today at lunchtime, Mrs. Appleton and Mrs. Harrison from the safeguarding team helped spread awareness by distributing information, pencils and KitKat bars, symbolising this year's theme of 'Give Me a Break'  which highlights how important it is for young carers to get rest and time for themselves.

Many students might not realise they're considered young carers, thinking they're just being helpful to their family members. A young carer might help with daily tasks like cooking, cleaning, giving medicine, or providing emotional support. Mrs. Appleton, who serves as the Young Carer Champion at the school, works closely with pupils who have these responsibilities. Being a young carer can be challenging therefore essential for pupils to know they're not alone and that support is available.

The local community showed tremendous support for Young Carers Action Day, with local businesses like The Range in Burton, The Co-Op in Barton, and Morrisons in Burton donating hundreds of KitKat bars to distribute to pupils. Staff members also generously donated too. This gesture represents more than just chocolate - it's a reminder that young carers deserve breaks and recognition for their invaluable contribution to their families and society. The day serves as a platform to advocate for better support systems and resources for young carers, ensuring they can balance their caring responsibilities with their education and personal well-being.

For helpful resources, please visit our website and click on this link:

Young carers - Staffordshire County Council

Young Carers Service

Comic Relief is 40 years old this year - and we are going to celebrate its inaugural year: 1985! We are encouraging all students to get involved and raise money for this incredible charity. Take a look below at what's happening across school. 

A Day of Discovery!

Our Year 10 pupils experienced an incredible day of scientific exploration at the GCSE Science Live event in Sheffield on Wednesday 5^th March.

Under the guidance of Mrs. Hadley, 48 young scientists had the unique opportunity to interact with five of Britain's leading science professionals who are pushing the boundaries of modern research. These experts not only shared their groundbreaking work but also provided valuable insights for exam success.

Rosie said, ‘The trip was informative and helpful…Dr Anna Ploszajski linked science the real world and also talked had useful tips regardless of if you want to go into the field of science.’

Noah said, ‘I enjoyed the trip because there were interesting talks about different subjects within science. I thought Professor Jim Al-Khalili was great, the topic he was talking about really stood out to me and was interesting.’

Mia said, ‘I had a good time with friends and learnt something new. I particularly enjoyed the talk from Dr. Tim Gabriel because his presentation was interactive.’

Arwen said, ‘It was interesting to see the different pathways Science can take me. I liked Dr Anna Ploszajski the most. I found her story relatable and reassured me that I could be successful.’

It was a joy for our teachers to see that the impact of the trip had generated a greater enthusiasm and curiosity for science amongst the pupils.  The experience helped students see the real-world applications of what they learn in the classroom.

To find out more about the day, visit: Home | Science live!

Mrs. Berry's dedicated team of Sports Leaders and Sporting Young Ambassadors demonstrated exceptional leadership skills as they organised and led the Hi 5 Netball Festival for local primary school pupils on Thursday evening.

The Sports Leaders led with respect and integrity by welcoming the pupils, delivering the warm-up, refereeing the heats and accurately score keeping. Their commitment to delivering a positive sporting environment was evident and they created an atmosphere that perfectly balanced friendly competition and fun!

Mrs Berry said ‘Student Leadership opportunities are an important aspect of life at JTHS which we encourage pupils to embrace. Opportunities like our Netball Festival equip our Sports Leaders with the knowledge, skills and personal attributes to become successful individuals and develop transferable skills, through working within the school and wider community.

The success of the Netball Festival highlighted how student leadership can positively impact the local community, inspiring both the young athletes and the Sports Leaders themselves. Well done to all those involved.

We saw our school community celebrate World Book Day with a variety of activities. World Book Day provides a great opportunity to promote literature and the importance of reading and storytelling. You can find a wealth of information and activities on the official website – www.worldbookday.com

Here’s how we got involved here at JTHS...

• In keeping with tradition, pupils from Year 7 (and staff!) were invited to attend in costume as a book character. During the day, our library was visited by famous characters such as Harry Potter; Percy Jackson; Jo March; Phileas Fogg & Passepartout; Sauron; Professor Dumbledore; James Bond; Charlie Bucket; The Minions, and more.

• Stories were shared throughout the day in lessons by our teaching staff. Each lesson began with a short segment of a story, reaching its conclusion by the end of the day. Our Key Stage 3 pupils were told the tale of ‘The Seven Wise Men of Buner’, a traditional folktale from Pakistan, while Key Stage 4 experienced the macabre tale ‘Lamb to the Slaughter’ by Roald Dahl.

• All Year 8 pupils got involved by creating their own designs for the National Book Token competition. Pupils will be submitting their designs to be considered for the new collection of tokens being launched later this year.

• Mrs Clayton’s Y8 Art Club participated in the celebrations by creating some fabulous pieces of artwork with a literary theme. The pupils were tasked with creating a fictional map based on the landscape of their favourite book, demonstrating the use of visual media for world-building and storytelling. Their work will shortly be on display around the school.

• Following on from Mr Weighall’s assembly on the origins of World Book Day, Year 7 were invited to read the story for themselves and participate in the ‘World Book Day Accelerated Reader Challenge’. Four exclusive book quizzes have been created and only are available until Friday 14th March. This is an opportunity for pupils to significantly boost their word count and book point scores in our ongoing ‘Worldwide Word Millionaire’ contest.

• Prizes are also up for grabs in our ‘Behind the Book Cover’ competition launched this week. Several staff members have been caught reading in the library, but their identity is concealed behind the cover of their favourite books. Pupils will need to correctly identify each member of staff to be in with a chance of winning one of five library goodie bags. This competition is open to all year groups and entries can be submitted via the link in the inbox of their school email account. DEADLINE: Thursday 13th March.

• Our library stationery shop currently has a limited number of the 2025 limited-edition World Book Day titles, available to purchase for £1 or trade in for free with their WBD £1 token. Stock is limited, so hurry before we sell out!

Guess The Teacher

During an engaging National Careers Week activity, pupils had the opportunity to see into their teachers' professional journeys through an interactive guessing game across school. Teachers shared their career pathways on posters, revealing the diverse routes they took before entering education. Pupils were challenged to match each career pathway to the correct teacher, which sparked interesting discussions. Many pupils were surprised to discover that their math teacher was once a civil engineer, or that their English teacher had previously worked as a journalist, demonstrating that career paths can twist and turn in unexpected ways before leading to a final career.

JTMAT Job Competition

In an exciting MAT wide competition, pupils showcased their creativity and research skills by designing informative career posters and leaflets. The challenge required students to present comprehensive information about different professions, including detailed job descriptions, essential skills, required qualifications, career entry routes, salary expectations and potential employers. There were two outstanding entries from our Year 8 pupils: Rebekah's detailed exploration of a Zoologist career and Rabia’s thorough presentation about becoming an Illustrator. These winning entries stood out for their clear organisation, attention to detail and professional presentation of career information. The competition not only encouraged students to think about their future careers but also helped them develop important research and presentation skills that will be valuable in their academic and professional journeys.

Industry Insight Lunches & Career Cards

The Learning Resource Centre was a hub of activity this National Careers Week where various staff members shared their fascinating career journeys with the students. The presentations included Mr. Roberts' experiences in the Army, Mrs. Mallinson's exciting work at Disney, Mrs. Clarke's intriguing role as a Forensic Scientist and Mrs. Grewcock's insights into Business Management. Students showed great enthusiasm during these sessions, asking thoughtful questions and learning about the different paths these professionals took to reach their current positions. To have real-life examples was invaluable to our pupils.

Pupils also actively participated by sharing their career goals and displaying them on the board. This visual representation of career goals not only showcased the diverse interests of our pupils but also inspired others to think about their own future. The growing collection of career cards over the week demonstrated our pupils ambitions which included medical professionals, journalists, artists, dentists, engineers, entrepreneurs, property and more!

Careers Fair

Mrs. Ball was thrilled to take Year 10 pupils to the 'What Next?' Careers Fair, at the NEC in Birmingham. This event offered students a fantastic chance to engage with leading universities and top employers. They could chat with careers experts, receive personalized advice, and attend inspiring talks. The fair was organised into different areas, making it easy for the pupils to explore what interested them most. These areas included the Careers Advice Lounge, the STEM Hub, the Future Skills Workshop, the Creative Hub, the CV Clinic, and the Skills Development Area. There really was something for everyone!

At the fair, our pupils had the opportunity to connect with global companies and prestigious universities. They spoke with representatives from the BBC, The Global Banking School, JLR, NHS, PGL Travel, The RAF, and many more. It was inspiring to see our students actively engaging with these employers and institutions as they spoke about different career routes for after they had finished school. They represented the school with pride and professionalism, making a positive impression on everyone they met.

If you want to learn more about the Careers Fair, click here. For any questions or further information, feel free to contact Mrs.Ball at [email protected]. We hope this event has aided our pupils to make informed choices about their future career & education decisions.  

External Speaker

Year 12 Law Students had an exciting opportunity to learn from Rodger Hagan, a Magistrate from the Black County Region. His interactive hands-on approach helped students understand important aspects of the legal system, including perceptions of people, how magistrates manage their work schedules and the Magistrate Court Process.

What made this experience especially valuable was hearing about real-life cases that Magistrate Hagan had worked on. Rodger brought our pupils classroom learning to life making the topics more relevant and easier to understand.

Mrs Nurse, Subject Leader for Law said, ‘The talk specifically related to material that the Year 12 students could be examined on the aims and types of sentences available, the court hierarchy and the application and qualifications needed to be a magistrate.

In addition student's completed an activity Rodger was asked to complete during his interview and selection process to become a Magistrate. The activity required the students to rank the importance and seriousness of ten different offences and justify their choices.

This activity directly linked to the employability skills that John Taylor High School are embedding across the curriculum including, communication and problem solving. 

We’d like to thank Roger for his insight and the time he took to speak with our pupils’.

Over the years Birmingham has transformed from an industrial hub to a modern urban city and therefore the ideal location for our Year 10 geographers to complete their fieldwork.

Across the two-day visit, Mrs Findon took a group of pupils to investigate the success of Birmingham's urban regeneration projects. The investigation focused on key locations including Brindley Place, The Mailbox, Grand Central, and the Bull Ring - all prime examples of how city planning and development can revitalise urban spaces.

Students actively participated in real-world data collection methods. These included conducting footfall counts, completing environmental quality surveys to evaluate the area's conditions, and interviewing members of the public through questionnaires. This hands-on experience helped students understand more about the landscape of a city, while also developing valuable research skills that align with their Paper 3 exam requirements.

Well done to all the students for representing the school so wonderfully. We are looking forward to the trip to Carding Mill Valley. The focus from urban geography to river systems will give our pupils the opportunity to compare different geographical landscapes.

It was a pleasure for Mr. Blanchenot to meet with pupils for Hot Chocolate with the Head this morning to celebrate of variety of achievements.

Scarlett in Year 8 earned her nomination from Mrs Berry for demonstrating exceptional commitment by preparing treats for our local elderly residents in the village. Through her efforts Scarlett embodied the school's ethos of 'one community’ and showed kindness. Her selfless actions not only helped those in need but also inspired fellow pupils to become more actively involved in the community. Mr Blanchenot was proud of the impact Scarlett had made and is looking forward to hearing about her contribution at the upcoming community afternoon tea.

Rebekah & Rabia in Year 8 were nominated by Mrs Ball for winning the JTMAT careers competition for National Careers Week. Both pupils showcased their creativity and research skills by designing informative career posters and leaflets. Rebekah's detailed exploration of a Zoologist was really impressive and Rabia’s thorough presentation about becoming an Illustrator was cleverly designed. These winning entries stood out for their clear organisation, attention to detail and professional presentation of career information. To read more about National Careers Week, please click here.

Shannon in Year 11 & Amelia in Year 7 were nominated by their Heads of Year, Mr Forden & Mr Markwell for their remarkable sporting achievements. Shannon has become the three-time national champion in Middleweight Boxing and Amelia has won Gold in the West Midlands Gymnastics Competition. With their passion, determination, and relentless work ethic, both pupils are an inspiration within our school community. Well done to you both. To read more about Shannon’s story click here and to read more about Amelia click here.

The PE Dept are kindly asking parents/pupils to consider donating any old girls/boys PE kit to the school so it can be used for spare. The PE Dept are extremely low on kit supplies so any additional items would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you, Mr Hulley.

The Sports Hall was filled with fun and fitness on Thursday evening as the JTHS Sports Leaders & Sporting Young Ambassadors welcomed Year 3 & 4 pupils to the Primary School Athletics Festival.

The session began with a warm-up which Olivia in Year 12 led, along with the other Sports Leaders. The role of the leaders also included setting up the activities, welcoming the groups, refereeing races and being a friendly face for the primary school pupils.

 It was brilliant to see the JTHS pupils taking on this leadership role and fully engaging the younger pupils in the activity. Throughout the session they led with integrity, perseverance, kindness and respect.

As the primary pupils took on the relay races and various sporting activities it was apparent there was a high-level of friendly competition between the groups as they supported each-other showing great communication and teamwork skills.

Mrs Berry, the SSCO, expressed her admiration for the enthusiasm shown by primary school pupils and the impressive leadership displayed by the JTHS Sports Leaders. She emphasised that these events provide a wonderful opportunity for students to engage with the local community. Mrs Berry congratulated everyone involved for their efforts in making the event successful.