Weekly Information - Friday 28th March 2025

The following students celebrated their achievements with Mr Blanchenot this week, congratulations to them all!

This week at ‘Hot Chocolate with the Head’, Mr Blanchenot celebrated with our inspiring pupils who have shown excellence across various areas.

Through executing ‘Perseverance’, ‘Kindness’, ‘Respect’ and ‘Integrity’, each pupil has demonstrated our core values in their own unique way and therefore deserve to be recognised as star of the week.

Firstly Oscar, Layla, Harriet, Freya, Huw, Walter were nominated by Miss Sawojka for their optional Geography homework. The pupils were tasked to make the layers of the Earth in any medium they chose. Miss Sawojka was highly impressed with their efforts. Pupils decided to bake cakes using different flavours, colours and textures, created 3D models of the layers, designed a poster and even decorated a cheesecake. Not only did the pupils demonstrate that they understood the Earth’s structure but showcased their ability to transform their geographical knowledge into a hands-on, creative and delicious project! Well done to you all!

The next pupils who had been nominated were Joshua and Alexia for their swimming achievements. Joshua was nominated by Mr Markwell for perseverance in swimming where he achieved a bronze medal at the Staffordshire County Championships in 100m Breaststroke and achieved a personal best time. Alexia was nominated by Mrs Brooks for coming third in her 50m fly at the Counties Swimming Competition. It was a delight to hear Joshua and Alexia share their passion for swimming with the rest of the group. We wish you all the future success!

Elijah had been nominated by Mrs Ball for showing perseverance and kindness at Chess Club. Not only did Elijah show enthusiasm about his hobby, he shared with the group that he had designed and made his own impressive chess pieces using a 3D printer for his peers and the rest of Chess Club to use. Well done Elijah, you are a valuable member of the school community and Chess Club.

Miss Sears was delighted to nominate Noah for creating a fantastic piece of artwork as part of his homework. The pupils were tasked with producing a piece of work that represented a ‘celebration’. Miss Sears said ‘Noah focussed on Easter and presented the belief through a beautiful painting of the Christian religious symbol, The Cross, above beautiful mountain scenery’.  Not only did Noah show his understanding of the homework but he also showed his creative talents. Well done Noah!  

Lauren was nominated by Miss Dean for displaying kindness whilst on her route to school last week. The driver of the bus said how wonderful Lauren was and praised her for taking it upon herself to support the driver with navigating a different route, due to an unexpected road closure. Lauren’s kindness shone through and deserves this recognition. Well done Lauren!

It was great to catch up with Shannon who many of you know is a three-time national champion in middleweight boxing. It was only right that Shannon was nominated by her Head of Year, Mr Forden, to be recognised at Hot Chocolate with the Head. Shannon’s commitment to the sport shines through as she speaks with pride and always has a big smile on her face. You can read more about Shannon here and watch her interview with England Boxing. Well done Shannon!

Finally, it was a pleasure to hear that Halchi had been nominated by Mrs Berry for giving up her time to support with community events across the school. Halchi has displayed kindness by preparing gifts for local elderly residents and helping at community events. Halchi said she is excited about helping at the Community Afternoon Tea on Monday 31^st March where over 40 guests will be welcomed to the school for an afternoon of entertainment, delicious cakes and refreshments. It will be Halchi’s responsibility to welcome the visitors, serve refreshments and be a friendly face throughout the event. We can’t wait to hear all about it. Well done Halchi.

We are delighted to share the news with you that we have recently started a feasibility study to develop a floodlit 3G Artificial Grass Pitch on the school site.

Working with the Football Foundation and Staffordshire Football Association over the next 6 -9 months we will be going through a framework to develop the detailed design for the facility prior to submitting a formal planning application to East Staffordshire Borough Council and a funding application to the Football Foundation. If all goes to plan, the new pitch should be built summer 2026.

This development will not only provide a fantastic new facility for students at the school but will provide a training and match play venue for the local community to use in the evenings, at weekends and during school holidays. We will be undertaking consultation with local clubs, community groups and organisations and sharing this exciting news with them in due course.

We will continue to update you on the plans and share further information as the project develops. We will also be looking at various fund raising and sponsorship opportunities as we move forward over the next few months.

The pictures below provides an example of what the facility will look like once built.

If you have any questions, please contact us via [email protected]

 John Taylor High School are delighted that their excellent outcomes have been recognised by SSAT (The Schools, Students and Teachers Network) in this year’s Educational Outcomes Awards. The award recognises that John Taylor High School is among the highest performing secondary schools in the country, based on 2024 performance data and information from Ofsted.

John Taylor High School was recognised in two categories, receiving awards for being in the top 20% of schools nationally for student progress and in the top 10% of non-selective schools for student attainment in the 2024 end of KS4 exams.

The SSAT Educational Outcomes database compares all state-funded schools in England. To be recognised with an Educational Outcomes Award is a significant achievement and a testament to the work of the whole school community. 

Sue Williamson, Chief Executive of SSAT said:

“Congratulations to John Taylor High School on winning two SSAT Educational Outcomes Awards. This success is down to the superb learning and teaching, outstanding support and inspirational leadership of staff. You have made a huge difference to the lives of the young people in your school. Thank you.”

Pupils recently transported their audience back in time with an amazing production of Back to the 80s. Over 60 talented pupils brought the stage to life with their acting, dancing, singing and musical performances across three nights.

The pupils performed with confidence and enthusiasm, showing that hard work and dedication during those weeks of rehearsals really paid off.

The performance also proved to be a huge hit with the audience, who were blown away by the pupils’ abilities. Parents, teachers, friends and family members were impressed by how professional the show looked and sounded. There were lots of people tapping their feet and singing along to those unforgettable 80s songs.

The Creative Arts Faculty couldn't have been prouder of the pupils' achievements. Their commitment to excellence was praised and it was noted how they exceeded expectations. The show demonstrated that when pupils are focused and work together as a team, they can create something truly special. This production wasn't just about entertainment, it was about pupils discovering their talents, building confidence and learning valuable skills!

Well done to everyone involved.

Dear Parent / Carer,

Year 8 Parents Evenings will be taking place on Thursday 8^th May 2025. The parents evening will take place in school as face to face appointments.

To support in your evening running smoothly, please can all parents/carers ensure they are aware and consider the important information below prior to booking any appointments:

• The school site will be busy, ensure you allow enough time arriving and parking before your first appointment time, particularly if you plan to park on school site.
• The booking system is set to ensure you have a 5-minute break between each appointment booked to allow your travel time around the school site.
• You will find it helpful to use the map to plan your appointments to ensure have time to move from one to another in a timely manner. Rooming will spread across the lower and upper floor of the main school building.
• There will not be an automated block booking option, each individual appointment will need to be selected and booked.

Unfortunately, there may be teachers who you are not able to secure appointments with due to the number of Y8 students they teach. Should this be the case and you have subject specific concerns or questions, we ask in the days after the parents evening you send an email to [email protected]  sharing the name of the teacher and we can ensure the request for contact is shared.

The booking system is due to open on 1^st April at 6pm and will close for bookings 12pm 8^th April 2025 You can also view the school map in preparation shared below, to help plan your evening before booking appointments.

LOWER FLOOR

Languages

English

Science

Art

UPPER FLOOR

Maths

Music

Geography

D & T

PE

History

Drama

Religious Studies

Computer Science

Student Support

ACCESS TO SCHOOL CLOUD:-  TO BOOK YOUR APPOINTMENTS

You can access our school cloud via our website John Taylor High School, under parents tab, parents evening tab

Home - John Taylor High School

SchoolCloud - John Taylor High School

Please note some teachers do teach more than one subject in this case they will be in their main subject department in this case please review the map provided so you know if they are on the lower or upper floor.

The U12 girls football team beat The Excel Academy on Wednesday night to secure their place in the Final of the County Cup. The girls put up a fantastic performance, winning 6-4. Alysia secured our first goal, followed by a fabulous free kick from Evie which allowed us to pull ahead. Macy got our 3rd goal before half time. It was a tight first half with us just pulling away 3-2 to go into half time but a great performance from the defenders allowed us to hold on to the lead. The second half we settled our nerves and managed to showcase our footballing progress to secure the victory. Goals came from Lola, Adrianna and a second from Evie. The girls were respectful and played with integrity and perseverance throughout. Well done to the team. Miss Senior's girl of the game goes to Cody for her relentless work in defence throughout. Here's to the finals!!

Footballers: Evie, Sophie , Macy, Cody, Adriana, Scarlett, Belle, Isabelle, Madeleine, Nancy, Olive, Lola, Alysia.  

Schools Gotta Dance Show - Lichfield Garrick

Written by Miss Senior

22 fabulously talented JTHS dancers took to the stage at The Lichfield Garrick on Monday night. The pupils have been working hard on choreographing two dances to showcase at the Garrick. There were two contrasting dances, a street dance to Diva by Beyonce and then a contemporary piece to Sailor Song by Gigi Perez. The girls dazzled on stage and were a credit to JTHS. For may it was the first time performing on a big stage, but they overcame their pre-show nerves and executed the dances amazingly.

Dancers: LUCY, AVA, MOLLIE, GEORGIE, MIA, ESME, JESSICA, ALICE, SOPHIA, ERIN, MADDIE, ANNIE, CONNIE, EMILY, MILA, CHARLOTTE, ISABELLE, ALICE, LEXIE, ALICE, EMMA, JASMINE

A big well done from Miss Senior and Mrs O'Brien. 

A huge thank you goes to our school community for raising £662 for Red Nose Day and getting involved in the activities across school last Friday.

Click here for a reminder of how our pupils helped raise money!

Miss Bale would like to give a big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket for the Chocolate Hamper.

We raised £162 across the three show nights, which will be donated to St Giles Hospice and the winner of the yummy prize will be contacted! 

World Autism Awareness Day is an annual event on 2nd April 2025, which aims to increase awareness about what Autism is, as well as how we can support Autistic people in society. 

Recently Mrs Buckland, Assistant SENCo, organised the first meet-up for parents of neuro-diverse children. The group was a success as they shared advise, support and selfcare tips. Here is the information parents recieved:

This event is a great time to educate yourself and those around you about how Autism can present, and how we can accommodate everyone based on their individual needs.

Each pupil will be shown the following presentation during either Registration, Assembly or PD next week.

 To: Parent of students from Walton on Trent and Drakelow

Copy to: John Taylor High School and Viking Coaches

You may be aware that De-luxe Coaches will withdraw service 081 to John Taylor High School at Easter and I can now confirm revised transport arrangements from 28^th April 2025.

Service 248, which is operated by Viking Coaches, will be extended to include Walton on Trent and Drakelow and a copy of the new timetable is below for information. A high capacity 70 seat coach will be provided and your child’s existing bus pass will be valid for use on this service.

For Edingale pupils, we are awaiting confirmation from Derbyshire County Council about the separate service they will be providing. 

I hope these arrangements work well but if you have any queries, please email the team at [email protected] 

Parents/Carers,

From Monday 31st March, the 004 route will be serviced by LA Travel. Dave will again be the driver for this route and the times will remain the same.  

Staffordshire County Council

Dear Parents/Carers and Teachers,

It is with great pleasure to announce that the nominations for the prestigious JTMAT Exceptional Achievement Award is now open. This award gives all John Taylor Multi Academy Trust (JT MAT) pupils the chance to be recognised for their extraordinary achievements both inside and outside of school. We are extremely proud of our students at John Taylor High School and hope that parents and teachers will nominate a pupil should they meet the criteria.

If the nomination is successful, winners will receive a special gold pin badge presented by Mr Donoghue OBE, CEO JTMAT via an online celebration. This is a wonderful way for students to share their achievements with the school community and gain recognition for their dedication and success.

The deadline to nominate a pupil is at 4pm on Friday 13^th June 2025 and the online celebration will take place on Friday 11^th July 2025 in Mr Blanchenot’s office.

We look forward to receiving the nominations and celebrating those pupils who strive for personal excellence!

Click here to make a nomination: Exceptional Achievement Nomination Letter

Burton and South Derbyshire College open days are a chance for you to explore the campus, find out about the courses we offer, the support you can expect to receive and to gain an understanding of what it’s like to be a student at our Burton Town Centre Campus.

Plan your day with our Open Day Activities:
•    Learn about opportunities available to you at BSDC via a live welcome talk
•    Tour the campus and all its facilities with our Travel and Tourism students
•    Informal chats with tutors and students
•    1-2-1 appointments with our advice and guidance team

Find out more and reserve your space here.

We look forward to seeing you at our town centre campus in April! 

Easter Law Work Experience - Tuesday 15th April, 10am - 3pm 

We have an incredible opportunity landing this Easter break for all students interested in getting into the world of law. 

Magic Circle Law Firm Linklaters, the worlds biggest Immigration Law Firm Fragomen and the UK’s leading Law University, ULaw are joining us to offer students a whole day of legal knowledge, workshops and insights to the sector for aspiring lawyers. This will be an immersive one day experience online via Zoom where you will get the chance to learn more about law, what it takes to make your way to the top in a law firm and take part in some legal case workshops to really put your skills to the test as a commercial lawyer.

Key Details:

• Law Work Experience during the Easter Holidays
• Tuesday 15th April 10am - 3pm
• Employers involved are; Linklaters, Fragomen and University of Law
• An opportunity to take part in legal workshops, hear from two international law firms as well as the UK’s biggest university offering law degrees
• Networking opportunities in the virtual booths
• Certificate of completion sent out to all students who take part in the day 

If you would like to secure your place, please apply on the below link. 

Application Link:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/YP-GetintoLaw-WEx

If you think you’ve got what it takes to step into the shoes of a corporate lawyer for the day and have a go at some real world cases then this event is for you!

Are you interested in breaking into the world of business and accounting? If so then this work experience is for you! This Easter break, we have teamed up with 5 of the worlds biggest accounting and professional services firms to give students an incredible insight to what its really like working within the industry and becoming a top business professional at a leading international firm.  

We have big 4 firm KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton, S&W and CIMA joining us to run hands on practical workshops with you to show you what it’s really like working in the industry and how you could grow your career as a successful accountant, consultant or tax adviser. You will have the opportunity to work on business projects, conduct a profit and loss on a company, work on a consulting project as well as getting the chance to pitch your ideas and work to the professionals across the day.  

On top of this we will be setting up dedicated workshop / networking booths so you can have 1-1 conversations with people from these companies to get your questions answered and find out about all the key programmes on offer, deadlines to apply as well as summer work experience opportunities along with graduate and apprenticeship programmes. 

Key Details: 

• Business & Accounting Work Experience during the Easter Holidays 
• Thursday 17th April 10am - 3pm 
• Employers involved are; KPMG, BDO, Grant Thornton, S&W, CIMA and the University of Law Business School
• An opportunity to take part in business and accounting workshops, hear from 5 international firms as well as the UK’s biggest university offering business degrees 
• Networking opportunities in the virtual booths 
• Certificate of completion sent out to all students who take part in the day  

If you would like to secure your place, please apply on the below link.  

Application Link: 

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/Business-Finance-Easter

From Barton Royal British Legion

Sunday 4th May 2025, 1pm-9pm, Main St, Barton-under-Needwood.