Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Dear Readers Welcome to the final edition of Planet News for 2013! As you will be aware, we were visited by a team of Ofsted Inspectors last week who spent two days in school observing lessons, meeting students and looking at the work they have produced. Whilst the report is not yet published, I am delighted to inform you that the students were excellent ambassadors for our school. Indeed the Inspectors described them as being polite and courteous, so well done to all involved. Once the final report is written, I will share it on our website and summarise the key points for you all. Outside of the Inspection we have had a very busy half term. Large numbers of students have been preparing for external examinations by intensively working on controlled assessments, past papers and examination techniques in their subject areas. We look forward to some excellent grades being awarded later in the Spring Term. As a school we pride ourselves on the work we do in the community and students in Year 7 visited Hollyfield School earlier this week to play carols to an appreciative audience. This is made all the more remarkable by the fact that most of the students who performed had never picked up a brass instrument prior to this project starting. Students in Year 10 have been particularly busy, one group hosted a Christmas party for some of the elderly residents in our community and entertained them with a music quiz, bingo and other festive treats. The students took responsibility for organizing every aspect of the party from the invitations, to the decorations, to the entertainment and were all delighted to have been given this opportunity. Our Year 10 Sports Leaders helped to run a Primary School Key Stage 1 Multi-Skills Competition in our gyms and attracted praise for their leadership, patience and enthusiasm from parents and the primary school teachers. Similarly a group of Sixth Formers led a number of charitable fund raising events this term including a coffee morning in aid of The Children’s Hospital and a photoshoot in aid of Children in Need. I am continually amazed by and deeply appreciative of all the positive work done in school by students in our Sixth Form. Many acted as tour guides or assisted staff in departments in our recent Sixth Form Open Evening and their enthusiasm alone was enough to persuade prospective students of the benefits of joining our Sixth Form. Our Head Boy Wesley Mulvey and Head Girl Tilly Christie-Thompson, represented the school wonderfully at the Remembrance Service held at Holy Trinity Church in November. We were privileged to be one of only 4 schools asked to take part in the service and laid a wreath on behalf of all those who have lost their lives in conflicts around the world. I would like to take this opportunity to wish you all a peaceful and enjoyable holiday. We return to school on Monday 6 January for an 8.50am start and look forward to all our students returning ready to work and achieve their full potential in 2014.

Best Wishes, Ms M L McCrohon

December 2013

Welcome to Jupiter’s festive news page. 8J are top of the Jupiter league table at the moment. They deserve a huge well done for their brilliant contribution to school and have gained a fabulous 1060 TRICs between them. A special well done goes to Jana Bader and Tishani Hunter with 100 TRICs each and Lauren Bryan-Baker with 109! An amazing achievement for all 3 girls! Also congratulations go to Jordan Hesketh who was fundamentally important in helping his football team to win their first match of the season! Well done, Jordan! The door to stardom has been opened to 7J’s Chad Wright when he was picked to become the new face of Branston Pickle. Chad has already made the television advert which sees him playing the role of the son of a hapless dad who ends up bungling everything he does for his boy. This includes making a birthday cake, a sandcastle and a rocket which all end in disaster. Finally the dad makes him a sandwich full of Branston Pickle which finally puts a big smile on his son’s face. Having auditioned in Manchester for the part Chad travelled to London to film the advert which is now showing on ITV. Congratulations Chad – we are all proud of you! Could we have an eventual Oscar winner among us?! Finally, I would like to congratulate Jupiter for maintaining first position while I’ve been your Head of House. I'm sure that next year you will continue to lead the rest of the school by your example of a positive attitude to learning and commitment to succeed. That being said, I would like to wish you all a wonderful holiday and all the very best for the coming year and beyond. Mr Bradnick Head of Jupiter

Hello Mercurians - Wow! How quickly has this term gone? I hope you have all had positive progress checks! Keep collecting TRICS, remember the more we get the higher up the league table we go! Year 7’s keep working hard and get loads of TRICs and I hope you have all enjoyed your first term in Mercury House! For all year groups – it is really essential that we have good attendance throughout the year if you are to succeed with your academic learning. Remember every month a form from each year group will win a tin of chocolates for the best attendance. Congratulations to the following pupils who has gained 100% attendance this term Phoebe Hall, Laura Hollyoak, Matthew Martin, Alisha Patel, Kira-Paris Thompson, Trey Walker, Rebeka Cole, Ellis Johnston, Jadyn Lamey, Osarume Obakpolo, Dejhaun Robinson, Abbie Sparkes, Rhianne Taylor, Christina To, Sharon Efomi, Callum Kennedy-Holmes, Lyon Powell, Mary Birkett, Jamie Hall, Ciarra Male, Hayden Seymour, James Thompson, Lewis Baxter, Nicole Cannonier, Lauren Cox, Reece Johnson, Othniel Liburd, Connor McCann, Hannah Walker. Many thanks to all those who created a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child. It is good to see this worthy cause being well supported. Many of you have entered competitions to gain TRICs for Mercury, don’t forget we are running a Christmas Jumper and Cracker competition at present. I hope you all have a Great Christmas and a Happy New Year! Laura Hicklin, Year 9 Mercury House

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break.

NEPTUNE HOUSE NEWS: “Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much more!”

The “Neptune Top TRICsters” of the second half term are: 7N: Jordan Griffths (181 TRICs) 8N: Craig Lowe (60 TRICs) 9N: Billy Stonehouse (55 TRICs) 10N: Matthew Greenshields (15 TRICs)

11N: Charlotte Green, Andrew Maiorana and Tamyah Hall-Smith (33 TRICs)

Lucy Parry (7N) has been recognised for producing excellent home learning tasks by a range of different subject teachers.

Rone Clarke 8N, has performed in a number of Kick Boxing competitions over the last few weeks. She is taking her Purple Belt exam next week and we wish her the best of luck.

7N have got a total of 1638 TRICs since September 2013. Well Done! Keep this up! All other tutor groups in Neptune need to raise their game!

At present we are doing really well in the House standings but we are still not in 1st place! I also would love to hear about your achievements and what you have been up to so please come along to Room 48. I would love to hear all about them. Mandela once said; "Everyone can rise above their circumstances and achieve success if they are dedicated to and passionate about what they do." Now let’s do it!

Mr Cassidy

Head of Neptune

It has been a very productive and busy half term for all the fantastic students in Neptune House. Recently Nelson Mandela, who was the first black South African president, died and he was an inspiration to millions of people in South Africa and around the world. He had a positive attitude in challenging the status quo and believed in his dreams of equality and freedom. Neptune students need to use Nelson Mandela’s attitude as a source of inspiration to make us become the best JWS House. Therefore we need all students to increase their effort in gaining TRICS, become more actively involved in the House Competitions and work to their full potential in lessons.

A group of stars but as one! To prove we are the star house group we need to be aware of OUR RESPONSIBILITIES: We MUST work hard to collect more TRICs We MUST enter all competitions to be awarded more TRICs We MUST remind teachers to allocate our TRICs Congratulations to 7O and 8O who received the best attendance award during November

Keep up the excellent attendance - if you attend you will achieve – you are stars!!!!!!!!!!

70 Deshaun Henderson told us he attends Rouge Play, an acting group where he is rehearsing for the production ‘Heartbreak, Beautiful and Blackout’ which will be performed on the 14 December 2013, ‘Break a leg Deshaun’. Molly Caines and Mya Cooper love football and both play for JWS school football team. Congratulations to all who have 100% Attendance: Joshua Barry, Kai-Reiss Bell, Mya Cooper, Alix Farley, Nicole Farley, Chloe Gauntlett, Deshaun Henderson, Rakwon Henry-Hare, Courtney Hughes, Mika Macklin, Adriana Raminhos, Ben Reuben and Benjamin Wilkes.

8O Jay McHugh, Judo enthusiast, met Team GB European Judo Champion Tom Davis . Congratulations to all those with 100% attendance: Molly Brook, Rochai Henry, Charan Kaur, Kiondra Lewis-Brown, Tabish Mohammed, Leah Ralph and Yasmin Scott.

10O Alex Reely and Sam Dewsberry are flying high being in top

position in the league for Sutton United Football Team

11O Shehzad Hussain was a member of the basketball team that beat Plantsbrook School 77-23. Brilliant result!! Mrs P O’Connor Head of Orion Ryan Freer Sixth Form House Captain

Well done Saturn especially 10S who have done really well with attendance. Kieran Davis 11S plays Basketball for the City of Birmingham. He is travelling to Europe on 20 December to play in a tournament. This is especially wonderful as he has only been playing basketball for 18 months!! Despite our disappointing amount of TRICs at the last House Assembly, I am hoping now that I have updated them we will go up the League table. Miss Davey Head of Saturn

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Oliver Nolan and Oakley Smith who recently represented the school in a Badminton competition at Bishop Vesey.

Although we lost in the final both boys won their games beating Bishop Vesey’s number 1 and 2 seeds. Declan

Whiting, Bobby Stonehouse and Elliott Richards, 9P, represented the school at the Year 9 Basketball Finals. In

what was their first game the boys knocked out Arthur Terry, Fairfax and Plantsbrook to reach a highly contested

final v. NBA, which the boys lost, however they can be proud of their efforts. We all need to have big push

collecting TRICs to climb the League table. Happy Christmas to you all. Mr Hunter Head of Pluto

Welcome all Venusians to this festive edition of Planet News. I hope you have all had a fantastic and a hard working term and are all looking forward to a well-earned Christmas break. Congratulations to 7V who performed at Hollyfield Primary School on Tuesday 10 December in a concert to primary school pupils and parents. They have been learning brass instruments this term and played Jingle Bells! Also well done to Daniella McCourt from 8V who has shown great confidence and determination by playing in the girls’ football team representing John Willmott School. Good luck to all Year 11’s who will be taking their mock exams in the coming weeks especially 11V.

House point update

The top TRIC earners from each form who make up the ultimate Venus House are: Kyle Hall and Aaliyah Johnson, 7V, Lewis Beardmore and Natalia Hewakowska, 8V, Mia Hanson and Oliver Jordan, 10V and Hayley Edwards and Connor Bradley, 11V. Congratulations to all. Please continue to collect TRICS from subject teachers/Form Teachers/ Head of Years/Teaching Assistants we could only reach number one place with your continued support for your house. Have a fantastic holiday. Mr Hussain Head of Venus

“Christmas doesn't come from a Store, maybe Christmas

perhaps means a little bit more....” ― Dr. Seuss, How the

Grinch Stole Christmas!

With Christmas fast approaching I would like to take this

opportunity to wish all of PLUTO a Happy Christmas.

A big well done goes to 7P for excellent attendance this year,

please keep this up!! Also I would like to congratulate

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Achievement Group In the Achievement group we do loads of fun activities and learn new skills like gardening, sport, pottery and cookery. We have to raise money for the Achievement Group as we are self-funded so we can go on trips and buy resources for us to use. The last time we helped out in the garden we harvested the green beans and took the weeds out of the flower beds. Next week we will be planting flowering bulbs in the empty beds which will brighten up the area in spring. On 14 November 2013 the Achievement group started doing pottery and as an example we started off by making coil pots with Donya. This week we are making Christmas decorations out of clay, such as Christmas trees, angels, baubles etc., which we will fire and glaze ready for Christmas.

By Kieran Wilson 9Pand Regan Hatfield 9M If you wish to join us in Achievement Group, please see Ms Barker in Rm 19

Number day Last week the Maths Department held a House Competition in Maths lessons for year 7 and 8 and managed to raise £50 for NSPCC. The following students were in the winning teams from their sets: 8J - Aisha Suleman, Liam Ferguson, Eden Barrett, Chloe Forster, Adeena Kumari 8M - Jadyn Lamey, Oliver Harris, Rosie Blaise, Louis Chaundy 8P - Rean Blair, Gabriel Mkwana, Allenah Lawrence-Hamilton, Lily-Mae Davis and Olivia Dempsey 7M - Alisha Patel, Phoebe Hall, Lauren-Mai Roberts, Chloe Power. Special thanks to Josh Barry for his generous donation. There was also a Number Treasure Hunt around school. The winner will be announced before the end of term.

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Children in Need Will Radford 9O, Ben Caughtry 9O and Jake Freeman 9V, raised money by asking students to ‘Guess the Football Team’. Chloe Child, a member of the Sixth Form Council once again fulfilled her role as Charity Ambassador by raising £50 for Children in Need. She came up with a simple yet effective idea of buying and bagging up sweets in an attractive way to sell to sixth formers and staff. Amy Garnett and Cydney Austin also did a fantastic job raising money for the established charity by going into forms with a bucket for the students to donate the money they had brought in. The COPE students (Ellie Morris, Howard Gough, Nathan Bower, Charlie Brown) were involved in putting on a photo shoot in the Library and raised £40. The generous students from John Willmott raised a total of £172. Thanks to all who donated. The Sixth Form Council are currently planning their Christmas Coffee morning as well as coming up with some whole school events to be held in the Spring and Summer terms. Anti-Bullying Week 18 – 22 November 2013

There have been a lot of activities happening in the month of November to highlight and explore the many forms of bullying and to help make students aware of strategies and internal/external support to help tackle and combat bullying. Years 7 and 8 were entertained by Loudmouth Education & Training Through Theatre. The production ‘Bully 4 You’ had all students engaged from the start – they laughed, gasped and fell silent at the varied scenarios which were extremely thought provoking. The actors also interacted with the students, answering the relevant questions whilst staying in character. The word STOP was vocalised continually ‘Several Times On Purpose’ to explain the difference between banter and bullying. The students were enthralled from beginning to end. Key Stage 3 students were then asked to write anti-bullying statements on coloured slips which are displayed in the main school corridor. This prompted a lot of conversations highlighting the need to promote awareness.

There was also an Anti-Bullying poster competition open to the whole school which produced fantastic

work. We are in the process of selecting first, second and third for each House. Well done to all who

entered – TRIC’s will be awarded to all entrants!!

Mentoring Team: Mrs P O’Connor, Ms K Holland and Mr A Nimmo

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Attend Today Achieve Tomorrow Do you know what your child’s attendance is? Do you know what it means? If you had a child in Year 7 and their attendance was 90% would you think this was good? 90% attendance = half a day missed every week! 90% attendance over one school year = 4 whole weeks of lessons missed!! 90% attendance over 5 years of secondary school = half a school year missed!!! 90% is not as good as it first seemed!!!!

What can I do as a parent to improve my child’s attendance? Phone us as soon as possible to explain why your child is absent and when you expect them to return to school. Only grant days at home for genuine illness. Avoid taking holidays in school time. Medical/Dental appointments do not take all day – please return your child to school afterwards or book them in the school holidays.

COURT FINES

Our attendance target is 95%. We would like to congratulate the many students who have attained 95% and above so far this year. Unfortunately we have taken 4 families to court for poor attendance and the fines have ranged from £455 - £565.

Please encourage your child to attend school every day!

Attendance Target is 95 %

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

Girls’ Football The girls’ football teams have been going from strength to strength. The U15s drew 0-0 with Plantsbrook and 1-1 with Arthur Terry. The U13s defeated Plantsbrook 2-0 and Bishop Walsh 2-1 (Alice Nolan scored all the JWS goals) and they beat Arthur Terry 1-0 with Molly Caines scoring. The U13s also defeated North Birmingham Academy 3-1 with 2 goals from Molly Caines and 1 from Alice Nolan. The player of the match was Daniella McCourt who was very strong in defence. The Year 10 team drew against Plantsbrook 0-0 and beat Arthur Terry 1-0 with the goal scored by Tiara Hemans. Boys’ Football The Year 9 boys’ football team played away to North Birmingham Academy and despite having only 10 players in attendance they came away with a 4-1 victory! Basketball Kieran Davis, 11S, and Omar Yearwood-Hall, 11J , have been playing for City of Birmingham Basketball Team since September 2012. They are both delighted to have been selected to play for the U16 team in a tournament to be held in Belgium for 4 days at the end of December. We wish them both every success. Key Stage 4 Basketball team played Hodge Hill who they defeated 78-22. They also played against Plantsbrook who they defeated 77-23!! Congratulations to Omar Yearwood-Hall, Kieran Davis, Sam Williams, Oliver Griffin, Tayla Hewson-Brown, Shehzad Hussain, Sahil Hussain, Andrew Maiorana, Rhuelle Hewitt, Brandon Rhule and Jordan Samuels. Year 9 Basketball Team played in their first ever Basketball Tournament beating 3 teams to reach the final which they unfortunately lost by a very small margin. Team players included Bobby Stonehouse, Cameron Rhule, Elliott Richards, Troy Barran, Sameer Hussain and Declan Whiting. Congratulations to all! Year 10 Sports Leaders Year 10 students who are studying Sports Leadership helped to run a Primary School Key Stage 1 Multi Skills Competition recently in our gyms. They were excellent leaders and attracted praise from parents, primary teachers and the young children. The students involved were: Ikram Khan Symeon Headley Hayden Seymour Regan Croker Robert Fitzpatrick Charlotte Moore

Charlotte Moore Grace Chaundry Alice Crothers Hannah Langley Sam Pargeter Tricia Lyndsey

Science Department

Dear Readers Welcome to the first edition of Planet News for the academic year of 2012/13. This time last year we had just had a full Ofsted Inspection. I am delighted to report that since that visit, we have made significant progress in achieving the targets our team of Inspectors set us. Summer 2012 saw our best ever set of examination results as 92% of our Year 11 cohort achieved 5 or more GCSE passes at A*-C with 66% gaining 5 A*-C English and Maths. 100% of our Year 13 students passed the subjects they studied at A*-E which resulted in 82% of them progressing on to study at University. This in itself represents excellent progress. We are confident that we will be able to build on this success as 53 of our current Year 11 already have GCSEs in both English and English Literature and many more have excellent modular results banked in Maths, Science and English. With a week still remaining in this half term, nearly 150 students have been referred to me to celebrate their hard work and achievement in many curriculum areas. As our expectations have risen, the students have responded by working hard and applying themselves. In addition to this, there have been improvements made in the physical environment of the school. An extensive programme of painting was carried out over the summer break to improve our appearance. Supported by a grant from Sutton Charities, we have completely refurbished the Sixth Form area to provide much needed facilities for independent study. Students now have access to a bank of laptops, a library of reference books and a quiet area in which to study. Work on the fire damaged Music Block is finally well underway and we look forward to getting a brand new teaching space in January. Already this term pupils at John Willmott have been given the opportunity to engage in a number of clubs and visits designed to enhance our curriculum offer. Year 11 Geographers have undertaken field study work in the Peak District, Historians visited Raglan Castle as part of their course and students studying GCSE PE were given the opportunity to improve their practical marks by taking part in a number of activities at a Centre. The recent suspended timetable days allowed our New Year 7 pupils to work collaboratively, gain knowledge and develop new skills as they explored life in medieval times and plunged to the bottom of the ocean in the Deep Sea Day. Whilst those in Key Stage 4 and 5 benefited by having Immersion days in their option choices in the core subject areas. We have started with a real sense of purpose and I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your continued support in driving the school forwards. I wish you all an enjoyable half term break. Best wishes M L McCROHON (Ms)

On Tuesday 19 November John Willmott opened its doors to welcome many Year 11 students and their parents from JWS as well as those visiting from other schools to its annual Sixth Form Open Evening. The evening began with a talk by Ms McCrohon who introduced the Sixth Form staff team and explained the wide range of opportunities provided for students. This was followed by Ms Richards, Head of Sixth Form, who spoke about subject choices. Parents and students then had time to explore the broad range of subjects on offer at JWS. Subject staff were available in their areas to speak about AS/A2 and BTEC courses. We also had teachers available through video conferencing to discuss subjects such as Law and Criminology. There was a real buzz during the evening with so many of our Year 12 and 13 students representing the school helping out at this very important event. Their roles included tour guides to students new to the school, car park attendants, serving refreshments and being subject ambassadors, speaking to parents and students about subjects and ‘Sixth Form life’. All those who attended enjoyed the professional yet friendly approach to the evening. Thanks to Kojian Rasoul who studies Applied Business and designed an evaluation sheet and collected views from parents about the evening. Prior to the evening the Year 11 prefects had a chance to sample some A2 and BTEC lessons and meet students and staff. The Sixth Form Council then shared their break with Year 11 prefects and over cookies and a drink the students were able to ask questions and chat to Sixth Formers. This was designed to give some of the Year 11 students a chance to experience Sixth Form lessons and help them consider their choices as well as feeding back to other Year 11 students. Thanks to all the students and staff involved in the ‘Sixth Form Experience’. A prospectus was given out to Year 11 students as well as an application form which should be handed in before Christmas. If any student has further questions or would like any more information on our Sixth Form please do not hesitate to contact either Ms Richards or Mrs Sharp. The Sixth Form team would like to say a very big thank you to everyone who helped during the evening to make it such a success. Pictured: Science Department’s “Test Tube Christmas Tree” displayed at Sixth Form Open Evening

As newly elected Chair of John Willmott School’s PTFA, I thought it best to tell you a little bit about myself and what our PTFA does for the school. My name is Jo Hall and I have a daughter here in year 11 who is studying hard for her GCSE’s. I also have two sons who were educated at John Willmott. In the past, there have been times when we have needed the help and support of the staff here and I feel that by being part of the PTFA is my way of giving something back to the school to say thank you for the support they have given. The PTFA meet once a month to discuss ways to raise funds for the school to help improve your child’s educational experience. In the past we have held quiz nights, skittles evenings, race nights and of course, the Summer Fayre. All these events have raised money for things such as outdoor seating and more recently, the cleaning and revamp of the school pond, which will now be able to have fish and other pond species living in there and will help with your child’s science studies. We will always need to raise funds and this is where you come in. Please feel free to come along to one of our meetings or better still, come and join us at our forthcoming events either to help or take part. Our next event is the Quiz Evening on 13 February. Please get your team ready; questions are suitable for a variety of interests/ages. We look forward to seeing you!

Jo Hall Chair of PTFA

The School Council has met regularly this half term and discussed various school matters including behaviour and bullying leading from the work covered in Anti-Bullying Week. During our recent Ofsted Inspection a group of us met with one of the Ofsted Inspectors to answer a variety of questions about the school and our role as student representatives. We all felt that the meeting had gone well and are very proud of our school. Please use the Council Suggestions Box at the T-Junction to send us your views and any matters that you think we need to discuss. We can make a difference. We would also like to hear your ideas for raising money for charity next term. Please feel free to contribute to the work of the School Council, we are all working together to make school an even better place for us all. Your Form Council Reps should be reporting back to you at the end of every meeting. We hope you have a Happy Christmas and we look forward to hearing from you in 2014. Use your Council! Laura Hicklin and Ellie Gibson, School Council Members

DECEMBER 2013 / JANUARY - FEBRUARY 2014 Friday 20 December Break-up for Christmas Holidays Monday 6 January 2014 Students return to school Thursday 9 January Annual Awards Evening Tuesday 14 January Year 8 Consultation Evening Tuesday 21 January Year 10 Consultation Evening Tuesday 28 January Year 9 Options Evening Tuesday 11 February Year 8 Options Evening Thursday 13 February PTFA Quiz Evening Friday 14 February Break-up for Half Term holiday Monday 17-21 February Sixth Form Art Trip to Barcelona Monday 24 February Students return to school

* * * * * SIXTH FORMERS HAVE A HARD TIME WITH THE BEAST!

Our team, Frankie Hughes, Owen Langslow, Brandon Bolton, Glenn Fellows, Lauren Warner and Sarah Vernon had to answer 10 rounds of questions, over three gruelling hours, on topics such as film, science, literature and sport. They came up with some fantastic answers and did us really proud by finishing in 18th place out of the 42 teams.

On 28 November, 6 members of John Willmott School’s Sixth Form took up the challenge of competing against 41 other sixth form teams from all over Birmingham in a quiz to raise money for the Lord Mayor’s charities. The quiz took place in the Great Hall at Birmingham University and was hosted by Mark ‘The Beast’ Labbett, one of Britain’s best quizzers and most famous for his appearances on ITV’s The Chase.