Newsletters

This week during STEM club, the students tried to make all the different colours in the pH scale by using hydrochloric acid, sodium hydroxide and universal indicator... they did a great job!

A Night at the Movies!

On Thursday 7 April the Music department held an Easter concert at Holy Trinity Church. The theme was ‘A Night at the Movies’!

Parents, family and friends filled the Church to see our wonderful students across all the years, and staff, perform. A variety of music from iconic films were played by the different ensembles which included the orchestra, steel drum groups and choirs.

Our chosen charity for this concert was the DEC Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal. Our collection raised £313.73 which was absolutely wonderful! The Music department would like to thank all the students who were involved and all the audience who supported this event. Wishing you all a very happy Easter Break. 

Mrs Maguire & Miss Beer

The year 9 boys took to the Astro for their league decider for the county championship with local rivals, Clarendon. A match played in terrific spirit. 

The boys started well and were in the ascendancy early in the match however it was Clarendon who scored first. Shortly after they extended their lead to 2-0. The JOG boys rallied well and got through to half-time at 2-0 into the wind.

With the wind on their backs, JOG pushed to get back into the game and rewarded with a goal scored from a set piece. We were back in the game and dominating for long spells of the match. JOG had some big chances, but were unable to take them. 

We were unable to find an equalizer, congratulations to Clarendon.

Player of the match was Theo for his amazing work rate, tackling and passing.

Yr 9 boys, we’ve had a great season, and you’ve played some superb football! You should be proud of yourselves and Mr Smith is really proud of you all.

Well done, let’s get to the county championships next year!

Alexa in Year 9 has recently competed in Sheffield for gymnastics against many other qualifying teams. She has recently moved from artistic gymnastics to Team Gym where she now competes across 3 disciplines; vault, trampette and tumbles. Alexa and her team are placed 3^rd in Great Britain. This is such an incredible achievement and something I know her family are really proud of her for doing. We are also extremely happy for Alexa, she is dedicated and works really hard. 

We cannot wait to see what the future holds for her!

The Year 7 and 8 Girls' Football team had their final fixture of the season last week against Matravers. They certainly went out with a bang!! Both teams had convincing wins with some fantastic play throughout. Well done to all the girls, and I look forward to next year's season.

I hope to see you all at the summer clubs next term, which include, Athletics, Tennis, Cricket and Rounders.

Results:

Year 7- 4-0 Win

Year 8- 13-0 Win

Well done girls!

A very proud Mrs Bodman

Director of Learning - PE

Some John of Gaunt families were shouting at their screens this week and while former student Tom Gale may have been a "Pointless" answer this time we are backing him to be a national household name after the next Olympics!!

TEN TORS 2022 UPDATE!

19 hardy students headed off to North Dartmoor last weekend for our final Dartmoor Expedition before the big event. We camped out at East Okement Farm, Okehampton on Friday night under another glorious starry sky. 

Groups were up, breakfasted (cooked on their own stoves) and ready to hike by 0700 and set off unsupervised onto the crisp and beautiful barren terrain of Dartmoor. The groups successfully navigated through Saturday (tors, tussocks, valleys, hills and marsh), and aside from a student falling in a bog, it was a productive and successful day. They hiked over 23 miles with their large heavy packs and were in good spirits when the sleet started to come in at around 1930, and we decided it was time to set up camp.

Sunday morning at 0500 was ridiculously cold (around -6 C), their gas stoves wouldn't light, tents had frost on the inside and outside, and some tent poles were frozen together making it temporarily impossible to decamp. However, students eventually got hiking at around 0830 and then enjoyed a day of gorgeous sunshine. One student recovered well after losing her footing and falling into a shallow brook, but had followed guidance and waterproofed her bag and was therefore able to get changed into her dry spare clothes and continue her hike. They all finally stopped their hikes at around 1700 on Sunday, having hiked around 40 miles over the weekend.

It was a great weekend, and we certainly have some strong hikers on our teams this year. I'm starting to get excited about the Ten Tors Event on the 7^th May. 

As usual, huge thanks to Shaun White, Iain Richards, Jazzy Smith, Mr Lord and Mrs Brooks for all their assistance with our expedition.

Please view the photo gallery  https://www.johnofgauntschool.org/gallery/?pid=7&gcatid=2&albumid=14

Last Friday the JOG staff football team took part in a multi school charity Seven a side tournament at Kingdown School in Warminster.

This was the team's first taste of "competitive" football for five years! The team ended up in third place winning three out of five games.

Our goal of the tournament was a perfectly executed downward header at the back post from team captain Mr. Hunt vs St Laurence. 

National Citizen Service (NCS)

We are excited to be working with the National Citizen service (NCS) this year to deliver an unforgettable summer experience for students in year 11.

NCS programmes offer young people a once in a lifetime opportunity to do something incredible in their summer break, and to have experiences and develop skills they can rely on during university, apprenticeships, and their career.

NCS lasts 2 weeks (Monday – Friday), during which participants will go on a five-day residential, meet new people, try activities ranging from kayaking to rock-climbing, take on new challenges and develop the skills and confidence to take on their next steps. They will also get their chance to give back to their local community through their own social action project. A place on NCS is worth around £1200. However, thanks to government funding for the programme, NCS will only ask for a contribution of £50 to cover some basic costs, with bursaries available as well.

There are plenty of start dates to choose from, so go to wearencs.com to find your space, and encourage your teen to sign up for a summer they will not forget!

Matt Purdy

NCS South West Sales Coordinator

Virtual tuition sessions for GCSE students presented by Tassomai teachers!

Tassomai are trialling 'Live Lessons' over the Easter holidays.

They've finalised the schedule and will be running 9 sessions for Year 11 students from 5-21 April.

Their free, 45-minute Zoom-based lessons will focus on topics that they know (from usage data) that Tassomai students find difficult. If there's enough interest they plan to run more Live Lessons After Easter.

Please click on the link below to see the schedule.

Learn more & view the Live Lessons schedule