Sport
Sport has a major role to play in the life of every child at St John’s. We have strong beliefs regarding the vital role that sport should play in every child’s educational development.
Our aims are firstly to encourage participation in a wide range of sports and activities thus developing both individual and team playing skills. We want to build an individual’s confidence and to foster a healthy lifestyle. Our ethos is not a ‘win at all costs’ attitude but one that reflects true sportsmanship.
Some of our pupils and teams have reached the highest levels of achievement in various sporting areas, for example, Victoria Morgan and Lewis Jones who both won major sporting scholarships to Millfield School.
Pupils from Nursery through to the Seniors are taught Games and PE by specialist teachers and coaches. We cover all the main team sports for girls and boys and encourage combined age groups, enabling us to play schools of similar size and ethos as St John’s. We attend 7-a-side Rugby Tournaments and 6-a-side Soccer Competitions and other local events along with short tennis, tennis, District athletics and District cross country. On top of this we offer other sports such as badminton, table tennis and swimming.
The House system within the school operates effectively and alongside the small class numbers allows a greater participation in House athletics, rugby, netball, rounders, hockey, basketball, football, swimming, tennis, cross country and other sporting competitions.
PE lessons allow the minor sports of aerobics, badminton, short tennis and swimming to be taught with both boys and girls and all pupils follow a programme of Physical Education lessons that emphasise the need for a healthy lifestyle. PE can be taken as an option subject at GCSE.
Pupils are also encouraged, and there is scope locally, for children to join a growing number of external sports clubs, some of whom hire the school facilities in the evenings and holidays – currently karate and football clubs use the premises. We also have links with a number of schools in other European countries and regularly host matches between our teams and their pupils.
Pre Prep pupils take part in a PE session each week and have some specialist teaching in team sports as well. Children in Years 4 to 6 have two afternoon sessions of sport and all Senior pupils participate in a full afternoon of sport once a week. For boys the main sports covered are rugby in the Christmas term, football in spring and cricket and athletics in the summer. The girls play hockey, then netball in the first two terms of the year and rounders and athletics in the summer.
“I like St John’s because it is easy to make a sports team because the classes are small and so no one is upset because they haven’t made the team.”
Year 6 pupilMy favourite day at St John’s was when it was Sports Day and I won a race.”
Year 2 pupil“My favourite day at St John’s was when the Saxons won the Swimming Gala.”
Year 3 pupil
