Newsletters

Dear parents and carers,

Welcome to the final Newsletter of term 3.

It is hard to believe that we are halfway through the year and when I look at the year 7 students who started with us in September, it seems as if they have always been here. I am reminded of how quickly time moves in school, as year 7 have reached the half-way point of their first year. Year 11 have just had their parents' evening, and we are already working with our primary feeder schools to prepare for our new year group in September. A perfect time to remind myself to make the most of every moment as it flies past.

As I look back at the calendar for this term, it has been crammed with events and opportunities for our students. In the last couple of weeks alone, we have had Project Voice, a PE primary master class, rehearsals for our new school show, a trip to Trowbridge college for students to consider their next steps in education and the world of work, a drama trip to Macbeth at Bristol Old Vic and the sixth form trip to Bath Spa university – all undertaken whilst staff (and students) experienced a two-day visit from Ofsted!

Hopefully, the half-term break will allow our students and staff to return to the new term rested and ready to take on all the challenges and opportunities term 4 has to offer. A special mention to our students in Years 11 and 13 who will be intensifying their preparations for the upcoming public exams in May and June.

To support Year 11 students, we have scheduled exam booster sessions starting on Tuesday, 20th February (please note that Monday, 19th February, is an INSET day, and there will be no students in school).

As always, thank you for your support and I hope you have a positive half-term break and I look forward to seeing you when we return to school.

Rehearsals are underway for the John of Gaunt’s New School Show! Set at the BIGGEST, BESTEST FESTIVAL IN THE SOUTHWEST…nope, not Glastonbury! We follow the characters Mac, a boy with an eclectic taste in music, and Mads, a wannabe influencer who is more interested in her online presence than being actually present.

As they clamber over turn-stiles, dodge cowpats, and desperately cling to their wellingtons, we hear music from a variety of genres and time periods to get us in the festival mood!

Should you be interested in being involved, it’s not too late, just pop by the Drama studio to see Miss Regan.  

This week, students in Forest School sessions have been making cereal hoop bird feeders.

Some of them are heart shaped, ready for Valentine's Day.

The squirrels seem to love them! 

Lost Property

Since the start of the new academic year, Reception has acquired a vast assortment of lost property, including many expensive overcoats.  If your child has lost a coat or other item of uniform, please come in and chat with our Receptionist, who will only be too happy for you to sort through, and hopefully retrieve any lost items.  

Dear all, we are excited to start term four with a fantastic opportunity to take part in Comic Relief 2024.

This year will see each year group take a lunchtime slot to complete a fund-raising task, anything from a Joke-a-thon to a bake sale. Tutor groups will vote on their favourite activity and students can join in the fun throughout the week. More details to follow. Sessions will run in the week commencing 11^th March.

The event will culminate in a non-uniform day on Friday 15th March where we will ask you for a £1 donation for the Comic Relief fund. 

• Please ensure students' clothing is appropriate for the setting, more guidance will come from tutors.

Mrs Eagle will be leading this charity event and collating the monies raised.

We can’t wait to start the term off with a fantastic event such as this and look forward to all the creative ideas that will come from our students and student leaders!

Dear Parent/Carer

Year 9 Td/IPV (DTP) & MenACWY vaccination

Your Year 9 child is now due their Diptheria, Tetanus, Polio – (Td/IPV (DTP)) & Meningitis ACWY (MenACWY) vaccine, which will be delivered by the School Aged Immunisation Team at John of Gaunt on 27^th February 2024 and 23rd/24^th April 2024.   These vaccines are offered to all boys and girls in Year 9 (aged 13/14 years).

To consent for your child to receive the vaccination, or to decline, please click on the link below:

https://schoolimms.hcrgcaregroup.com/dtp/2023/wilts

You can also use this link to find out further information about the vaccination before you provide your response.

If you have any difficulties completing the consent, please contact our Immunisation Team on 0300 247 0082 or email vcl.immunisations@nhs.net for support.   

Please respond as soon as possible. 

Once completed, you will receive an automated email with a reference number as confirmation.  Please check your junk/spam box if not in your inbox and contact the team if it is not received.

Thank you

School Aged Immunisation Team

HCRG Care Group

 t: 0300 247 0082 (Monday – Friday, 9am - 4.30pm) 

e: vcl.immunisations@nhs.net  

The First Moor of the Year 2024

On Friday 27^th January we took 25 students down to Dartmoor for our first time (this year) to experience the terrain and hostile weather of the moor. It didn't disappoint - on Friday night, temperatures dropped towards zero and students were forced to quickly get their tents up and get into their sleeping bags to fend off the cold.

On Saturday, after a wonderful fry-up from "Smoky" Bill, the more experienced 45-mile and 55-mile teams set off unaided on a 20-mile route encompassing river crossings, marshes, the dreaded Dartmoor tussocks and the hard-on-the-feet military tracks thrown in for good measure. The 35-mile team broke into 2 groups (one smaller group worked on navigation with Iain Richards and the other joined me for a 15-mile circuit of the area surrounding the camp - also taking in tors, marshes and tussocks. We all returned safely, enjoyed a freshly made chilli and most students (and staff!) were quiet and asleep by about 9pm. A few students struggled with illness, injuries or the weight of their bags, which unfortunately ruled them out of Sunday's hiking. 

Overnight, the wind picked up and a couple of tents suffered damage, leading to a few students (and a volunteer!) not having their best night's sleep.

On Sunday the weather was a challenge; very windy, cold and drizzly and visibility was quite poor before lunch. The glorious sunshine came out just before lunch and then, typically for Dartmoor, a grey and dark and ominous patch of cold heavy drizzle came billowing across the moor in the late afternoon. We decided to stay warm and dry and all eventually jumped back into the minibuses. Both groups managed to get double-figure miles in on Sunday and overall the weekend went really well.

A huge thank you to volunteers Bill Smith, Iain Richards, Imogen Wood and, of course, Mrs Brooks too. We couldn't do this without you!

For more photos please click here.

Year 11 Exam Booster Sessions

In order to fully support Year 11 students in this summer's exams, next term will see the second and final block of compulsory Exam Booster Sessions.  

These sessions will run from 3pm until 4pm, and focus on Exam Technique within each of the subject areas.

 There will be 2 sessions for each of the Year 11's subjects. 

The schedule for these is given below.  

Year 11 students have all been sent this timetable, and they will be sent the locations for each subject weekly.

The John of Gaunt is now registered so that any students who wish to, can enter artwork into the Royal Academy of Arts Young Artists summer show. Now in its sixth year, the Young Artists’ Summer Show is a free, open submission exhibition for students aged 4–19 studying in the UK.

Artworks are judged by a panel of artists and arts professionals, with selected artworks displayed online and on-site at the Royal Academy of Arts.

Students who are 13 or over can submit their own work. 12 or under need an adult to submit it for them. Submission is open until 27 March 2024.

There is so much artistic talent in our school, and it would be wonderful to have students from The John of Gaunt School included in the show as we have in previous years! It is an exciting opportunity to have their work displayed publicly.

The artwork can be made using any material; it can be a painting, sculpture, photograph, installation, video, drawing, or a combination. There is no theme, so artwork can be of any subject, and we don’t mind when you made the artwork as long as you are between 4–19 years old when you submit it. We also welcome collaborative pieces made by more than one student. If you’re submitting as or for a student at GCSE, A Level or BTEC level, we suggest submitting artwork that is not being assessed for exams.' 

More information (and previous exhibitions) can be viewed on the Royal Academy website- https://youngartists.royalacademy.org.uk

Guidance for submission can be found here-

https://yass.s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/2024/YASS-Submission-Guidance.pdf

Dear Parents / Carers

As part of our series of updates on how to keep your children safe online, we are pleased to share important news regarding enhanced online safety measures for teenagers using Facebook and Instagram. Meta, the parent company of these platforms, has recently announced new content policies aimed at safeguarding teens from exposure to harmful content.

Commencing on 22 January 2024, Meta is implementing updates that will automatically place all users under the age of 18 into the most restrictive content control settings on both Instagram and Facebook. These adjustments are designed to make it more challenging for young individuals to access sensitive content, with a particular focus on restricting content related to self-harm and suicide.

In line with these changes, there will be restrictions on harmful search terms within Instagram Search. Moreover, teenagers will receive notifications encouraging them to enhance their privacy settings on Instagram, further bolstering their online safety.

Meta expressed its commitment to addressing sensitive topics such as suicide, self-harm, and eating disorders in a recent blog post. While individuals are still permitted to share content discussing their struggles with these issues, the company is actively working to make it more difficult to locate such content. Searches for related terms will now lead to hidden results, redirecting users to expert resources for help.

We view these updates as a positive stride towards reinforcing efforts to protect young people and adults from harmful online content. If your child, aged 13 and above, encounters harmful content online, they can use "Report Harmful Content", a national service operated by South West Grid for Learning (SWGfL), to report content on major social media platforms. This service also provides information about additional support services available to those affected by harmful content.

For further guidance on updating privacy settings on Facebook and Instagram, South West Grid for Learning’s (SWGfL) Social Media Checklist offers step-by-step instructions to help ensure a safe online experience for your child.

As a school, we are committed to working with parents to keep children safe online. If you have any questions relating to staying safe online, please contact Helen Kerr, Deputy Head and Designated Safeguarding Lead or John Roberts, Director of Learning for Computing and Business and strategic lead for the use of ICT in school.