Newsletters

Dear Parents and Carers

I do hope you are enjoying the longest day of the year and, hopefully, have time to relax with your family over the lovely weekend that is scheduled.  I know our students will be enjoying the T20 cricket at Bristol tonight, a trip the PE faculty are running on a Friday night.  That's dedication to the students for you!  Please keep up-to-date with all our activities in school and through our extracurricular programme by following our social media platforms.  You will gain a real insight into what is occurring on any given regular day and there is so much going on!  

Instagram

jogschool24  (Whole school)

jogphysed      (PE faculty)

Facebook

The John of Gaunt School 

Mr Bilsdon has launched an exciting trip to Peru for the summer of 2026.  Following a presentation to our current year 8, 9, 10 & 11 (who will be staying on into our Sixth Form next year) students in their assemblies by the representative from Camps International last week, Mr Bilsdon held a meeting for parents/carers last Tuesday that was well attended.  If you are interested, there are posts on our Instagram and Facebook pages with a QR code link.  Exciting times ahead!

I do hope our Year12 parents found our Higher Education information evening valuable, and helped provide reassurance, and a little more clarity when making decisions around the next steps for their child, whether it is university, college, apprenticeships or the world of work.  Thanks to Mrs Baines and the Post 16 Team for organising this in collaboration with Bath University.

Finally, it has been a pleasure dropping into our Middle Leader conferences that have been running for the pastoral and academic teams over the last fortnight.  We dedicate quality time for our leaders to link together, reviewing the work we do, the curriculum we deliver and then plan ahead for the future.  These days are invaluable and are a key factor to why we had such a successful Ofsted inspection and why our students receive such excellent support and experience here at The John of Gaunt School.  Thanks to all the senior leadership who have contributed to the planning and running of these days and to the middle leaders who are working tirelessly to provide the best experience they can for your children.

Have a good weekend and let's hope England can improve their performance in the final group game next week!

 

Activities Week

Students in years 7, 8 or 9, who have opted to go to the cinema during activities week, were asked to choose the 2 films they would prefer to watch.

Voting has closed, and the films (by year) will be:

Year 7 - Godzilla & Kong and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes

Year 8 - Inside Out 2 and Despicable Me 4

Year 9 - Godzilla & Kong and Despicable Me 4

Megan Keast is the second student in year 12 to complete 70 hours of volunteering work over the course of this academic year.

Megan is a tremendous support in her community, especially in relation to Sport. Megan has been coaching two different teams. One is an under 8's girls team that Megan helps out with and the other is a disability youth football team. Megan has shown enthusiasm and commitment both inside of school and outside of school.

Megan has also helped with the girls' football teams at The John of Gaunt, including attending away matches and helping organise and run training sessions.

Completing 70 hours is a great achievement. Well done Megan! 

A brilliant day with 16 Year 7 students competing in the Super 8s Schools Games competition at Dauntsey today. There were some outstanding performances and great results, but the singing on the bus on the way home could be improved (a lot!).

The girls came in 3rd place overall, and the boys came 2nd, which means they progress to the County competition in July! The highlights were: Tyler came 1st in 100m and long jump (by 1cm!!), Tarla came 1st in 200m and shot and Adam came 1st in the 200m.

Well done to all involved!

Affordable Schools – Free Uniform Event

As part of our whole school drive to ensure that the school day is affordable for all students, we would like to invite all members of the school community to a free uniform swap on Tuesday 2^nd July at 3pm. This will be an opportunity to bring in any unwanted uniform to swap or simply come along to find a school jumper for the new school year.

All items are preloved, but still have lots of life left. Please enter the school via reception, where you will be directed to the collection point near Wingfield hall. If you have any questions regarding the event or would like to be involved in future events, please see our website for further details: The John Of Gaunt School - Affordable Schools Information

 

What a pleasure to take 15 girls to Warminster Sports Centre for their annual 'She Can Be Active' event which looks at raising self-confidence and empowering young females to be active.

The girls had the best time partaking in different activities, including a glow in the dark disco and swimming. It's an event that is run by women for women, and it was a great day to be a part of! 

The girls were a credit to themselves and our school. They got stuck in and worked well with the other schools that were present.

I look forward to taking our new Year 7's next year! 

Miss Lewis 

Maths Stars

On 11th June, three year 8 students sat the second round of a national Maths Challenge, having performed exceptionally well in the first round.   Edward Stacey and Rafael Edwards have been awarded a Certificate of Merit and Peter Ross received a Certificate of Qualification.

Congratulations to all three.

 

Year 10 - Congratulations

The year 10 pastoral team wanted to congratulate the students for their excellent approach to their first set of GSCE Mock exams. They have been excellent ambassadors for the school with our invigilators. 

In addition, please can I remind you of all the mental health support resources that have been made available via parentmail and class charts to assist our students through their exam period. STEM 4 is an excellent free resource available online, which is age appropriate and each of the CAMHS approved apps can be downloaded to mobile phones to offer instant advice. 

We wish all of our students success in their exams.

Year 10 Pastoral team. 

Year 10 Home Study and changes for Term 6

From January, Key Stage 4 (Years 10 and 11) students have been completing homework set by their subject teachers. We moved away from the homework planners after the student and parent surveys overwhelmingly found them less useful than subject-specific homework.

Research shows that effective use of homework can lead to an extra 5 months' progress compared to a student who does not do home-study. Effective home-study is crucial for retaining knowledge and rehearsing key skills. It is essential for securing excellent grades in end-of-topic tests, and further down the track in GCSE and post-16 results. Being good at home-studying is like any other skill – it requires resilience, practice and support.

Parental Support

There are a few ways you can support your child:

• Regularly check ClassCharts - we will continue to use ClassCharts to set and log homework completion.
• Create a regular routine and encourage good homework habits
• Encourage them to set goals, plan, and manage their time, effort and emotions.
• Assist with gaining resources

Student Support

The following support is available for students to complete their home studies.

The Library

• Before school – from 8.15am
• Break and Lunchtime - Year 10 on Tuesday and Thursday
• After-school – until 3.45pm Monday-Thursday, until 3.30pm Fridays

Pitman

• After-school – Monday to Thursday 3-4pm.

Compulsory Study Support Sessions

From the start of Term 6, we will be introducing compulsory study support sessions for students who fail to complete homework.

• Students who fail to submit completed homework on 2 occasions in one week (Monday to Friday) will be automatically logged into one of these sessions.
• They will sit a compulsory study support session after school on a Tuesday for 30 minutes.
• Students that fail to attend the compulsory study support session will sit a second session in after-school on a Thursday for 60 minutes.
• Further failure to attend is a behaviour issue and will lead to attendance in PBSC.

Year 10 Homework Rota

All homework will be set and collected on the same day of the week, meaning students have a week to complete it. For example, if they are set science homework on a Monday, it will be due on the following Monday. On average, students should spend around 40 minutes per week on each piece of homework. Where a subject is more project-based (for example, art), they may set homework over a longer period than one week and will communicate how long should be spent on the work to the students. Homework will be set on Class Charts.

The Peru Trek Expedition mentioned above is open to our current year 8, 9, 10 and 11 students who intend joining the Sixth Form next year.

Instrumental Tuition

Interested in having instrumental or vocal lessons next academic year? Music lessons are an excellent way for students to develop their skills and understanding of music, as well as give them the potential for a lifelong passion and opportunity for social development. Lessons are open to all students at all levels, including complete beginners. We currently have lessons for the following instruments: singing, drum kit, percussion, trumpet, cornet, trombone, piano, flute, clarinet, saxophone, violin, viola, bass guitar, electric guitar, acoustic guitar and ukulele.

Lessons are generally taught in blocks of 10 lessons and are available for 15, 20 or 30 minute slots.  The costs vary according to the teacher involved but are in the region of £32-£40 per hour.  We are also able to apply for funding towards some lessons through Wiltshire Music Connect. For students who are Pupil Premium or have a Special Educational Need, then we can apply to fund 70% of a 15-minute lesson through Wiltshire Music Connect, leaving the remaining 30% to be paid by the parent/carer. For children that are Looked After, we can apply to fund 100% of a 15-minute lesson through Wiltshire Music Connect.

Lessons take place in a music practising room within school and may be before, after or during school, depending on the teacher involved. Lessons are on a rotating timetable so that students don’t continually keep missing the same lesson.

If your child is interested in learning an instrument or having singing lessons, please drop me an email and I will get back to you with further information: nmaguire@jogschool.org     

CHANGE IN MINIMUM AGE FOR WHATSAPP

The minimum user age for WhatsApp has recently changed from 16 to 13. This is part of the series of changes WhatsApp is making to its terms and conditions. The new changes are WhatsApp’s response to new European regulations, the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act, which require companies to be more clear about how they moderate and deliver content.

WhatsApp has provided the following recommendations for user safety and security:

Keeping users safe and secure 

We provide a range of tools, features, and resources to keep users safe. For example, we ensure people can’t search for your phone number on WhatsApp, and a user can:

• Choose who can contact you

• Control who can add you to group chats

• Hide your personal information like your last seen and online, profile photo, and about

• Leave group chats silently. You can learn more about privacy and safety information for teen users on WhatsApp here.

(Source: About minimum age to use WhatsApp | WhatsApp Help Center)

Wider support for WhatsApp can be found on their help centre website: WhatsApp Help Center

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SNAPCHAT MyAI-AGUIDE FOR PARENTS

Snapchat is one of the main social apps used by children from approximately 6-7 years upwards. Snapchat terms of service state that users must be a minimum of 13 years old. The Ofcom Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes published 29 March 2023, reported that 46% of 3-17 year olds are actively engaging with Snapchat (6795 parents asked).

Snapchat has introduced a new feature, MyAI (chat bot) which cannot be removed within Snapchat. A useful article explaining MyAI, its features and tips for parents/carers can be found here. Another helpful article, published by Common Sense Media is the Parents' Ultimate Guide to Snapchat ………………………………………………………………………………………

SEXTORTION– WHAT PARENTS/CARERS NEED TO KNOW:

On April 29th, 2024, the National Crime Agency CEOP – Child Exploitation and Online Protection alerted schools and educators about the increasing incidence of 'sextortion,' It is reported that there has been a global rise in cases, particularly amongst boys aged 14-18. However, it is important to remember sextortion poses a threat to individuals of all ages and genders.

What is sextortion?

Sextortion is a type of blackmail when someone threatens to share nude images or videos of, or sexual information about, someone online unless they are paid money or agree to do something else for them, such as send more images. Sextortion is a crime and can be committed by an individual or a group of people working together. (source: www.childnet.com)

Where can I find out more?

The UK Safer Internet Centre has curated a list of useful websites and resources to support and further inform parents/carers and young people. Below are direct links to the resources for parents and carers

NCA CEOP Education – #AskTheAwkward

Children and young people are better protected with regular, open conversations. Use the #AskTheAwkward films and help sheets to support you – Talk little. Talk often. Ask the awkward.

Internet Watch Foundation – TALK checklist

Follow the IWF’s TALK checklist to help keep your child safe online.

Internet Watch Foundation – Advice for parents and carers

Advice and steps to take if your child has been a victim of financially-motivated sexual extortion.

SWGfL - So You Got Naked Online

A resource that offers children, young people and parents advice and strategies to support the

Childnet – Sextortion

Advice for parents and carers about sextortion, covering how it happens, what you need to know, and how to support your child if they have been targeted.

NSPCC Helpline – Phone: 0808 800 5000 Contact NSPCC for specialist help, advice and support

Internet Matters - What is sextortion? – A guide

Snapchat - In-app educational video for Snapchat users

Remember: If your child has sent a nude or semi-nude image or video of themselves and is concerned that this has been or may be shared online, you can take these 3 steps to try and support them in getting it removed:

1. Use Report Remove, a tool from Childline and the Internet Watch Foundation. Your child can use this to remove images that have been shared or might be shared.

2. Use Take It Down, a tool from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Your child can use this to remove or stop the online sharing of images or videos.

3. Report directly to the platform or app that the incident has occurred on. For advice on how to report to major social media platforms, visit Internet Matters.

(source: Sextortion - Resources - UK Safer Internet Centre) 

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. 

Springing into our new central youth space Our new Mill Street youth centre provides a safe space for young people to enjoy a wide range of activities, spend time with friends and benefit from professional youth support. From playing pool, to cooking, boardgames, craft and mentoring  - we are so excited to welcome young people to this amazing space.   Our new patron Flo summed it up perfectly:  “Everyone needs a space outside of school and home where they can be themselves and find connection, and Mill Street is now that space for young people in Trowbridge.”