St. John Fisher Prospectus

St. John Fisher

St. John fisher catHolic School

Safe, Happy & Successful I am very proud to welcome you to St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School. We are a successful school which provides a high standard of education for pupils of all abilities.

Parents can be confident that their child will be Safe, Happy and Successful in our caring environment in which we have high expectations of all. We have recently been commended by the Minister of State for Schools and Learners for being one of the most improved schools in the country.

Mission Statement St John Fisher seeks to help and encourage pupils to develop individually, collectively and freely a way of life modelled on Christ, in accordance with the faith of the Roman Catholic Church.

“I am delighted to congratulate you and your school on the excellent performance you have demonstrated at Key Stage 4 in the Achievement and Attainment Tables published on 10 January. The results for your school show that you are amongst the top performing schools this year…”

Jim Knight MP, Minister of State for Schools and Learners

Our Caring Ethos

Care, guidance and support are very good. There are many dimensions which come together to provide a wide-ranging and comprehensive support package for all our students, whatever their circumstances.

Our Lay Chaplain works with Deanery clergy to provide opportunities for discussing life’s difficulties and matters of faith. The Attendance and Welfare team provide support to students to ensure that they have the best opportunity for success, linking with many outside agencies.

Teams of pupils have been trained to support younger pupils within our community, including 6th formers assisting teachers, peer mentors, peer mediators, prefects and ‘buddies’.

Respect for Faith The School was founded by and is part of the Catholic Church. Religious Education is taught throughout the School in accordance with the teachings, doctrines, discipline and general norms of the Catholic Church. It is important for us to offer religious worship in accordance with the norms of the Catholic Church and to celebrate our Faith in the

joyful occasions which occur throughout the school year. Through our personal conduct and relationships with others the school serves as a witness to the Catholic faith in Our Lord Jesus Christ.

It is only possible to convey a part of the whole experience of St John Fisher School in this brochure, so I would like to invite you to join us for our Open days/evenings. You will gain a sense of the friendly, caring, family atmosphere that pervades everything we do.

Mr D T Kelly, Headteacher 1

St. John fisher catHolic School

Life’s Journey, Lifelong Learning

Life is a gift and life is a journey.

The dimension that our school adds is that of learning every day of your life.

When your children first go to school it is a big step to take.

During their formative educational years they will have developed the skills needed to function within a school environment.

Secondary school is the next stage in that journey, where young people prepare for adulthood and to be productive members in our modern society. St John Fisher school aims to help all our students to ‘find their path’ and progress through further learning into useful roles in our local, national and international communities.

Partnership with Parents The key to success at school is working together. Nowhere is this more important than in the relationship between home and school. Whenever parents/carers work closely in a trusting relationship with the school, we can ensure success. We are very experienced in picking up on any issues that may arise and we will work closely with you to ensure your child’s happiness and success. All we need to make it work is your trust in our professionalism.

“Both my daughters attained excellent grades at GCSE and went into St John Fisher Sixth Form. The older is now studying Biosciences at University and the younger has just successfully completed her A-levels” Parent 3

St. John fisher catHolic School

The Journey Begins

The journey begins before your child reaches Year 7.

Walking straight into a new school on the first day of Year 7 can be a challenging and exciting experience. Making the choice of secondary school is a major decision for children and parents.

It is of paramount importance that your child feels safe and secure with the choice they have made. That is why we start contact with prospective pupils as early as Year 5.

The taster days we run in Year 5 help pupils from our feeder primary schools to experience secondary school supported by staff, prefects and buddies. They experience

exciting lessons and get to meet and talk with pupils and staff. The pupils also find out that we have a Grammar Stream in each year which caters for those pupils that are particularly gifted. All pupils receive a high standard of caring education in our faith-based school. Many more pupils express a preference for St John Fisher School than we can accommodate. For those who are successful in gaining a place we run two induction days during Year 6 to help pupils make the transition in September.

MAKING SENSE OF THE FIRST YEAR On arrival there will be many new experiences and a wealth of opportunities. The new faces and names to remember,

the layout of the building, which lesson comes next, what homework is due tomorrow. We have put in place a comprehensive package which eases the transition and provides appropriate support. The ‘Buddies’ team, who are trained Year 11 pupils, are linked to each new form group in Year 7 to help and advise, sorting out most minor problems for new pupils. There is a designated Year 7 playground for pupils if they wish to use it.

Pupils are expected to provide all the correct equipment for themselves and are given a hardback diary to organise themselves throughout the year. There are spaces to record homework, merits awarded and plenty of information about the staff, prayers , timings of the school day and

the school’s expectation for how pupils should conduct themselves in and out of school. Pupils undergo an induction period in which they are tested. We believe that the most efficient and fairest way of grouping pupils is setting by ability. In this way teaching can be matched more closely to individuals’ needs. Pupils have the opportunity to move between sets if they have performed particularly well. At Key Stage 3 we are proud of the quality of results attained by pupils. The most recent cohort was ranked in the top 4% of the country for achievement.

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St. John fisher catHolic School

PROMOTING COMMUNITY

Rights and Responsibilities are central to a child’s growth.

At St John Fisher School we believe in a healthy balance between rights and responsibilities. The more privileges accorded to a student, then the greater degree of personal responsibility is expected in return. In today’s society, where the pace of change is ever increasing, solid values are needed. We support them to achieve well academically so that they will have a wide range of choices. We also encourage them to develop their voice in the world so that they will be listened to when they speak out.

Leadership Opportunities for Pupils Pupils of all ages and abilities are given opportunities for Leadership. From Year 7 they can join the peer-mediator or peermentor schemes. Prefects and Buddies are awarded a special tie in Year 10 – which helps younger students recognise them easily. In the Sixth Form students have the opportunity to join the “Student Leadership Team” which is one of the main vehicles for student voice in the school. The Student Leadership Team regularly speak on public occasions such as Prize Giving Evening, and are the senior ambassadors for the School.

STUDENT VOICE, THE STUDENT COUNCIL Each form group elects members to be part of the Student Council. The Council then meets to discuss issues of school life and makes suggestions for improvements. The Council is a forum to express the views of all students in the school. They initiate change and promote charity work within the school. They have also played a role in interviewing all prospective candidates for Headteacher and Deputy Headteacher. Now that’s student power!

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St. John fisher catHolic School

Teaching and Learning

“For three years in a row we have been in the top 20% of all schools nationally for pupil achievement.”

Teacher

Teaching and Learning is the core business of any school, our successful results reflect our strong teaching We are determined to maximise the number of pupils who leave the school and go on to greater successes, whether through university, college, work or training. To do this we keep ourselves up to date with the latest and most exciting teaching methods.

A wide range of strategies is used to engage pupils in their learning including paired and group work, rewards and incentives, matching learning to individual pupil need and, above all, high expectations for pupil achievement. The

value-added data provided by the Government have shown our School has been getting it right consistently in recent years.

Over the last three years we have become the 9th equal most improved secondary school in the country (Guardian League Tables). A number of subjects have performed exceptionally well: for example, our English department has been rated in the top 1% of all schools nationally for two years in a row. We will progress further and build on these successes.

CELEBRATING SUCCESS FOR ALL Pupils of all ability achieve well in our school. There are many ways we celebrate our students’ achievements.

Pupils gain Merits and Letters of Commendation.

Three times a year we recognise students’ progress in Celebration Assemblies, where high achievers and ‘most improved’ are rewarded for their success. Sports awards, Mathematics Challenge, Charity work, National and International collaboration are celebrated. Our Prize Giving Evening is a highlight for the older pupils who gain recognition for their hard work.

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St. John fisher catHolic School

“As a Catholic parent I prefer my child to be in St John Fisher Grammar Stream to a Grammar School. He will achieve just as well, or better, and gain a full understanding of his Faith.�

Parent

Grammar Stream

St John Fisher Catholic School provides a first class education for the top 25% of able pupils.

Pupils in the top 25% of the ability spectrum (traditionally those admitted to Grammar Schools) belong at our school.

Comprehensive education means that our school effectively has a small Grammar School within it. This is our Grammar Stream. It is meant for academically able students. They are taught in separate groups by staff who know how to stretch the Gifted and Talented.

These pupils have the added advantage of being in a school that develops the whole person and we have invested a considerable sum of money in teams of staff to help and support pupils through any difficult times they might experience.

Parents who have committed to our Grammar Stream are very pleased with the results their sons and daughters obtain. Pupils go on to gain places at top universities. They are treated as a whole person: the academic, the social, the sporting and the spiritual. They have a chance to live and work in a community that is inclusive of all. They have the chance to grow and meet different personalities from all backgrounds, enabling them as adults to mix well, understand others to a greater degree and bring their values and vision successfully to a wider audience.

Our Gifted and Talented programme further enhances the education of pupils in the Grammar Stream by offering trips to universities and access to higher level competitions, as well as achievement through sporting prowess and the creative and expressive arts.

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The Sixth Form and University

Our Sixth form is on a separate site. It has a distinctly different atmosphere, more like that of a college‌ Pupils are encouraged to ever greater independence in their learning and their decision making. Religious Education is central to our Sixth form and creates the heart of the community. Pupils are encouraged to look at the diversity of pathways open to them and to see that life does not have to be contained within a small view of the world but that the limit to achievement is set in the mind of the individual.

We have close links with many Higher Education institutes.

The University of Kent is our link partner. It arranges for annual bursaries for our students. It offers taster days. Its staff visit us regularly to speak with pupils and offer them insight into perspectives for university life.

Pupils from our school go on to a wide variety of professions including: Medicine, Law, Teaching, The Church, Veterinary Science, Architecture. Some of our grammar stream students have gone on to accept places at Oxford and Cambridge. Others have secured scholarships to study abroad.

Every possibility is available for pupils: vocational qualifications leading directly to employment, academic qualifications leading to places at the best Universities.

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St. John Fisher

Ordnance Street, Chatham, Kent ME4 6SG Main School: 01634 335757 Sixth Form Centre: 01634 335787 Fax: 01634 335833 Email: headteacher@st-johnfisher.medway.sch.uk

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