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School Strategy 2026 -

2036

A decade of renewal, a future of purpose.

The Head’s Perspective: A Dual Lens

A Year in Review

Schools, like the pupils within them, must grow to remain vibrant. In my third year as Head, I view change not as a disruption, but as a vital sign of a healthy, forward-looking institution. A stable academic culture is not dependent on any one individual, but on a robust institutional system; I am proud that we have such a wealth of teaching talent across our entire academic provision, and this is ever improving with our targeted recruitment strategy.

While the educational landscape faces external pressures, our strength lies in our ability to adapt while remaining anchored to our vison of providing academic and pastoral excellence for all John Lyon pupils.

My tenure has followed a deliberate trajectory. Year One was a deep-dive audit of our academic provision and facilities. Year Two was about ‘getting to work’; breaking ground on our co-ed transition and our forward momentum. Now, in Year Three, we enter the Consolidation Phase. We are no longer ‘becoming’ a co-ed school; we are one. Our focus now shifts from implementation to excellence, ensuring our 150-year heritage fuels a quality, modern, world-ready education.

Success Markers

Never before has John Lyon been so focused on academic attainment, investment in facilities and recruiting the best-in-class teachers.

Under Mrs Rose Hardy’s leadership, John Lyon has evolved to become entirely pupil-centric - ensuring every single child has the opportunity to learn from subject experts, leading paedological practitioners and have the full support of a robust pastoral framework throughout their entire academic journey.

With such high academic achievement delivered in the 2025 public examination results, it is imperitive standards continue to improve and all pupils are able to achieve their highest potential while at John Lyon.

of John Lyon students studying Further Mathematics, Geography, History, Art, Classical Civilisation, and Music Technology achieved grades A*- B at A-Level - significantly above the national average. 100% are attending Russell Group universities. 52%

100%

68%

since launching our 2+ provision in September 2025 we are at full capacity, with a waitlist.

54%

of Year 6 leavers secured at least one scholarship at a leading independent school.

+38%

of all GCSE pupils achieved a Grade 7 or above in at least six subjects.

25 maximum

co-ed after 146 years of being all boys; this number increases year on year. Academically, our Year 11 girls are the highest-attaining demographic.

class size Year 7 - Year 11.

In Sixth Form class sizes range from 4 - 15 pupils per subject.

The Long View

Core Focus Areas

Our ambition is simple, to be the most prestigious all-round day school in the area. We define this through four core outcomes:

Academic Consistency

Delivering top-tier GCSE and A-Level results that compete with the best in the UK, ensuring every pupil reaches their personal potential. The foundation for this begins at KS3, and is strengthened by our through school model.

At Prep, our focus remains on providing a well-rounded education. Which delivers high attainment and pupil wellbeing across core and specialist subjects.

Expanding Horizons

While we value our deep roots here in Harrow-on-the-Hill, we are actively preparing pupils for global competition. We aim to widen our leavers’ destinations beyond the ‘London bubble,’ securing placements at the most competitive Russell Group and Oxbridge courses, as well as elite international universities.

High Cultural Capital

Success is more than a grade. Our pupils enter the working world as well-rounded, high-performing individuals, underpinned by our core belief that wellbeing is the foundation of achievement.

Pastoral Care

Wellbeing remains our heartbeat. A happy child learns; a supported child leads.

JOHN LYON SCHOOL STRATEGY

Pillars of Success

Co-educational Excellence

Achieving balanced gender parity across all year groups.

One School Identity

The full, seamless integration of Quainton Hall into John Lyon School.

A-Level

In 2025, the School achieved its strongest set of A-Level results in over a decade, with 45% of all grades awarded at A*-A. This performance is significantly above the national average and ahead of local grammar schools and sixth form colleges.

Students made excellent progress from their starting points, with Geography outcomes particularly strong compared to national expectations.

67% of students studying Further Mathematic and 31% of students studying Geography achieved A*.

41% of all John Lyon students achieved a minimum of at two A*-A grades, supporting successful applications to top universities.

100% of John Lyon students studying Further Mathematics, Geography, History, Art, Classical Civilisation, and Music Technology achieved grades A*-B, significantly above the national average.

The majority of academic departments achieved 100% A*-C.

Operational Resilience

A robust long-term strategy to mitigate external economic pressures (VAT) while maintaining investment in facilities and faculty.

Improved Academic Attainment

Surpassing our highest academic benchmarks since 2017.

GSCE

20% of grades awarded were Grade 9 and 43% of all grades awarded were Grades 9-8.

More than a third of all Year 11 pupils achieved Grade 9 in English Language, Geography and Design & Technology.

Over 50% of all Year 11 pupils achieved Grades 9-8 Mathematics.

Over 80% of all pupils achieved Grades 9-6 in English Language, English Literature, Mathematics, Further Mathematics, History, Geography, Spanish and Drama.

Pupils made excellent progress from their starting points compared to national benchmarks, with pupils making exceptional progress in English, Mathematics, Humanities, Languages and Drama.

Defining our School

A school for the whole family; an education for the whole child.

Year 7 guaranteed entry GCSE options & exams entry

No 11+ for internals

The Whole Family

The All-Althrough Advantage

We are the definitive choice for the modern North West London family. As a co-educational, all-through (ages 2-18) community, we offer a seamless educational journey that respects the rhythms of family life.

A Lifelong Journey

One community from Little Lions Nursery to Sixth Form.

The Gift of

Time

Sixth Form entry A-Level exams

Our innovative Homework Club (Monday - Thursday) provides expert academic supervision on-site, ensuring that when our pupils go home, they return to their families, not their textbooks. We protect “homework-free” evenings to foster stronger socialisation at home.

Lyonian Network

The Whole Child Academic

& Pastoral Synergy

We reject the notion that academic excellence and emotional well-being are mutually exclusive. We deliver increasingly impressive results precisely because our pupils are supported, known, and valued.

A Culture of Care

Our comprehensive pastoral provision is the foundation upon which our academic success is built.

The Whole School Approach

Above the Timetable & Beyond the Classroom

Our co-curricular programme is of a scale and quality unrivalled in the independent sector. We provide the access, exposure and network that transform a standard education into a global one.

Global Horizons

From sports tours in Barbados and South Africa to performing in prestigious New York venues, our pupils are true global citizens.

Unrivalled Opportunities

With over 120 clubs, academic clinics and societies per term, we provide a platform for every passion in supervised, supportive environments that foster a culture of socialisation, joy-in-learning, and the ambition to stretch and grow skillsets across a wide variety of areas.

The Consistency of Continuity

Across the whole school, the curriculum and co-curricular provision, pupil progress is tracked, reviewed and adapted to in order to ensure they remain positively challenged and actively engaged in all areas of their school life.

Full STEAM Ahead

Our STEAM provision continues to excel on the world stage, qualifying for the Robotics US Open, UK National and World Championships in a single term. Additionally, our Green Power car continues to compete across the UK, and is central to our co-curricular provision in the STEAM department.

Our Harrow Connection

We enjoy exceptional academic collaborations with Harrow School, with John Lyon students regularly invited to attend inspiring lectures and events across a wide range of disciplines. Enrichment opportunities are extensive, including the annual Year 9 exchange to Harrow School Bangkok, Thailand, and, this year, an exciting visit by John Lyon’s top musicians to Harrow School, New York. Under the Head’s leadership, John Lyon Sixth Form students have also benefited from the opportunity to study niche A-Level subjects at Harrow School, including Engineering and History of Art.

The Curriculum and Careers Provision

Early Years and Foundation Stage

As a purpose-built and long-established Prep school, we pride ourselves on a holistic ‘whole-child’ philosophy. Our Early Years and Foundation Stage provision is meticulously designed to nurture every facet of a child’s development during these crucial, formative years, providing a seamless and inspiring introduction to school life.

Educational Innovation

Our approach to educational innovation is defined by a seamless, forwardthinking continuum that safeguards academic momentum while purposefully bridging the gap between the classroom and the professional world.

From the outset, The Bridge Curriculum eliminates the traditional “learning dip” during the senior transition by aligning our primary syllabi with Senior School rigor, ensuring pupils maintain their academic velocity and confidence. As students progress into the Senior School and Sixth Form, this foundation evolves into a sophisticated career-centric ecosystem.

Through bespoke specialisms, ranging from Fiscal Intelligence to Medical Sciences, and exclusive access to the Old Lyonian Network, we pair high-level academic clinics with industry mentoring and high-impact work experience. By uniting pedagogical excellence with real-world application, we ensure every pupil is not only academically attuned but uniquely prepared to lead in their chosen field long after they leave John Lyon.

Pupil Progression

The Bridge Curriculum is our flagship academic initiative, specifically designed to eliminate the “learning dip” traditionally associated with the move to secondary education. From Early Years through to Sixth Form, the curriculum has been designed to deliver high academic attainment throughout a child’s academic journey and allows pupils to learn in on consistent and supported path, throughout their time at John Lyon.

Our approaches includes:

Pedagogical Alignment

Our teaching methods in the upper years mirror the rigor and style of KS3, ensuring pupils arrive at their next stage feeling academically attuned, able and engaged.

Subject Progression

We have mapped every learning objective to ensure that the transition is seamless, removing the repetition and stagnancy often found across standard national curriculum.

Maintaining Momentum

This joined-up approach protects a pupil’s confidence and academic velocity at the exact moment many children across the country begin to plateau.

From Year 9 through to A-Level, we are launching a career-centric ecosystem. A bespoke ‘package’ of academic clinics, industry mentoring, and high-impact work experience.

Medical Sciences & Bio-Ethics (Medicine, Veterinary, Dentistry)

Legal & Global Politics (Law, International Relations)

Fiscal Intelligence & Enterprise (Economics, Finance, Entrepreneurship)

Engineering & Sustainable Design (Aerospace, Civil, Robotics)

High-Performance Science (Sports Science, Kinesiology, Nutrition)

Creative Industries & Digital Media (Architecture, Film, AI Design)

Additionally, our pupils enjoy unrivalled access to our Old Lyonian Network – comprising John Lyon’s alumni from a wealth of industries and careers, which provides mentoring, work experience placements and career guidance.

Investing in the Future

While we are incredibly proud of our 150 year legacy, we are acutely aware a school must be an evolving community and investing in our Estate is a key aspect of our strategy.

Over the next five years we will be enhancing our sports and co-curricular provision with new facilities and the proactive recruitment of sports leaders and coaches. Investment in the maintenance and development of our facilities will also support the increased delivery of an evolving number of clubs, clinics and societies across the whole school.

Standing Out in Sport

First-class Facilities

Sudbury is our ‘green jewel’ – with 25 acres of dedicated playing facilities enabling us to deliver a year-round calendar of competitive fixtures across a variety of sports.

Driving Participation

Prep pupils participate in PE and Games from Year 1, and regularly use the Senior School facilities to provide competitive exposure, in a professional athletics setting. At Senior School, pupils have the option of being involved in competitive sport from Year 7 across four major sports and seven specialist activities.

Whilst sport is compulsory, the activity that a pupil chooses is not – we believe that choice leads to improved retention within sport as pupils find the best fit for them. Year upon year, over 80% of all pupils will take part in at least one competitive sports fixture.

Use of Harrow Facilities

Owing to our prestigious location and position within the Harrow Family of Schools, our pupils enjoy regular use of facilities at Harrow School to support our Sports programme which includes access to a nine hole golf course, 4G Muga and purpose built athletics track.

Our School Community and Recruitment

To navigate an increasingly competitive global landscape, we have implemented a dual-pillar strategy focused on Elite Recruitment and Sustainable Retention.

Our goal is simple: to blend the “new energy” of market-leading talent with the “deep wisdom” of our long-standing educators.

The Recuritment Pillar Intergrating Global Best Practice

To ensure our pupils are equipped for the rigors of university admissions and the modern graduate market, we are intensifying our standards for new talent.

Specialist Mandate

We are committed to a “Specialist-First” policy, ensuring that every classroom is led by a teacher holding Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) and profound subject-matter expertise.

The Competitive Edge

We recruit leading practitioners who bring the latest pedagogical insights and an acute awareness of the skills required in the professional world beyond our gates.

JOHN LYON SCHOOL STRATEGY

The Retention Pillar

A Market-Leading CPD Ecosystem

We recognise that the best schools not only recruit but retain great teachers. John Lyon excels in providing a career-long pathway for our staff, underpinned by a research-driven Continuous Professional Development (CPD) programme.

Evidence-Based Growth

Our CPD is informed by the most authoritative educational research, ensuring that “long-standing” never means “stationary.”

Stage-Specific Support

We are a market leader in staff induction. Our comprehensive, year-long programme for new arrivals ensures that “new energy” is immediately aligned with John Lyon’s high standards.

Long-Term Pathways

By tailoring professional development to different career stages, we provide our veteran staff with the growth opportunities necessary to remain at the forefront of their profession.

A Year in Numbers

over 60,000 honeybees thrived under the care of our pupils across the 2024/25 academic year

over 730 tickets sold for Little Shop of Horrors

over 155 families attended our open morning

over 3,840 meals prepared over 100 volunteers across the whole school community

800kg surplus ingredients, saved from landfill over 20 career events & talks over the past 2 years

Charity Partnerships

over 6,300 active Old Lyonians members in our alumni network & over 1,300 members from the wider community over 170 featured mentors over 350 Old Lyonians visited the school since 2024