St John’s College School cambridge

Unfortunately, we were highly disappointed with SJCS. In my humble opinion, it is not good value for money. We have been St John’s parents for a number of years and have lived the good, the bad and the ugly of the school. We finally decided to withdraw our children from the school as we had serious concerns. These were mainly due to: * Perceived inequality: Some children receive a lot of attention (mainly those that have behavioural issues or come from wealthy or well-known parents) whilst others do not receive much attention… until it is too late and then they require ‘individual needs’ lessons. * The individual support St John’s praises itself for is mainly provided with added charge. A significant number of students have ‘individual needs’ lessons (some up to three!). These lessons have an extra cost for parents (around £25 per 30 min session). Some parents may disagree with these lessons but the majority end up accepting them and paying extra. The effectiveness of these support sessions is highly questionable. Interestingly, part-time external staff provides many of the sessions (if not all), but they do not get the full payment for themselves. SJCS keeps part of it. My guess is that this generates some considerable extra funds for the school… * Leaders' seem reluctant or unable to reflect and be open to accept and learn from potential mistakes with the way the school "educates". When there is an issue, it is very often a problem with the child or more likely with the parents, never with the school. * High pressure and cramming of sessions: Despite the fact that the school says that the learning processes is ‘’without pressure and cramming”, our experience suggests the opposite. Most parents are aware of the high-pressure environment their children are in (some parents perceive this degree of pressure as a good thing, which I fully respect). Many children cannot cope with this pressure and really suffer. I am not sure their 'Emotions for Learning' initiative is effective in addressing this critical point. * High variability in the quality of the teachers: there are some excellent teachers in the school; others, not so much. This is unfortunate taking into consideration its fees. * They arguably focus on the 'happiness' of the children. However, they do not seem to appreciate parents' involvement in their decisions. It is important to say that the school communicates with parents on a regular basis but this communication tends to go only one-way (from the school to the parents). They very rarely listen and take on the inputs from parents. It is pretty much their way or a parent will receive the “you may wish to consider if this is the best school for your child” message (luckily, we never got that message but we know a number of people that did). The service orientation towards parents is non-existent and the pressure on them to adhere to school’s decision for the provision of support is often unreasonable and inconsiderate. * SJCS bubble: Our view is that the SJCS environment does not reflect the diverse society our children will live in. Based on other parents feedback, some children find it extremely difficult to adjust to ‘real life’ when they leave the school. Having said this, SJCS has some good things. In particular, the communication among staff is very good. If you want to know exactly what your child did every second of the day you could. The school has eyes that see everything and everyone knows… ☺

Fine piece of architecture from old days

Peaceful place.

I was here between 1962 and 1965 as a member of the choir. My memories are varied but I made some life long friends who I am still regularly in touch with.