Weekly Information - Friday 12th July 2024

Today’s Hot Chocolate with the Head marked Mrs Cochrane’s last one before she starts her new adventure from September, and what a great one it was. Mrs Cochrane had the pleasure of congratulating a remarkable 22 students for their fantastic achievements!

To begin, Mrs Quirk joined her Year 12 business students who she had nominated for participating in the Sixth Form Management Games competition. Well done to Louis, Tom, Zach, Tegan, Alfie, Jacob and Ronnie. This competition is not for the faint hearted as the group took on a variety of tasks throughout the day. The Management Games is an excellent introduction to the world of work and a way of developing and strengthening teamwork, leadership, management and organisational skills. A special mention goes to Zach who was nominated by the industry mentor as the ‘Outstanding Team Member’. Mrs Cochrane said, ‘well done to you all for your perseverance and strong business knowledge.’

The next group of students who shared their story was Masereh, Olivia, Scarlett and Charlotte, who had been nominated for being great role models for our Year 7s in the Buddy Reading Intervention sessions. The students explained how they’d enjoyed having the same student from the beginning of the year and how great it was to see the Year 7 progressing. Well done to you all, your generosity in time has been much appreciated!

Next Mrs Cochrane spoke with Dylan, Jessica and Rebekah who had been nominated for demonstrating great work ethic, team work and hard work both at home and at school for Geography. The work they produced was part of their Antarctica topic which saw the students create additional leaflets, powerpoints and posters! Well done to all of you for going above & beyond for this piece of work.

Mrs Cochrane then spoke to seven drama students  who had participated in the JTMAT Subject Excellence Drama Competition at The Garrick in Lichfield. Adiel, Jessica, Emilia, Holly, Jeffrey, JJ and Anya had to write and rehearse a 2 minute monologue inspired by the JTMAT values; Passion, Curiosity, Courage, Tenacity, Resilience, Collegiality. Each student was presented with a Subject Excellence certificate. A special mention goes to the extremely talented Adiel for winning the Year 7 & 8 category who received her winners pin badge too!

Finally, it was a pleasure for Mrs Cochrane to celebrate the sporting achievements of Freya and Daniella. Freya is a dedicated athlete who trains hard outside of school and competes in a number of trials to reach national competitions. Daniella also dedicates her time to training as a synchronised swimmer and trains for about 7 hours each week. Mrs Cochrane was extremely proud of these students for showing a remarkable level of perseverance and tenacity.

Well done to all the students this year who have spent their time with Mrs Cochrane at Hot Chocolate with the Head. It is a pleasure to hear about all the wonderful activities our students have been involved in so it’s only right to give them the recognition they deserve. We encourage staff, students and parents to email [email protected] if you’d like to make a nomination.

Our Hall has been a hive of activity this morning as we welcomed over 30 local & national exhibitors for our annual Careers Fair. There was a great variety of businesses, education institutions and training providers which gave our students a fantastic opportunity to interact with potential employers and discover different career pathways across an incredible range of sectors.

Before the event began, the pupils were given a handbook to guide them through the fair. For many, this is the first time they’ve attended something of this scale so it was important for them to know what to expect. In the handbook there were a selection of key questions the students could ask to help prompt and encourage engagement. These included; How long is the training, what are the benefits of doing an apprenticeship, what would my working hours be, what are the benefits of studying at university, do you offer bursaries, how much can you earn whilst learning a trade, what are you looking for in an applicant, what life experience do you need, what roles are available within the company.

During the fair, everyone was given a postcard which employers could stamp when the students had visited their stand. At the end of the event, if the students have a completed card, they will be placed into a draw for a prize!

Miss Spurrier, Work-Related Learning Co-ordinator, facilitated the day and said ‘it has been a wonderful experience for all our Year 7-10 students. There have been some great questions and interactions between our students and employers, and I hope it was beneficial for all those who attended. We have had great feedback from the employers who were impressed with the quality of questions and engagement. Thank you to all our exhibitors for supporting our young people and well done to all our students for representing the school so brilliantly’.

We asked our exhibitors to nominate any students who stood out to them during the careers fair. Here's what they said:

'Anna has some clear career goals & wanted to know how to get there. She asked lots of progression questions & seemed interested & engaged.'

'Jeff, it was lovely chatting with you today about Science related courses, Whilst we saw there were loads of options, you have plenty of time to work out which kind of exciting science degree/careers will suit you best! Have fun!'

'Nancy, it was lovely speaking with you earlier. Keep researching those medical courses and put the work in to your studies! Best Wishes!'

'George asked lots of questions about opportunities in property and was highly engaged about apprenticeship routes with us.'

'Ameline has been to Pick Everard to do work experience twice and helped us prepare today's fair! Thank you Ameline.'

'As well as asking the required questions, Hamish dug deeper and challenged us on project control and budgets in the built environment.'

'Verity asked us lots of questions about Architecture and opportunities for work experince within the profession.'

A special thanks goes to those in attendance; Midlands Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, Royal Navy, B&B tractors, British Army, Burton Albion Community Trust, Cardiff University, Chameleon School of Construction, Tara Group, Deloitte LLP, Derby University, Falmouth University, Keele University, Luminate, Maintech Recruitment, Aberystwyth University, Nestle, Oxford Brookes University, Pick Everard, Achievement Training & Skills, Russell Roof Tiles, Sciensus, Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service, Staffordshire Police, Whitemoor Lakes, Manchester Metropolitan University, Derby College, Lichfield Garrick, Rolls Roya, RAF, The Mercian Regiment, Burton and South Derbyshire College.

For more information about student’s career pathways at John Taylor High School, please speak to Miss Spurrier [email protected] or visit our website: Students - John Taylor High School (jths.co.uk)

On Friday 5^th July a group of nearly 150 Year 8 students waved goodbye to parents/carers as they began their much-anticipated adventure on their PGL trip to Boreatton Park.

The students were so excited to be taking part in activities such as canoeing, abseiling, laser tag, jacob’s ladder and trapeze, as well as taking part in survival skills workshops. Throughout the weekend the students were constantly pushing their boundaries and demonstrated perseverance in everything they did. It was wonderful to see so much encouragement amongst the pupils who supported eachother every step of the way.

We are so proud of how our Year 8 pupils behaved and represented the school. As each day ended there was a real sense of achievement between the students as they reminisced at dinner.

We are delighted to hear that all the students had a fantastic time. Take a read through at what some of our Year 8’s had to say about their trip!

On the 6^th – 7^th July, 64 Year 9 students successfully completed their Bronze DofE Assessment expedition. The groups walked from Bakewell town centre through Lathkill Dale towards Mandale campsite. Many students shared stories about their experience walking through the Peak District: the countless stiles, encounters with cattle and plenty of rain puddles! The weather wasn’t always on our side, but it was lovely to see students cheering each other on and supporting each other when the miles started to feel tough. A huge ‘well done’ to our Bronze cohort! 

On Wednesday 10^th & Thursday 11^th July a group of Year 12 law students got the opportunity to spend 2 days completing virtual Work Experience with the Crown Prosecution Service.

Mrs Nurse who facilitated the session, linked the group into the online workshop where one of the Senior Leaders of the Magistrate Court Unit began the introduction. It was really interesting for the group to hear from Linda about the different pathways to becoming qualified whether that is through University or an Apprenticeship. Linda began her law career as a temporary administrator, then moved to become a paralegal, then a prosecutor, then all the way to the top as Senior Manager.

Mrs Nurse said ‘it’s fantastic to hear from industry experts who can inspire our students to achieve their career goals. Law can be challenging and involves a lot of hard work, but it makes all the difference to listen to employees who feel passionate and love what they do. When it comes pursuing a career in law, it is important for our students to figure out what matters to them when deciding their pathway, whether that be university or an apprenticeship. Factors to consider include; job satisfaction, salary expectations and work/life balance. It’s been great for our students to have this opportunity and the beauty of it being online is that we are able to have many more students involved.'

Over the 2 days the students got the chance to look at case studies, participate in workshops and debate real-life cases. Throughout the work experience the students learnt the process of a criminal case, what’s involved in an investigation, presenting evidence at a trial and how to manage the relationship with the victims and witnesses. It became very clear to the group that striving for justice is at the heart of what the CPS do and the most important aspect of working within the law industry.  

Laura Brian from the Crown Prosecution Service said ‘CPS West Midlands is committed to supporting and developing young people in the West Midlands and we are excited to be offering this Work Experience opportunity. We hope everyone enjoyed and benefited from the programme.’

We’d like to wish all our Year 12 students the best of luck as they start looking into their post-16 options. If any parents or pupils have any questions, please contact Mrs Ball, Subject Leader CEIAG (careers education, information, advice and guidance) [email protected]

Dear parents/carers, please be reminded that school will close at 12.30pm to all students on Friday 19th July. 

Buses will be on site to collect students from this time. Many thanks!