Clubs, Trips & Extra-curricular

After School Clubs

At St John’s we recognise the importance of interest and hobbies outside of the classroom and we encourage all students to take part in clubs for at least two hours a week – a wide range of activities such as sport, arts, music, hobbies, volunteering, mentoring, homework clubs, and booster sessions are on offer.  Research has proven that young people who do take part in extra curricular activities have increased confidence, higher self-esteem, and greater social skills – attributes we are keen to nurture to ensure our students succeed in life.

Where appropriate, we are now giving parents the opportunity to pay for the club for the whole year.  The cost of this option is shown on the Permission Slip.  Please note we will only be able to refund this option if the course does not run for the number of weeks shown.

St John’s Opportunity Fund provides money to subsidise the cost of clubs to help ensure that young people do not miss out because of financial constraints at home.  This funding is automatically available to students who are entitled to Free School Meals.  If your family income is less than £25,000pa a 50% discount off the cost of any of the activities is available. Please provide a copy of your current tax year Tax Credit Notice Form (TC602) if this is the case.  

St John’s offers a wide variety of extra-curricular clubs and activities, some of which are run by community groups. Please visit our external clubs pages for more information on other clubs held at St John’s (see Weblinks below), or download the latest clubs letter from the Downloads section below.

Lunchtime Clubs

Quite a few clubs run in school during lunchtime, and do not require payment.  See the Lunchtime Clubs PDF in the “Downloads” section below.

Homework Club

Homework club runs daily at lunchtime in F240. Show My Homework (Satchel One)

Sports clubs

Check out downloads below for the latest sports report. You can keep up to date with our sports news by following @StJohns_PE on Twitter.

Private Music Tuition

Students are encouraged to take part in one of the many music ensembles on offer, including the School Orchestra, Jazz Band, Training Band, String Ensemble, Brass Ensemble, Woodwind Group and Choirs as well as student-led groups. There are a number of performance opportunities during the year including multiple evening concerts, the Christmas Carol Concert at St Mary’s, the annual school production and the Savernake and Stedman Cup competitions. See our  Private Music Tuition page for more information.

After Clubs Transport

Parents are responsible for making their own travel arrangement for students attending after school clubs.

Trips and Visits

The St John’s curriculum is enhanced by a variety of school trips, including many visits to theatres, museums, lectures, to name a few. In addition, a full range of other activities are on offer. In years past we have visited China, Gambia, Italy, Greece, France, Germany, Spain, and the USA.

• Y8 upwards – Skiing Course
• Y8 upwards – Watersports Course
• Years 8 -10 – German Exchange in Vahingen an der Enz *
• Year 9 – Chinese exchange trip
• Year 9 – French Exchange trip with Limoges *
• Year 9 upwards – History Field Trip – Year 9 Battlefields
• Year 9 upwards – Geography Field Trip – Year 10 Lulworth Cove
• Year 10-13 – Spanish Language Trip
• Year 11-13 Art Trips to Paris, Barcelona, Rome or New York
• Year 13 – Biology Field Trip – Pembrokeshire
• Year 13 – Earth Science trip to Exmoor

* It is highly desirable that all children learning French and German should join in an exchange at least once.

All trips payments are managed through the  ParentPay website (link opens in a new tab).

Off-site Safety

The safety of our students when they are out of the St John’s environment on activities is taken very seriously. Each trip or visit requires parental permission and a rigorous set of risk assessments. For all major trips and visits you will always receive a letter giving details of the trip and you will have to return a signed permission slip or give consent via ParentPay before the student will be allowed to take part in the activity.

As part of normal timetabled activity, occasionally students are off site in the environs of Marlborough: to visit churches; carry out surveys in the High Street or to participate in sporting activities between other local schools. To reduce the number of permission slips that you have to sign we will assume we have your permission to include your child/children in any Off-Site Activity during the day. If you do not give your permission, please notify the Principal in writing and on such occasions the student will be asked to remain at St John’s and undertake supervised studies.

Similarly, if your child would like to take part in an after-school activity/club or home fixtures, where there is no cost involved, we will again assume your permission unless you have notified the academy to the contrary.