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• Pupil Chaplains Bring Joy and Hope to Pentecost Service St John’s Church

  Wed 11 Jun 2025

  The Pentecost celebration at St John’s Church was filled with joy, hope, and youthful energy as the Pupil Chaplains from St John’s School played an integral part in the Sunday service. Trained during after-school sessions with Rev. Colin Simpson and School Chaplain, Helena Power, the Pupil Chaplains confidently carried out roles usually held by adult servers—leading processions, serving at the altar, and offering the collection with reverence and care.

  One of many highlights during the service was when a Pupil Chaplain read the Gospel aloud, capturing the congregation with beautiful clarity and heartfelt expression. The involvement of the children brought a special vibrancy to the occasion, inspiring both regular members of the congregation and visitors alike.

  Archdeacon Simon of Taunton, who was making a special visit to the church, expressed his encouragement and delight at seeing the pupils so engaged. He was particularly impressed with their thoughtful answers during his sermon, noting the depth of their understanding and enthusiasm. The celebration concluded with a delicious feast provided by the church, where children, families, and parishioners gathered in joyful fellowship. The sense of community and celebration reflected the spirit of Pentecost perfectly—a day marked by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and renewed hope for all.

  Miss Brown said: We are very proud of our Pupil Chaplains, who consistently demonstrate our School Christian Values and truly embrace our vision of ‘Sharing Joy and Hope in the Community’. The children take great pride in their roles, showing true dedication and maturity towards their responsibilities and preparing for this special service is a brilliant example. They are fantastic ambassadors for our school and continue to represent us with pride and commitment. Of course, events like today wouldn’t be possible without the devotion of our School Chaplain, Helena, who works enthusiastically with the children on a weekly basis throughout the year. She supports each individual in developing their confidence and allowing them to flourish at such events. Additionally, we are extremely grateful that Rev. Colin Simpson plays an interactive role within our school community.

  All of the children enjoy regular assemblies and services led by Reverand Colin and our Pupil Chaplains were thrilled to accept invitations to play a part in today’s service. A huge well done to everybody involved.

  

• Year 5 Civic Award

  Wed 04 Jun 2025

  Year 5 have started a campaign to reduce the speed of traffic outside the school gates and increase the safety of the area used for crossing.  As part of their Civic Award, both classes have surveyed the traffic, spoken to a police officer, interviewed Mr Chambers for his experience and discussed the situation with members of the school community to find out their views.  As a result, they have written letters to the Council to ask for a reduction in speed and that there are measures in place to highlight that the area is being used as a crossing.

   

  These letters, along with some posters the children have designed, were delivered to the Council recently and we are so very proud and excited to report that their letters have had an initial impact and we have been invited to present our case at the Council’s Economic Development Committee meeting in the hopes the request will be taken forward at a full Council meeting.

   

  Miss Allen and Miss Brown will be accompanying 6 children representing the year 5 cohort to the meeting early in June

  

• Year 5 Pupils Bowled Over by Cricket Trip!

  Wed 21 May 2025

  Tuesday 13th May 2025 will be a day to remember for our Year 5 pupils in Simmonds and Pankhurst Classes, who were treated to an unforgettable experience at a live women’s cricket match between Somerset and Hampshire. Thanks to Somerset County Cricket Club, the children had the chance to soak up the atmosphere of professional sport while enjoying a wide range of exciting activities throughout the day.

  From meeting team mascots and collecting autographs from players, to taking part in fun sporting challenges, completing activity booklets provided by SCCC, and even having their faces painted, there was something for everyone to enjoy!

  Despite the exceptional heat, the pupils remained enthusiastic and engaged, cheering on the teams and making the most of every opportunity. For many, this was their first time to experience live sport. We were very lucky to be awarded the tickets and be successful in the application ballot. The children were especially fond of seeing themselves on the huge match day screens as well as knowing that they featured on TV and were live on YouTube.

  A huge thank you goes to Somerset County Cricket Club for making the day possible, as well as to our dedicated staff and volunteers who supported the trip. An enjoyable and inspiring day was had by all!

  Quotes from some of our pupils:

  Ellah – I really liked the professional cricket game and cheering on Somerset in the sunny weather! They were great especially in the hot sunshine! I also liked getting my face painted.

  Lily – I was excited when I met Chloe Skelton on the cricket pitch and I got her signature. I thought it was a good game and I got to high-five the mascot.

  Henry – I am a big cricket fan and I really enjoyed the game, even though Somerset lost. I am happy for Hampshire’s win and pleased I got to see so many 4s but not 6s! I loved the coaching activities and my favourite was the overarm bowl into the tunnel.

  Isabelle – I liked when we got to go to the activities. There was a target practice with bean bags, a bowling activity and face painting. My favourite activity was the target practice.

  Teddy – I enjoyed watching the cricket match because it was so interesting and I enjoyed going on to the pitch and meeting Stumpy the dragon (a mascot!)

  

• Years 1 and 2 visit to Court Farm

  Fri 09 May 2025

  On Tuesday, the children in Year 1 and 2 went on a coach to Court Farm in Banwell.  Whilst at the farm, the children saw sheep, goats, pigs, cows and many more animals. 

  They learnt how a cow is milked and what food the different animals eat.  The children also had chance to feed some lambs; and soon discovered that the lambs were very hungry! 

  The trip finished with a fun tractor ride around the fields. 

  It was a really great day, and lots of fun was had by all children and adults!

   

  

• Science Week 2025

  Fri 28 Mar 2025

  The children at enjoyed a fun and exciting week of learning, taking part in their annual Science Week. This year the theme was ‘Change and Adapt’.  There have been many experiments, investigations and interactive activities about animals, climate and technology to name a few.

  The highlight of the week for many children was a visit from Bug Fest. The children and staff were able to get up close and were even able to hold many of the creepy crawlies. This visit was fascinating, and although some were rather tentative about the mini beasts visiting, the day was thoroughly enjoyed by all.

  The parents were then invited to a wonderful Science Exhibition on Friday afternoon to see and hear about all the learning that has been going on throughout the week at school and at home.

  The staff would like to say a big thank you to all the children for their enthusiastic participation and to all of families for their support in making the week a great success!

  

• iRock Assembly

  Wed 26 Mar 2025

  We all enjoyed a fantastic iRock performance on Wednesday, being entertained by amazing and enthusiastic performances from 5 newly created bands.  Red Bone, The Pickles, The Other Band, The Wild Jet Lads and The Huskies played drums, guitar, keyboard and sang in front of the whole school.

   

  

• The Jungle Book

  Wed 26 Mar 2025

  Children and staff at St John’s C of E Primary school were thoroughly entertained and thrilled by the performance of The Jungle Book when M&M Productions visited school.

   

  Every child had a brilliant experience when the theatre team performed, and for some this was the first time they had seen a live show. The children were thrilled by the story, joined in with the songs, were entranced by the scenery, costumes and use of light and puppetry. They were also thrilled to be in the middle of the action, as the characters joined the audience on many occasions.

  The children were already familiar with The Jungle Book story as they had enjoyed the story during World Book Day. During this week of work, each class learnt sections of the story and performed them themselves and was filmed. Each part was then put together and a rendition was enjoyed by all. This made watching M&M’s performance even more meaningful as the story was so well known.

  “M&M Productions have become yearly treat for those at St John’s, and the enrichment the children gain from this experience is priceless. We have already booked them in for next year and feel this is a very valuable element to our school curriculum” stated Olly Priestley, Headteacher.

  

• Bug Fest

  Wed 19 Mar 2025

  The school had a brilliant day with Nick from Bug Fest.  The children were amazed to see the mini beasts up close, some were even brave enough to hold them.  We learnt lots of interesting facts and some us overcame phobias. 

  

• World Book Day 2025

  Fri 07 Mar 2025

  What a wonderful week of book celebrations for St John’s C of E Primary School! Instead of celebrating on just World Book Day, the whole school celebrated their love of books throughout the week. Reading is such an integral part of all children’s learning, and we felt it was really important to embrace this year’s World Book Day theme, ‘Read your way’ with a whole host of activities across the week to inspire our children.

  The children in every class learnt the story, ‘The Jungle Book’. This activity involved: reading the story, recreating characters and making props, practising speaking performances before each class retold a section each of the story. This was then filmed and put together with each classes’ version to recreate the traditional, well-loved story. We look forward to sharing our collaborative school version with the children ahead of a professional theatrical performance of ‘The Jungle Book’!

  This year, our whole school genre focussed on Aesop’s Fables. Each class studied a different fable and learned of their distinctive style and features, with each fable having hidden meanings and morals which helped the children’s learning and understanding. It was pleasing to see such an array of work produced across the classes from the chosen fables. The children enjoyed: recreating the story, producing artwork, building DT projects based on their fable, drawing comic book strips or retelling the fable in their own style.

  And the fun and learning didn’t stop here! We welcomed the children (and adults) into school dressed as a vast array of book characters. The children shared joy in their chosen costumes and enjoyed talking about their choice of character. During the day, the children also completed character trails around the school grounds whereby they had to locate and correctly name the characters found. Additionally, live lessons took place and artistic talents were put to the test with the children designing their own WBD token to enter the national competition.

  To finish the day, the whole school took part in a book quiz. This involved the children joining their respective House Captains and they were tasked with answering questions based on books the children have shared and been reading within their classes. The quiz was a real success with the children answering with great enthusiasm and passion whilst demonstrating fantastic knowledge of the texts that they have been exposed to in their classes. This led to very close scores…3 Houses had the same score and the other house only 1 point behind! Quizzing then commenced the following day with UKS2 to find the ultimate winner for this year. The winning House was then celebrated in the Praising Assembly on Friday and earned themselves extra play the following week.

  Class teacher said “A real highlight of the quiz was seeing the children answering the questions with such passion, about the books they had shared within their class. It really showed how engaged the children are when listening to their class books, and how important sharing stories is at school as well as at home”.

  St John’s most certainly enjoyed a busy, fun-filled literature week with many memorable moments shared.

  

• Year 6 complete their fundraising challange

  Fri 20 Dec 2024

  Congratulations to the Year 6 class who have completed their incredible cycling challenge. They have cycled from school to every capital city in the UK, and back to school in time for Christmas - 2225KM over the last 6 weeks! Throughout the challenge they have learnt about the areas visited, applied maths skills to work out percentage and distance and computer skills with QR codes and sharing the event online. They also had a visit from BBC news and 2Wish.The whole school is very proud of every single one of them for their efforts and kindness in completing this challenge and raising money for 2wish, a charity who continue to support to Harry and Rebecca Foster.

   

  They have currently raised £1454, a huge amount which smashed the original target of £500.