St. John’s is a Church of England primary school in the north London suburb of Friern Barnet. We are a one-form entry school with approximately 262 children on roll. We have a nursery for pupils aged 3-4 years. Pupils joining the Reception Class remain in the school until 11 years of age. The school enjoys an excellent reputation within the community and is always heavily oversubscribed.
The school is a one-story complex built-in 1968 in the Parish of St. James and St. John. We have excellent facilities which include a fantastic indoor swimming pool, a well-stocked library, a music room, a cookery suite, and an art room. The most recent addition to our great facilities is an all-weather Multi Use Games Area (a MUGA), providing the opportunity for our children to enjoy outdoor sport the whole year long. Additionally, the school is well resourced and staffed. We also enjoy the support of parents and a very hard working and committed Parent Teacher and Friends Association they raise thousands of pounds every year for the benefit of the children and their support is invaluable
We offer a happy and secure environment where learning is both challenging and fun! We seek to provide the best conditions to enable children to flourish to grow up to be respectful, thoughtful, confident, and caring. We are committed to making sure that a school is a special place that allows everyone to thrive – academically and socially.
As a Christian school, we recognize that we are all equal in the eyes of God and that we possess unique gifts. We seek to nurture these ‘gifts’ to create a vibrant school community where individuals are encouraged to work together for the common good. The principle ‘love God, love neighbor’ governs our attitudes and our actions, and all these things are reflected in the school mission statement ‘Faith, Excellence, and Enjoyment.’ The children are introduced to faith not only as a subject but, more significantly, as an experience and an intricate part of the human search for meaning and personal development. Prayer and public worship are an integral part of the school day.
St. John’s takes a holistic approach to education and aims to help children grow in all areas. The social, physical, emotional, spiritual, and moral development of our pupils are all of equal importance and we are always proud of our pupils’ achievements in all of these key areas. To make this development easier, St. John’s works hard to maintain an effective learning environment. The strong Christian ethos is important to staff and pupils and creating a calm, caring, and stimulating environment – this is further supported by close links with the Rector, a frequent visitor to the school, and the wider parish community.
Our school is committed to inclusive education and our aim is for the needs of every child to be recognized, understood, and catered for. Parents, staff, and governors work together to ensure that every child is supported and able to receive an appropriate and rewarding education. We aim to ensure equal opportunity for all regardless of gender, race, religion, or special need. The school recognizes that children living in Barnet are part of a wider multicultural society and our educational objectives reflect this, preparing children to live and work together in harmony.
We try to develop children as active, resourceful, and flexible learners. People learn by doing and experimenting as well as listening and watching. Our teaching and learning approach emphasizes the importance of a varied and stimulating diet of learning activities. It also stresses the importance of developing children’s creativity. Our creative approach to the curriculum enables pupils to make connections between subjects and provides opportunities for creative thinking, problem-solving and collaborative working.
