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28/03/24

Well done to our trio of year 13 A level Drama students who excelled in their text exam on World Theatre Day!#theatrematters#seizetheday pic.twitter.com/bcLn9QrKyF

27/03/24

Fabulous to see our ‘Have you met…?’ event so busy today, with students displaying their interests and hobbies to staff and peers and engaging in great discussion. Well done to all those who took part. pic.twitter.com/BoEULOWtqJ

27/03/24

Some of our Sixth Form students interested in studying medicine, veterinary medicine and dentistry listened to the expertise of Devki Shah, a MedSoc consultant, who talked to students about how best to navigate the demanding application process. pic.twitter.com/U5rWv7cpJO

27/03/24

A throwback to Careers Day last week, when over 70 businesses gave employer talks and filled our sports hall to capacity for the Careers Fair. A huge thank you to everyone who took part!https://t.co/xmRh3N1FlM pic.twitter.com/RwaqwWWlZa

27/03/24

A throwback to Careers Day last week, when we welcomed over 70 businesses across the day giving employer talks and filling our sports hall to capacity for the Careers Fair. Thank you to everyone who took part!Careers Day 2024 - News - Sir John Lawes (https://t.co/DpyxjfXNBX) pic.twitter.com/tu1Nmhw8FQ

27/03/24

Day 3 in Valencia, exploring the beautiful Albufera, trying to spot cocodrilos! pic.twitter.com/UU8SG2mQQj

27/03/24

Well done to our Year 12 Enterprise team, Force 10, who raised £2400 for through a series of fundraising events. They won the most money raised and the best presentation. pic.twitter.com/1bBywleZem

26/03/24

Day 2 in Valencia visiting La ciudad de las Artes y las Ciencias and the biggest aquarium in Europe pic.twitter.com/m8mxrCi2t0

26/03/24

Day 1 in Valencia. We did a Paella cooking competition, team read were the winners! pic.twitter.com/AHWcMRwjM5

26/03/24

Congratulations to Kate, Ruhani and Tsun who have been awarded Head’s Commendations for passing their Cambridge Latin Course Stage 4 Attainment test with flying colours! pic.twitter.com/KgSgpYRJgk

26/03/24

Such a brilliant evening of debating last night. Big thanks to , and St George's School for joining us and to all the students for their fantastic performances. pic.twitter.com/dHfD3NIHg9

25/03/24

Good luck to all students in our debating teams from Year 8, Year 9 and Year 10 who are taking part in an inter-school debating competition later today! pic.twitter.com/gVFDqhOjD2

25/03/24

Wishing our Year 12 art students and our Year 9 and Year 10 Spanish students a safe and memorable trip in Valencia. Have a great time! pic.twitter.com/w61y8dNCJw

25/03/24

Don't forget our School Uniform Sale after school today - 3.30pm-5.30pm in the school hall. pic.twitter.com/pRWVklZXQD

23/03/24

Last Saturday morning of the year ⚽️ 4 wins vs. Simon Balle 7s W 4-18s W 4-1 9s W 6-010s W 9-2 Thank you to all the students and parents for a brilliant football season. pic.twitter.com/IVWONzbLJ4

23/03/24

Perfect morning for Football. Thanks to all the staff who give up their free time to provide these opportunities. pic.twitter.com/zoj7NKNYQA

22/03/24

It looks like Year 7 had a fantastic day at Warwick Castle! https://t.co/NJEVG5onon

22/03/24

Some of our Year 11 German students enjoyed conversations with the Friends of Alzey who kindly came to visit to assist our students with further speaking practise ahead of their GCSE’s. pic.twitter.com/bNcN2NpEj9

22/03/24

The Second-Hand School Uniform Sale will take place on Monday 25 March from 3.30pm-5.00pm in the School Hall. All the uniform in stock has been freshly laundered and folded. Please note, card payments are preferred. pic.twitter.com/FWOYZP6pea

22/03/24

Zoo de Lunaret pic.twitter.com/zjgMRA1WSd

21/03/24

Yesterday we welcomed author Anna Mazzola who talked about becoming a writer, her creative process and publishing journey. We’re really grateful for the inspirational insights and encouragement Anna gave our students and for the copy of 'Book of Secrets'! pic.twitter.com/gf6AWccWYL

21/03/24

Year 10 drama students are studying the play 1984. To support their understanding of director and designer roles, they created model set boxes of key scenes and then used torches and coloured film gels to explore possible lighting design decisions. Brilliant creativity! pic.twitter.com/eRYBJyDUrY

21/03/24

Crêpe party pic.twitter.com/TOsBQ1u6xA

20/03/24

Amazing talent, well done! https://t.co/WV7ZTq8zwg

20/03/24

Look forward to the harvest - well done! https://t.co/N6kIFwX9xS

Extra-curricular provision

A very comprehensive range of extra-curricular activities is provided at SJL and includes:

Years 10, 11 and Sixth Form – Course and exam work support

Teachers offer group and one-to-one support for course and exam work and students are able to come in and use the computer rooms and workshops (staff supervision required) at lunch times and after school.

English

  • Journalism Club for Years 7 and 8
  • Senior Reading Group for Years 11 - 13
  • Upper School Debating for Years 9 – 13

Anthony Glenn’s ‘Shaking Up Shakespeare’ providing interactive dramatic interpretations of Shakespearian comedies and tragedies studied at Years 7 - 9 and Year 11.

Ash Dickinson’s 'brilliantly surreal' Year 9 poetry performance workshop.

Theatre trips to productions of GCSE and A-Level set texts such as ‘Macbeth’, ‘Othello’ and Shakespeare’s Globe.

Poetry By Heart performance poetry competition – heats held at SJL then progressing to regional and national levels.

Every year our students participate in the Rotary’s Youth Speaks competition, whilst the faculty runs an annual lower-school public speaking competition in the summer term. Our students have taken part in debating competitions at the Palace of Westminster, having been invited by our local MP, whilst our VI form debating team has organised debating competitions with other local schools.

External providers

Sir John Lawes works closely with the following centres of scholastic excellence:

University of Hertfordshire who support EPQ students

Rothamsted Research (see http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/learn-with-us)

Geography

Fieldwork is key to subject and evident in all year groups’ provision. In KS3 fieldwork around the school site and in the local area is undertaken. In year 10 we visit Southend to investigate coastal processes and in year 11 we complete urban fieldwork in St Albans. At GCSE, there is also a 4 day residential trip to Iceland that up to 60 students can go on. In Sixth form, there is a residential trip to Swanage to prepare students for their independent investigation, as well as a day visit to East London to experience the case studies learnt about in class.

Each year, Geography MASt students are invited to take part in the Geographical Association’s Geowise Quiz against other St. Albans and Harpenden schools. This includes student teams from Year 8, 9 and 10.

Students are encouraged to attend Geography club every fortnight which provides an opportunity to learn about geography outside the curriculum. The Eco Schools club also runs every alternate fortnight, giving the students the chance to contribute to the sustainability of the school, the local community and the wider world. An important part of this is the school’s Eco Garden, where students have been growing flowers and vegetables successfully for a number of years.

The Faculty also holds a membership to the Royal Geographical Society and each year its VI formers are invited to attend two or three School Member’s Lectures at the Society’s HQ in London. We also are members of the Geographical Association and the school subscribes to the Geography review magazine, allowing sixth form students to read around the topics they are studying.

History

Extensive reading lists given to A-Level students to enhance their subject knowledge.

Year 9 trip to Normandy to visit the D-Day landing sites which allows students to reflect on the events that happened and how D-Day is remembered in Normandy.

Independent research project undertaken in Year 9 to improve students ability to think and work independently.

History mysteries club for Key Stage 3 students to examine intriguing historical events and figures.

Key Stage 5 students given the opportunity to take part in various University essay writing competitions when opportunities arise.

Life Skills

Years 8 and 9 (January - March)

A great enrichment opportunity for our younger more able students is the National Magistrates Mock Trial competition. This competition is an extra-curricular activity that enriches participating students’ understanding of the criminal justice system as well as developing key skills such as public speaking, critical thinking and enquiry and student-led team work. The team also gets to visit a Magistrates’ court to sit in on real cases and get to talk to a practising Magistrate. For more information on the competition that is run by the Citizenship Foundation please visit; www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk.

Years 10 and 12 (September - November)

A great enrichment opportunity for our older more able students is the Bar National Mock Trial competition. This competition is an extra-curricular activity that enriches participating students’ understanding of the criminal justice system as well as developing key skills such as public speaking, critical thinking and enquiry and student-led team work. The team also gets to visit a Crown court to sit in on real cases and attend a workshop with a practising barrister. For more information on the competition that is run by the Citizenship Foundation please visit; www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk.

RE

  • University visits for Sixth Form for potential courses
  • Lectures for Sixth Form on Philosophical and Ethical Issues
  • Good and Evil day for GCSE full course students (external philosopher)
  • STEP – Christian organisation providing workshops for Years 8 and 10
  • Advanced reading material for students at GCSE and A level
  • Additional resources available for students in Humanities personal library section
  • Philosophy undergraduates magazine

School Trips:

  • Florence and Rome, Italy (Year 10 & 11)
  • Neasden Temple, North London (Year 7)
  • Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury (Year 8)

School Clubs

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