John Mason School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
John Mason School, or JMS, is a state secondary school in the town of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in the United Kingdom. Established as an old grammar school in 1960, JMS has now grown considerably, with, as of 2007, approximately 1000 students.
Situated on Wootton Road, John Mason is centrally located in a four-way partnership of Abingdon schools known as 14:19 Abingdon. The other members are Larkmead School, Fitzharrys School and Abingdon and Witney College. The four partners share Sixth Form lessons and plans for the future are discussed between the head teachers of all three schools.
The school logo is that of a double-headed lion (although many people mistakenly believe it to be a griffin) of the same origin as the Abingdon School logo. JMS has a motto of, "High Standards, Happy School, Committed Service, Creative Spirit" (formerly "High Standards, Happy School, Honourable Service") and a school song entitled "Wise Up to Friends". In 2006 the school colours were changed from grey and orange to green and orange. The school has three houses, Ock, Stert, and Thames, of the colours green, red and blue respectively. There was a fourth house, Isis, but this was dissolved as of 1993.
The school was named by the Berkshire Education Committee after the sixteenth century intellectual, diplomat and spy Sir John Mason, whose portrait can be found hanging in the school hall.
Famous alumni include the Premiership footballer Matthew Taylor and folk musician John Spiers. Paul Mayhew-Archer (who was a writer on The Vicar of Dibley and My Hero) was formerly a teacher at JMS.
Contents |
[edit] Specialist School Status
The three schools in the Consortium were granted "specialist school status" in 2004. John Mason now specialises in the visual arts. This means it will now receive greater funding from the government to provide for specialist equipment. The school will continue to function as normal in all other departments, but with increased funding for visual learning equipment, such as data projectors. Last year JMS opened the 06 Gallery, a new construction reflecting their specialism.
[edit] The Welsh Farm
A valuable and unusual asset of the school is the Welsh Farm at Troedrhiwgellifawr, which lies at the end of a remote valley in West Wales near the village of Pumsaint and the town of Llandovery as well as being close to the Dolaucothi Gold Mines (Landranger Grid Reference: SN676442). It is surrounded by forested hills and sheep farms and is somewhat isolated from other properties. Students commonly undertake a four day trip while in Year 9 with the option to revisit in Year 12.
The John Mason Association (referred to as JMA, the 'friends' of John Mason School) own and run the Welsh Farm, which is visited by nearly all students, and used for field trips, tutorial group visits and other specialised trips. The JMA purchased the farm in 1969 for £1500 and it has been renovated by parents, staff and pupils ever since. Many 'unusual' goings on have allegedly happened at the farm, although these claims are unsubstantiated!
[edit] Teaching Staff
Correct as of March 2007
[edit] Senior Leadership Team
- Headteacher - Mr Paul Corrie
- Deputy Headteacher - Mrs A Sutton
- Assistant Headteacher / Professional Tutor - Mr P Wade
- Assistant Headteacher / Director of Specialist School - Mr C Rackham
- Assistant Headteacher / Welfare - Mr T Bartlett
- Assistant Headteacher / Curriculum - Mr D Bromley
- Senior Administrative Officer - Mrs A Lomax
- Chair of Governors - Dr T de Vere
- Chair of JMA - Mr B Mannix
[edit] Heads of Year
- Head of Sixth Form - Mr C Sissons
- Head of Year 11 - Mrs K Fraser
- Head of Year 10 - Mrs S Hook
- Head of Year 9 - Ms M Wade
- Head of Year 8 - Mr R Phillips
- Head of Year 7 - Miss C Orme
[edit] Heads of Department
- Head of Art - Mrs C Pennington
- Head of English - Mr M Matejtschuk
- Head of Geography - Mrs D Matthews
- Head of History - Mr Thomas
- Head of ICT - Mr J Jeczalik
- Head of Mathematics - Mr Pascoe
- Head of Modern Foreign Languages - Mrs M Hansford
- Head of Performing Arts - Miss R Williams
- Head of Physical Education - Mrs C Jones
- Head of Social Education - Mrs C Blackman
- Head of Science – Miss K Goodwin
- Head of Design & Technology - Mr K Mintern
- Head of Religious Education - Mrs A Sissons
- Learning Resources Centre (LRC) Manager - Mrs C Barker
- Work Related Learning Officer - Mrs K McCarthy
[edit] Other
- Paul Gustafson, the famous Oxfordshire author, publisher, biologist, naturalist, angler and teacher has also worked at the school as a supply teacher on numerous occassions, forming part of his contribution to the local community.
