Stet Fortuna Domus

It is with mixed emotions that I write my final end of term message, as I prepare to bid the School farewell after 14 fulfilling years, having joined John Lyon back in 2009. As the Head, it has been an incredible honour and privilege to witness our pupils’ individual and collective successes. And I must commend our teachers’ dedication in enabling John Lyon pupils to achieve their best. The tremendous support for the School from parents is hugely appreciated too. Together, we are a thriving educational community.

Once again, this term has seen our pupils achieve great things. I am delighted to highlight the continued efforts we have made on the sustainability front: competing alongside friends from our global Harrow Family of Schools, John Lyon has secured back-to-back wins in the international sustainability competitions – a testament to our commitment to environmental stewardship.

Our STEAM achievements have been remarkable, with the John Lyon VEX robotics team ranking as the UK’s top independent school robotics team at the World Championships in the US. What’s more, our students have also excelled in building and racing the Greenpower race car, showcasing their innovative powers and engineering skills.

All our Prep and Senior pupils came together as one School on Values Day and Enrichment Day, fostering a sense of unity and collaboration in our community. These events provided a unique opportunity for our students to enrich their educational experience by interacting and learning from one another.

We are very proud indeed of our School community’s compassion and generosity, which have been amply demonstrated this academic year by the raising of almost £12,000 for various charities. Our participation in the Chemistry Olympiad and the Harrow Family Fifth Form Conference showcased our students’ academic excellence and commitment to their studies as they embraced these challenges to achieve outstanding results.

The Art and Music departments have flourished again, as evidenced by the exceptional A-Level and GCSE Art Show and the success of Junior Music Day. In both cases, the talent and creativity displayed by our pupils continue to impress and inspire.

On the sporting front, our pupils have demonstrated great teamwork and commitment to archery by winning the Silver Arrow competition against Harrow School yet again – for the eighth consecutive year. Additionally, our cricket teams have achieved notable successes throughout a season that climaxed with our annual Festival of Cricket week, and a stellar 1st XI win against the MCC side. We hosted a Girls in Sport workshop, empowering our female pupils and promoting gender equality in sports – as part of which it was a huge privilege to welcome leading international female sports stars to lead sessions in sunny Sudbury Fields.

This term’s excellent outcomes have reaffirmed the incredible potential within our community, and I have no doubt that the future holds more, even greater successes. I have every confidence in the staff and students – in the entire John Lyon community – to continue our upward trajectory and reach new heights while always upholding the values and principles we have worked so hard to establish. n