John Mason School
Address
Wootton Road

Abingdon-on-Thames
,
Oxfordshire
,
OX14 1JB

England
Coordinates51°40′35″N 1°17′18″W / 51.6764°N 1.2884°W / 51.6764; -1.2884
Information
Former nameJohn Mason High School[1]
TypeAcademy
Established1960
Department for Education URN140580 Tables
OfstedReports
HeadAlastair West
Age11 to 18
Enrolmentc. 1031 students
Capacity1040 students
HousesThames, Ock, Stert
Colour(s)     
Websitejohnmason.oxon.sch.uk

John Mason School (JMS) is a secondary school with sixth form in the town of Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

History

Established as a Secondary Technical School in 1960, Berkshire Education Committee named it John Mason School after sixteenth-century intellectual, diplomat and spy Sir John Mason, whose picture can be found hanging in the school hall. He was born in Abingdon and educated at the nearby Abingdon School. Coincidentally, the first Headteacher of John Mason School, Derrick Hurd,[2] went on to become Head at Easthampstead Park School based on the estate of which Sir John Mason was the keeper in 1548.[3]

John Mason School is located on Wootton Road. It was previously in a four-way partnership of Abingdon schools known as 14:19 Abingdon. The other members were Larkmead School, Fitzharrys School and Abingdon and Witney College. The four partners shared sixth form lessons. John Mason is now part of the Abingdon Learning Trust, together with Fitzharrys School and Rush Common School,[4] and shares its sixth form, JMF6 Abingdon, with Fitzharrys.[5] John Mason has approximately 1031 students as of 2023.[6]

Sarah Brinkley became the school's new headteacher in 2015. In 2020, she was taken over as headteacher by Adrian Rees, and instead became the Executive Headteacher and Director of Secondary Education at the Abingdon Learning Trust.[7] In 2022, Brinkley left her role as Executive Headteacher, and remained the Director of Secondary Education until 2023.[8] Rees' departure from the school was announced in February 2023, and he officially left the school in March,[9] being replaced by Kirsty Rogers,[10] who was the school's deputy head teacher,[11] and worked as acting headteacher until September, when she left John Mason School to become headteacher at Aureus School in Didcot,[12] and Alastair West became the new headteacher.[13]

JMS is part of the OX14 Partnership, along with Fitzharrys School, Larkmead School, Radley College, Abingdon School, and St Helen and St Katharine. The partnership was officially launched on 19 November 2021,[14] and allows the seven schools to coordinate opportunities, extra-curricular activities, and support with mental health.[15]

Because of the discovery of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) in the school's main block, John Mason School announced on 8 September 2023 that the school was to be fully closed to all students on Monday 11th, and that the school would have a reduced capacity for the rest of the week, with many students set to work from home. The United Kingdom government stated earlier in 2023 that areas where RAAC was identified should be evacuated and shut down until remedies could be put in place.[16][17] The school had had multiple surveys for the material in 2022, and found no RAAC within any of the buildings. Despite this, the school stated on 8 September that it had been given "further information", and that there was indeed RAAC on the site.[18][13][19] The reduced capacity restrictions continued for another week, though with more students on site. On Friday 22nd, it was announced that, after an additional survey from a surveyor commissioned by the Department for Education, the school was to reopen to all students from Monday 25th.[20][21]

Specialist school and academy status

The three schools in the Consortium were granted Specialist School Status in 2004. John Mason focused on visual arts which meant it received greater funding from the government to provide specialist equipment. In 2006 JMS opened the 06 Gallery, a new construction reflecting the specialism and featuring much of the students' artwork.

Previously a community school administered by Oxfordshire County Council, John Mason School converted to academy status on 1 February 2014. However the school continues to co-ordinate with Oxfordshire County Council for admissions.

Houses

The school has three houses, Stert, Ock, and Thames, of the colours red, green and blue respectively. There was a fourth house, Isis, but this was dissolved in 1993. The houses are named after watercourses in the town of Abingdon.

Academic performance

According to the Department of Education 2011 breakdown of A-level results, John Mason were the sixth best in the UK for performance in mathematics, with 38% of students getting A* grade.[22] In 2013, then-Education Secretary Michael Gove praised John Mason as "a school that, under a particularly inspirational head, is taking very very positive steps to provide students with a range of qualifications and the type of education that is relevant to the modern world."[23] In 2017 Ofsted reported its quality of teaching, learning and assessment, outcomes for pupils and overall effectiveness all required improvement; the second lowest grade.[24]

The Welsh Farm

The school owns a farm, generally known as the Welsh Farm, at Troedyrhiwgellifawr near the village of Pumsaint and the town of Llandovery in Wales. Students commonly undertake a four-day trip and some have the option to revisit for a Geography Fieldwork trip or a Triple Science Observational Cosmology Trip in Year 12. The John Mason Association owns and runs the farm, which is visited by nearly all students.[25]

Notable former staff and pupils

Paul Mayhew-Archer (a writer on The Vicar of Dibley and My Hero) was formerly a teacher at JMS.[26]

Famous former pupils include the Premiership footballer Matthew Taylor, West End actor and singer Oliver Tompsett, BBC and Channel 5 news presenter Katie Ledger,[27] folk musician John Spiers and Dr Mike Leahy,[28] who presents his own TV programme Invasion of the Bodyscratchers and has appeared in many other medical programmes.

References

  1. ↑ Lyons, Erin (1 September 2018). "Teacher and former pupils reunited after 50 years". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  2. ↑ Fantato, Damian. "Oxford Times".
  3. ↑ Nash Ford, David. "Royal Berkshire History: Easthampstead Park".
  4. ↑ "Abingdon Learning Trust". Abingdon Learning Trust. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  5. ↑ "Welcome Message - JMF6". JMF6 Abingdon. Retrieved 20 September 2023.
  6. ↑ "John Mason School - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  7. ↑ Grubb, Sophie (17 March 2020). "Secondary schools name new headteachers". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  8. ↑ "Sarah Brinkley - Director of Secondary Education - GLF Schools | LinkedIn". LinkedIn. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  9. ↑ Gosling, Sam (10 February 2023). "Headteacher Arrangements from March 2023" (PDF). John Mason School. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  10. ↑ "Staff List - John Mason School". John Mason School. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  11. ↑ Hopkins, Jonathan; Hammans, Fiona (21 March 2023). "Headteacher Announcement" (PDF). John Mason School. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  12. ↑
    Rogers, Kirsty [@AureusHead] (24 August 2023). "After an epic day celebrating with the students it's time to hang up my JMS lanyard @JohnMasonSchoo1 It's been a great 8 years thanks to the staff and the students. On to my next adventure @AureusSchool" (Tweet). Retrieved 23 September 2023 – via Twitter.
  13. 1 2 "Three year groups in Oxfordshire secondary school to work from home following Raac discovery". ITV News. 11 September 2023. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  14. ↑ "Abingdon schools launch OX14 Partnership". Abingdon School. 19 November 2021. Retrieved 22 September 2023.
  15. ↑ Rise, Liam (24 November 2021). "Six schools team up to form new partnership". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  16. ↑ Shearing, Hazel (1 September 2023). "School closures: Dozens were at risk of collapse due to risky concrete". BBC News. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  17. ↑ Jackson, Liz (1 September 2023). "RAAC: Seven London schools part-closed due to dangerous concrete". BBC News. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  18. ↑ "School concrete crisis: Abingdon school to shut". BBC News. 9 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  19. ↑ Christie, Olivia (9 September 2023). "School to CLOSE from Monday as unsafe concrete now found on site". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  20. ↑ "Abingdon school forced to close due to Raac given all clear". BBC News. 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  21. ↑ Folker, Robert (22 September 2023). "School to fully reopen as all-clear given after RAAC closure". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  22. ↑ Bardsley, Fran (24 July 2012). "Four schools among the best for A-Levels". The Oxford Mail. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  23. ↑ "Schools praised by Education Secretary". Abingdon Herald. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  24. ↑ "Inspection report: John Mason School". Ofsted. 2017.
  25. ↑ "Welsh Farm". John Mason School. Retrieved 3 October 2021.
  26. ↑ Wittenham, Ross (7 February 2012). "Paul Mayhew-Archer talks about his life in comedy with the BBC". Daily Info (Oxford). Retrieved 4 August 2012. After the interval we were treated to a talk by Mayhew-Archer himself, a mainstay of the British comedy scene for thirty years. Here he was playing to his home crowd, having started off his career as a teacher at John Mason School, just down the road.
  27. ↑ "Ignore moaners, says TV presenter". Oxford Mail. 27 January 2004. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  28. ↑ Airs, Thom (2 November 2009). "Oxford scientist is really bitten by the TV bug". The Oxford Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
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