Sport Report

Athletics - The summer term has proved to be very successful so far with a number of School records in athletics being broken. Luke Roach-Christie throwing an unbelievable 15.09m in the U16 shot-put competition, not only breaking the JLS record but also ranking himself second in the UK. Anthony Jeffrey, yet another one of our fine athletes, has broken the current School record in the 100m by finishing in 11.3 seconds. Bhavesh Soneji, an elite long distance runner, has broken the School record for 1500m, completing the race in 4.25 minutes. Many thanks must go to Mr Adam Jones who runs training sessions for the athletics team on a regular basis. This has resulted in 12 boys representing Harrow in the County Championship.

Cricket - The fine weather this term has complemented the JLS season with our 1st XI cricket team reaching the semi finals of the Middlesex Cup. The U15 team are through in two competitions; the semi finals of the 20/20 Middlesex Cup and the quarter finals of the open Middlesex Cup plus the U12s are off to an encouraging start winning four of their games and into the third round of the Middlesex Cup. The U14A team won five of their eight matches. Outstanding bowling performances include; 3 wickets for 4 runs against Whitmore High School bowled by Yashas Mudumbai. Mateen Mirza ended up with figures of 4 wickets for 11 runs against Mill Hill and took another 5 wickets including a hat-trick against St Benedict’s.

Asantha De-Alwis, PE Department

Year 9 Visit Duxford Air Museum

On Wednesday 26 May, all of Year 9 plus eight members of staff visited Duxford Air Museum in Cambridge. Pupils were given the opportunity to look at the American Air Museum and in particular, a replica B 29 bomber that controversially dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945.

The Normandy experience was also seen and boys could consider the bravery of Allied soldiers who tried to capture the beaches of France in 1944.

To assist with their study of British citizens’ lives during World War 2, pupils examined certain aspects of life on the Home Front such as an Anderson shelter and instructions about the blackout.

Lastly, the boys received an excellent and highly informative one hour teaching session on life during World War 2, considering the impact of evacuation, rationing and propaganda. A definite highlight for one group was seeing a bi-plane and other aircraft dating back to the Second World War flying in the skies of Duxford.
 

Mr Christopher Longhurst, History Department

Bumper Fund-Raising Total for GOSH

Economic times may be tough, but our boys made sure that their chosen charity, Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH), did not lose out. After working hard all year to raise funds for the famous children’s hospital, pupils reached a massive total of £7,000. GOSH Schools Presenter, Ms Naomi Angel (pictured with Monitor, Ameer Mirza), came to a special assembly to receive a cheque from the Head.

“Great Ormond Street Hospital is delighted that The John Lyon School chose us as their charity of the year for the second successive year,” she said. “Public support is crucial to Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital’s work in treating more patients. It helps maintain the hospital’s clinical excellence in the prevention and cure of disease and illness in children. With the help of The John Lyon School we will be able to fund more pioneering research work, special equipment, rebuilding, accommodation for parents and facilities for staff, all of which help us improve the quality of the care we provide for our children and their families”.

Miss Haynes paid tribute to the work of boys and staff in raising the funds over the last year: “This magnificent total is a reflection of the consistent and whole-hearted commitment shown by our school community to helping those less fortunate than themselves”.

In addition to the money raised for their main chosen charity, boys at the school also donated a special ward trolley, decorated by the Art Department, to Northwick Park Hospital. Northwick Park has close links with JLS, regularly giving work experience to aspiring medics from the school.

Salters' Festival

On 13 May, four Year 8 boys - Yahya Bachelani, Vibhakar Patel, Andrew James and Oliver Gratton competed in the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry at University College London.

Upon arrival, the boys were able to get an idea of the other types of schools present and of the activities in which they would participate. After a brief safety introduction the team had an hour to solve a murder mystery using chromatography and a variety of chemical reactions. The group worked well in small teams of two and were able to properly solve the mystery as a team.

After a leisurely lunch in the park the group was re-assembled to compete in another competition but this time without the teachers around to spy on them. The boys came back enthusiastic about their experience and certain they had managed to get the correct answers again.

The day ended with an exciting group of Chemistry demonstrations, including liquid nitrogen, dry ice and some ice cream making, and the award presentations. Sadly, JLS did not place in the top three for either event but they did have a fun and educational day out.

A huge thank you to Ms Pragasam and Dr Bhatti for all their help in organising the team.

Ms Carol Seymour, Acting Head of Chemistry

British Biology Olympiad

Krishan Mistry, Year 13 (pictured right), was ‘commended’ for his performance in the annual British Biology Olympiad for post-16 students. The competition challenges and stimulates gifted students with an interest in Biology to expand and extend their talents. Krishan was successful in this area and he states: "I was challenged in all dimensions of Biology and I had to work hard to complete all the material within the test."

Students studying Biology at JLS continue to excel within National Competitions and we look forward to future successes.

By Mr Saajan Rana, Faculty Head of Science

Year 7 PGL Visit to Normandy

On 26 March, Year 7 set off for Normandy. We were soon onboard the early morning ferry, where there was lots of entertainment. After settling at the PGL centre we enjoyed an amusing activity before bedtime: night manoeuvres in the woods. This involved chasing one another guided by torches and with mud on our faces as camouflage!

The next day we visited Bayeux where we went on a town trail and visited the market. Our next stop was to see the famous tapestry where we were given an audiotape that talked us through the tour followed by a short film. That evening was the scavenger hunt where we hid in the woods then searched for each other.

After breakfast the next morning, we set off to William the Conqueror’s castle. The tour was an hour long. After the tour and a trip to the castle gift shop, we returned to the PGL site. It was disco night! We all plucked up the courage and entered the disco where we had lots of fun.

To complete our trip we enjoyed our final town trail, then went to the hypermarket and bought lots of goods to take home before boarding the ferry back to England.

By Sam Clague, David Larbi, Ethan Peters and James Reilly

World Book Day

Year 10 Art Trip

As an introduction to their next project, The Environment, the Year 10 Art & Design students visited the East End of London to view galleries and explore the city. Unfortunately we were not blessed with good weather and had to contend with rain throughout the day, which is not ideal for sketching or photographing outdoors. Despite this the boys found the day supportive to their future studies.

We began by travelling to Liverpool Street station, which we photographed, before walking to The Whitechapel Art Gallery. In the gallery we saw a wonderful exhibition of many photographs from India exploring the people and the place. The boys took notes and made sketches of images that interested them.

We then walked towards Spitalfields via Brick Lane, which allowed the boys to take many photographs of the Street Art and Graffiti on the streets of East London. We also visited the Stolen Space gallery where the boys saw an exhibition of Street Art.

After lunch we headed to the Wellcome collection where the boys explored an exhibition and collection of scientific and art-based pieces. We headed back to School after a damp and tiring day, which hopefully will lead to more outstanding art from a very talented year group.

Ms Lorna Hope, Head of Art & Design

Museum of London

Friday 5 March dawned bright with spring sunshine: an auspicious start to the day for a mixed group of GCSE and Year 9 students tubing into the Square Mile to visit the Museum of London. The study of Latin at John Lyon formed the students' common bond, the trip designed to expand their specific knowledge of a critical period in Britain's historical development - as a province of the Roman Empire! The City, of course, represented the core area of ancient Londinium, the Roman settlement that grew into a nation's capital. The Museum itself, bordering the Barbican, straddles London's ancient wall line and its Roman galleries formed the focus of our interest.

A quick visit to the well-stocked gift store and our workshop began with an illustrated lecture by a museum curator. Having received an overview of London's Roman past and the work of the museum's archaeological team in revealing it, our boys received an opportunity to come up 'close and personal' to that same past.... An hour devoted to handling authentic objects from Roman Londinium! Studied closely by our students, these remains included coins, glass bottles, bronze cosmetic implements, and fragments of highly desirable Samian tableware. The millennia-old imprint of a small dog's paw in a stray pottery roofing tile encapsulated our boys' privileged chance to 'touch' a variety of ancient lives. Museum staff quickly recognised John Lyon students' ability to draw insightful conclusions from the objects, praising the boys' thoughtful approach to the collection and eagerness to publicly share their ideas.

The handling session completed, lunch was followed by a visit to the Roman galleries. Study guides in hand, the students were able to 'walk into' reconstructions of ancient streets, Roman style houses and a temple of the god Mithras - an experience guaranteed to bring textbooks alive! The skulls of Londoners slain by Boudica's avenging tribesmen juxtaposed slave chains and manacles, while remnants of legionary armour competed with elite burial goods for the boys' attention. Overall, a most enjoyable day, concluding with words guaranteed to warm any teacher's heart: the students having been told it was time to depart, the cry went up: "Oh sir.... Do we have to?".... Sadly we did, as it happens; the success of the day, however, makes certain our return in the near future and encourages exploration of additional trip options for Classics at JLS: Watch this space!

Mr Paul Cowie, History Department

The Next Big Thing

On Thursday 4 March we held a private view to celebrate the opening of our Year 7-10 The Next Big Thing show with a variety of exciting work on display, all professionally framed and mounted by Ms Daniela Tizzoni, our wonderful technician.

The show contained a series of polyblock prints by Year 7 based on their colour and pattern research, Year 8 displayed their 3D letter pieces and Year 9 had their ceramic heads. In the gallery itself was a fantastic display of prints and paintings from Year 10 based on the theme of identity.

Parents, boys and staff came to the show and enjoyed fine food and drinks provided by Whites’ Deli, as well as the great art on show. An enjoyable evening was had by all.

Ms Lorna Hope, Head of Art & Design