Executive Headteacher's Welcome
It gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the Epping St. John’s website.
We are a Church of England school with Christian values at the core of all we do. We strive to be a centre of excellence at the very heart of Epping; the town that we are so proud to serve.
Having been at ESJ since 2006, it has been my honour and privilege to see the school adapt and grow into the wonderful educational establishment it is today. I have served this school at every level from cover supervisor to Executive Headteacher and I know just how passionate ESJ staff are about securing the very best experience for all of our students.
ESJ strives for the exceptional at all times and at all levels. We are proud members of The BMAT Academy Trust. This means we share expertise with other schools, drive each other on and have access to a huge and diverse range of expertise from across the organisation. We provide the platform for all students to enjoy school and be successful. With a rich extra-curricular diet, we aim to develop your child’s interests in a wide variety of areas alongside ensuring progress in the classroom at all times. As well as our now legendary productions (we have put on ‘Annie Jr’, ‘School of Rock’ & ‘High School Musical’ (to name just a few) to packed houses in the past three years), we have an endless list of clubs including our successful sports teams, Art Club, Astronomy Club, Coding Club, Green Club, Dance Club… the list is endless.
Our recent Ofsted report highlights many things that we should all feel proud of. Inspectors recognised the ambition of the curriculum, the quality of teaching, the inclusive nature of the school, the quality of our sixth form provision and the way pupils are supported academically and personally. The report says that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, achieve well, that pupils with SEND progress well through the curriculum, and that many A-Level students make better progress than their peers nationally. It also captures something that matters deeply to us as a school community. Inspectors described ESJ as “a warm, inclusive community” where “all are welcome” and “all are valued.” They recognised that pupils are “polite and respectful”, that they “behave well in class and around school”, and that “learning is rarely disrupted.” Please take some time to review our Ofsted report here.
Just as with the new Ofsted framework, the SIAMS inspection process (a mandatory Section 48 inspection for Church of England and Methodist schools in England, operating separately from Ofsted) is a rigorous national evaluation. Rather than focusing on simplistic checklists, it looks deeply at our culture, our values, and the daily reality of how we interact as a community. In that context, we believe this report serves as a beautiful validation of the inclusive, supportive environment we strive to create at ESJ every single day. The inspection team highlighted several notable strengths that celebrate the very heart of our school community. At the core of this success is our unique, inclusive Christian vision, which the team noted has been purposely thought through to reflect the exact context and needs of our local area. This deeply embedded ethos ensures that our students and staff demonstrate mutual respect and a genuine openness to consider others’ points of view. This atmosphere of respect is further strengthened by the power of our daily collective worship. Highly praised as a time of essential stillness at the start of each day, inspectors found this practice to be distinctively Christian but also fully inclusive, providing a welcoming space where all our students can reflect, and develop spiritually regardless of their faith background. You can read our full SIAMS report here.
There is only one secondary school in Epping and, as such, it is important that ESJ is the wonderful school that Epping deserves. We want Epping to be proud of its school and the school to be an integral part of the local community. In this past year, we have forged strong links with several local established businesses, charities and sports clubs.This is just the start of our vision and we will be developing our community links further over the coming years. We want our students to be an integral part of this. Serving one’s community is one of the most important lessons that can be taught, and our students are benefitting from the relationships we have built. Community Leaders have regularly praised the way that our students represent themselves and their school and we hope your child will take advantage of these wonderful opportunities too.
Epping St John’s is proud of its state of the art, new building and facilities. But ESJ is so much more than that. It is a place where students exceed expectations, feel safe and forge new life-long bonds with friends. It is a place where staff work tirelessly for their students and where everyone is given the platform to smash through barriers.
We are honoured every time a parent/carer entrusts us with their child’s education. We are aware that all parents/carers have a choice and it is a responsibility we do not take lightly. We promise to maintain high standards and expectations, to develop students academically as well as socially, morally and spiritually and to ensure that our students leave us ready for a diverse, ever-changing Britain.
I hope that you enjoy looking at our website. If you require any further information, then please do not hesitate to contact me.
Mike Yerosimou
Executive Headteacher
