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 Head of School 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 ‘Grease’, ‘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. Take a moment to look at our ‘Be Courageous’ timetable; a fully comprehensive list of every opportunity available to the students of our school.
Our recent ‘Good’ OFSTED report states ‘The curriculum is taught well… pupils including those with SEND learn an ambitious curriculum’. OFSTED also cited that ‘behaviour is unrecognisable compared to earlier years. Pupils have positive attitudes to learning’. They also said our 6th form is ‘growing and impressive’. You can see the full report here. It fills us with pride to know that our school is being recognised as a centre of excellence, that we only accept the best for our students and that we continue to strive for improvements every day.
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. You may have even seen our budding Business entrepreneurs in their regular slot at Epping Market each Monday! 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
Head of School
