Newsletter_Edition_2_2017

NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2017 EDITION 2 

THE JOHN FISHER SCHOOL

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John Fisher students Joe Brown 

and Sean Purtell have been chosen 

by a senior music producer to 

sing on the charity choir album (as 

representatives of DSM foundation) 

‘We all stand together’- This 

is great for the boys concerned, 

the music department and the DSM 

foundation who we have supported 

Huge congratulations to Ricky 

Lutakome selected for the GB 

U20 team for the European XC 

Championships. He has also 

been selected for the England 

U20 team to race in an International 

XC race at Venta de Banos, 

Spain on 16th Decembe 

Former John Fisher teacher, Mr. Miller, completed his goal: Travel through 23 

countries over a 4 month period to arrive in Australia for the 1st Test of the 

Ashes series. Easy enough? The only condition was he did not use a plane!! 

He had his money stolen, was held hostage, undertook a 27 hour coach journey 

and slept in a room with 199 other people. You can see more on his travel 

diary and website: 

http://www.theedventures.com/category/travel-diary/ 

He is raising money for OddBalls, a great charity who support men with testicular 

cancer. If you want to donate, please go to his Justgiving page: 

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/theedventures 

Here is a picture of the Year 

7 Boys selected for being the 

most polite, kind, courteous 

and respectful this term. This 

the Year 7 theme for the year. 

Here are the Under 14 Elite 

squad enjoying a training session 

from Harlequins RFC Academy 

coaching team. Well done 

to Joe Payne and Tobe Uzor on 

their selection for the Under 14 

Academy side. 

‘Aspiring for Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence’ Follow us on LinkedIn & on Twitter: @thejfschool @JFSChoir @JohnFisherSport

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$120 

It is with regret that I have to inform you we still have not found a Chair, Vice Chair or 

Secretary for The John Fisher Association. The Association has been extremely successful 

in the past and last year alone raised £15,000 which helped fund new computers 

and equipment in two of our classrooms, paid for our new school website, paid for 

new noticeboards and helped with the decoration of our new Inclusion Department. 

The outgoing Chair, Rachel Rogan, did a tremendous job while her son was at John 

Fisher and I would like to sincerely thank her for all of her hard work. If you would like 

to consider any of the vacant positions or would like to discuss co-leading in one of 

the roles please contact Mr Andrew Dean (adean10@suttonmail.org). We also have a 

vacancy on our Governing Body for a Parent Governor. If this is something which you 

might be potentially interested in then could you please telephone and ask to speak 

to Mrs Janet Rigby at school. 

A MESSAGE FROM THE HEADTEACHER, MR P E MCCULLAGH 

Dear Parents/Carers 

I would firstly like to take this opportunity to thank you for all of your support this year 

and I am already looking forward to 2018. It is certainly a time of new opportunities at 

John Fisher. Tom Peters said, ‘if the window of opportunity appears, don’t pull down the 

shade’. New challenges will surface in 2018 but now is the time to seize the moment determinedly. 

We will be full of new hope that in 2018 we will achieve even greater things 

for, and with, our young people. There is something a bit special about the start of a 

new term which is why I am excited about January. Unless we have some clear ideas, articulately 

and convincingly communicated, it may well be another case of ‘what got you 

here, won’t get you there’ and in 2018 this is something which we are trying to avoid. 

It is important that we take time to reflect on everything which has gone well this term. 

It has been a really positive first term and there is much for us to be proud of. We have 

had many academic and sporting successes, we have been involved in a lot of charitable 

work, our events with parents/carers have been very well attended, our remembrance 

events were excellent and a number of our infrastructural improvements have been 

completed. In the next few weeks students and staff get time to switch off and relax 

Unfortunately our pedestrian crossing operative has retired. Croydon Local Authority 

intend to carry out a risk assessment; however, until such time Parents/Carers are 

asked to remind their son(s) they must be vigilant and careful when crossing the roads 

on their way to and from school. Whilst we have senior staff supervising bus stops 

at Purley station in the mornings and along Foxley Lane after school we are not able 

to monitor students crossing roads. Members of the public and staff have expressed 

concern over the safety of our students. Your support in this important matter is 

much appreciated. 

Please note the following important dates next term: 

Year 12 and 13 PPE’s Monday January 8th – Friday 12th January 

Year 7 Parents’ Evening 

Thursday 11th January 


Thursday 25th January 


Thursday 1st March 

Year 9 Parents’ Evening Thursday 15th March 

In 2018, we should all aim to start well. If we have little confidence in ourselves then 

we have a big problem. We are all challenged to develop a ‘growth mindset’ which 

says we have not done it yet but implies we are capable of reaching the stars and that 

we are the ones to do it. 

Best wishes to you and your family for the Christmas break. 

‘Aspiring for Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence’ Follow Follow us on us LinkedIn on LinkedIn & on Twitter: & on Twitter: @thejfschool @thejfschool @JFSChoir @JFSChoir @JohnFisherSport

Welcome to our new sponsor... 

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We are delighted that Rawlings Opticians have joined us as a sponsor. They are 

sponsoring the Year 7 rugby shirts. 

Rawlings have branches all over the Surrey and Hampshire area with local branches in 

Purley, Caterham and Croydon. 

Rawlings Opticians is an independent company founded in Croydon in 1895 and to 

this day members of the Rawling family remain in the business. Richard Rawling is the 

Managing Director based at our Purley branch. 

Rawlings practices are all long established serving the communities of eight towns in 

Hampshire and Surrey, where they have built a strong reputation for the quality of their 

professional expertise and service. 

Rawlings has the sme ethos and values as John Fisher. It has a long standing relationship 

with Vision Aid overseas, a charity dedicated to helping people in the developing 

world whose lives are blighted by poor eyesight and a lack of eye care services. They 

do more than fundraise; over the years Rawling’s qualified syaff have provided valuable 

practical help and professional guidance by working as volunteers in Africa. 

In September 2017, optometrist and Director, Helen Short went to Sierra Leone on her 

fifth assignment with VAO. She and a UK optical technician re-equipped a Vision Centre 

at the Connaught Hospital in Freetown. Helen also mentored local optometric students 

in examining children and the management of more complicated eye conditions. VAO 

has established Vision Centres in five African countries so patients can get affordable 

eye tests and spectacles provided by VAO trained local people. 

If you would like to donate to this wondeful cause please use the link below: 

https://www.visionaidoverseas.org/Fundraisers/sierra-leone-assignment-septem- 

Run your own business? Let us share it with our staff, parents 

and alumni. 

There are a vast range of opportunities to sponsor and support 

the students at John Fisher- please email Mr. Dean on : 

adean10@suttonmail.org 


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MUSICAL DELIGHTS 

With so many concerts and events over 

the festive period, there is not enough 

space to show them all- here is a snippet 

of what we have been doing! 

We're really excited to announce our involvement in an incredible 

national project, Choirs With Purpose #StandTogether, which 

brings together some truly amazing and committed people from 

across the UK who are using music to make a difference in the 

lives of others. Other charity choirs include the Missing People 

choir, recently seen in the finals of Britain's Got Talent, the 

Parrs Wood High School choir which sang with Ariana Grande at 

the One Love concert in Manchester last month following the 

tragic events there, and the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Choir 

who reached no. 1 at Christmas 2015. 

“I was in the audience yesterday at Sanderstead United Reform Church when 

The John Fisher Choir sang carols and Christmas songs for a Purley Group WI 

audience. I want to thank the Choirmaster and all the boys. Their singing gave 

me great pleasure and was a fitting start to Christmas festivities. I wish all 

concerned a happy and peaceful Christmas and success in the coming years.” 

Member of the Public 

“I would just like to say a very big THANK YOU to your school choir who have 

kindly attended Purley Tesco twice to sing Christmas carols. The customers 

and staff loved them and a lot of money was raised over the two days for our 

partnership charity. Mrs Harrington-Booth and her team were fabulous and 

the children were very well behaved. Certainly a credit to the school. Thanks 

The young people in the Daniel Spargo-Mabbs Foundation choir 

are the family and friends of Dan, students from his school in 

Croydon, Archbishop Tenison’s CE High, and from the local BRIT 

school, and the charity’s youth ambassadors. They will be joined 

by Dan’s parents, Tim and Fiona, and big brother Jacob. The DSM 

Foundation is a drug and alcohol education charity founded in 

2014 by Tim and Fiona in response to his death aged 16 having taken 

ecstasy. Dan was bright, funny, kind and popular, and his parents 

felt if this could happen to him it could happen to anyone, 

and wanted to do all they could to prevent any harm happening 

to any other family through drugs. 

The track we’ve chosen for our choir is Seasons of Love, from 

Rent the musical (listen here). This positive message chimes 

strongly with what drives all we do - about how precious life is, 

and how important love is. We'll also all be part of an epic track 

'Stand Together' with the other nine choirs, with a powerful message 

of unity and hope in these times when this message is being 

held up high across the nation. The album and track will be released 

in December with the hopes it'll reach no.1 this Christmas! 


INTRODUCING A NEW PARTNER OF THE SCHOOL: 

KLICKSMART PHOTOGRAPHY 

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CHARITY COMES FIRST AT JOHN FISHER 

In the first term of the 2017/18 academic year, The John Fisher School has already 

raised over £4,000 with many local charities benefitting. 

These include: The South East Cancer Centre, Blind Veterans, The Cats Protection 

League, Love in a Box, Marie Curie, Macmillan, Save the Children and The 

British Legion. 

Over £500 raised for House 

Charities thorugh our Directors 

of Learning Fancy 

Dress competition on the 

last day of term. 

This will be shared accorss 

the 6 house charities. 

We are proud to support the 

British Legion every year by 

selling poppies to support the 

work carried out for veterans 

of all ages and conflicts. 

The Remembrance Day service 

was a wonderful demonstration 

of the resepct given 

by our students to those who 

have been involved in con- 

We continue to support charities 

through our First Give, 

House Charity and regular donations. 

In 2018 we will focus on 

our House charities as well as 

the First Give finals in March. 

Save the Children will 

receive £167 from the staff 

‘Christmas Jumper’ collection 

on Friday 15th December 

to help provide care 

and support for children 

around the world. 

8C have been collecting old 

clothes to send over to France 

for the refugees in desperate 

need of support. The form 

group, supported by Head of 

House Mr. Barry, also raised 

£50 towards the charity. Miss 

Johnson, 8C form tutor, said, 

“The students led on this from 

the start. It is great to see what 

can be achieved when students 

set their mind to somet- 

‘Aspiring for Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence’ 

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TOYOTA ‘DREAM CAR’ COMPETITION KICKS OFF 

Students pose next to 

the new Lexus LC500 

and Toyota CH-R as 

we launch this years 

‘Dream Car’ Art competition 

in partnership with 

Jemca- Croydon. 

Citizenship Foundation Mock Trial Competition 

YEAR 8 WERE TREATED TO AN ECITING START TO THIS 

YEAR’S COMPETITION WITH A VISIT FROM OUR PARTNERS 

Year 8 are starting a six week 

project which will see them 

all design and draw the next 

generation ‘Dream Car’. The 

competition is run by Toyota 

UK and challenges the students 

to come up with their 

very own design of how cars 

can engage with the environment 

and be a vehicle for 

change. The students will 

enter the UK compeition to 

begin with, but the competition 

is run all over the world 

and we hope our very best 

students will get a chance to 

go up against the very best 

from around the globe. 

Head of Art Mr. McKenzie 

said, “ This is a great competition 

and one which 

really suits us as a school. 

Working with our commercial 

partner, Toyota, 

we are able to inspire the 

students with real life 

projects which link to local 

organisations. 

Students in Years 9 and 

10 are also being allowed 

to enter so watch this 

space, perhaps the next 

winner is at JFS! 

Mr. McKenzie 

(Head of Art) 

On Saturday 11th November Miss Smith took fourteen Sixth Formers to the Inner 

London crown court at Southwark to participate in the Citizenship Foundation Mock 

Trial Competition. This is a national competition which gives students the opportunity 

to take on the roles of barristers, witnesses, clerk, usher and jury. They prepare 

two cases which are then presented before a real judge in one of the many court 

rooms in the crown court. Our teams performed against three other London state 

schools in three separate rounds and meanwhile nine other schools also participated 

in this heat. 

Our students won one round but did not score enough points to be one of the final 

two teams to go through. The boys participating were Ryan Mayers, Eoin O Hara, 

Alex Shapley and Tom Stubbings (Barristers) Seb Dzienis, Innocent Muwonge, Theo 

Dhomatob, Victor Oyewole (witnesses) Robbie Genco (Court clerk) Kieran O Sullivan 

(Usher) Jacob Little, Leo Dias, Dermot Clancy, Jorge Albiol Foster (Jury) It was a brilliant 

experience for all students helping them to gain an understanding of the legal 

and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society. 

Miss. Smith 

Head of History 


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Proud sponsors 

of The John 

Fisher School 

Sponsoring the 

Sport and the 

Environment. 

Unique discounts for Staff, Parents/Carers and Old Boys of John 

Fisher: 8 foot skip is onlt £225 + VAT and a 12 foot skip is only 

£275 + VAT (Please mention John Fisher when booking) 

‘Aspiring for Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence’ Follow us on LinkedIn & on Twitter: @thejfschool @JFSChoir @JohnFisherSport

Dear all, 

GOVERNORS’ PLATFORM 

This is the first of what will be regular articles from governors. We would welcome 

ideas from parents on topics they would like to see featured in future 

issues. 

Any ideas can be sent to our clerk email: l.redding@johnfisherschool.org. 

Best Regards 

Emerson Samuels - Chair of Governors 

Governors’ Bites! 

• Did you know there are some 

300,000 school governors in UK state 

schools, making it the largest group of 

adult volunteers. 

• Did you know it is the governors’ role 

to draw up a school’s admissions policy? 

• Did you know that signing off a 

school’s budget is the reasonability of the 

governors? 

• Did you know that the board of gov- 

DID YOU KNOW? 

1. Over three-quarters of the Board of Governors are in paid employment. 

2. One Governor has written and directed two plays. 

3. The Board of Governors has members who are experienced in sectors such 

as IT, Journalism, Building, Further Education and Medicine. 

4. Around five current Governors attended The John Fisher School as students. 

5. Most Governors have or have had sons at The John Fisher School. 

6. The Board of Governors has two female Governors. 

7. Governors visit the school as often as possible to take part in school events. 

8. One Governor has been awarded an MBE. 

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One ambition the Governors have for 2018 is to strengthen contact with parents & carers of 

the students at The John Fisher School. We are planning two new initiatives: 

The first will be a dedicated email address that will allow parents & carers to contact the 

Governors directly with issues, problems and even compliments. The second will be regular 

governor surgeries where parents & carers will be able to meet a governor face-to-face. 

Full details will be in the next magazine. 

The Board of Governors of The John Fisher School. 

Emerson Samuels 

Tony Hazeldine CBE 

Simon Drury 

John Hessian 

Dr Philip Howard 

Elaine Jones 

Anita McGowan MBE 

Canon James Pannett 

Jas Weir 

James Graham 

Philip McCullagh 

Chris Morgan 

Chair and Foundation Governor 

Deputy Chair and Foundation Governor 

Foundation Governor 






Local Authority Governor 

Parent Governor 

Staff Governor 

Staff Governor 

Parent Governor James Graham reveals what happens with thae Year 7 application process: 

“The most significant Governors’ meeting this half-term is always the Admissions meeting. In an age 

of AI and compute algorithms, it is reassuring that the decision as to whether a boy can enter The John 

Fisher School is made by a human being. Not only are they human, but they give up a Saturday morning 

to come into school to undertake this work. 

Late in November, seven governors, including head teacher Mr McCullagh, met to rank all applications. 

This is because the decision as to whether a boy will join our community is about where he ranks 

in terms of eligibility. Our school remains over-subscribed with over 440 applications received for the 

189 available Year 7 places, including seven sets of twins apply. This is 70 more applications than last 

year. 

The governors present worked in pairs to ensure the accuracy of every review. These reviews can be 

quite a challenge. When an admission criteria is not met in an application, some of the stories behind 

the reasons why can be very heart-wrenching. This is why in these instances, it is always better that the 

reason presented must be backed by relevant evidence, such as medical letters, in order that the application 

is seriously considered. 

Some applications need to be discussed by all the governors present to decide. Applications can then 

be categorised for processing by our Admissions officer. We never know who has put us as their first 

preference. Only Sutton Admissions will know this.” 


Follow us on LinkedIn & on Twitter: @thejfschool @JFSChoir @JohnFisherSport

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SIMON BROWNE TALKS TO THE STUDENTS 

Simon Browne, of the Blind Veterans Charity, joined us for Remembrance Day to help share his experience 

with our students. We were very lucky that Simon agreed to talk to all our year groups in what was 

a superb example of honesty, values and respect. Simon’s story is very well documented- 

“Simon Brown was a corporal in the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Iraq when he sustained 

facial injuries during a rescue mission in Basra. Simon lost his left eye and has only 20 per cent vision in 

his right. 

On the day of his injury, Simon had successfully rescued six of his colleagues whose vehicle had broken 

down. As he was withdrawing from the area, he was hit by sniper fire. A bullet entered his left cheek and 

exited through his right cheek, shattering both cheekbones, destroying his left eye and severely damaging 

his right eye. 

Simon’s colleagues rushed him to emergency treatment at nearby Basra Palace, where he was given a 

lifesaving tracheotomy to let him breathe. Then he was airlifted by helicopter to the base hospital where 

he had the first of many operations to rebuild his face. A day later he was transferred back home for 

further treatment and rehabilitation at the UK’s Selly Oak hospital. His cheekbones and nose were reconstructed 

using titanium, his jaw broken and remoulded and a prosthetic eye fitted. 

His story was inspirational, and he delivered an honest and gripping story of his journey from school to 

where he is now. The students had plenty of time to ask questions. Simon said afterwards, “ The student 

questions were really impressive, thoughtful and honest. I am pleased to see such large groups of students 

engage with external speakers like myself in such a mature way. “ 

The John Fisher School presented Simon with a donation of £500 towards the charity, Blind Veterans, 



‘Aspiring for Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence’ Follow us on LinkedIn & on Twitter: @thejfschool @JFSChoir @JohnFisherSport 

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YEAR 12 

SPEED 

CAREERS 

On Thursday 21st November, John Fisher welcomed in over 45 professionals 

from a variety of industries to share their experience with Year 12. The 

day included a range of 30 minute talks which students could select based 

on their interests. This was then followed by a speed dating style event 

which allowed the students to speak to a whole range of professions. We 

were delighted to welcome 17 Old Boys of the school to share their experi- 



$120 

John Fisher Art brightens up 

Purley High Street 

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As part of our work with the local community, The John Fisher School will see 

student artwork go up ialong a 100m stretch of boarding on the proposed site 

for flats in the heart of Purley. The art work varies and comes from students in 

Years 9-13. Below is just a glimpse at some of it. 

“ 

To be working with The John 

Fisher School is fantastic for 

community cohesion and really 

helps to show the best of 

the local area. The art work 

” 

is fantastic 

Simon Cripps 



CONTACT US 

If you have any feedback, contributions or would like 

to know more about working with the school please 

contact Mr. A. Dean (Assistant Headteacher) 

(e) adean10@suttonmail.org 

(t) 0208 660 4555 

‘Aspiring for Academic, Cultural and Sporting Excellence’

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