The John Roan School

John Roan School is a wonderful inclusive and now excellent comprehensive school. The improvement under Cath Smith's leadership and the teaching team is very real, with a real balance of academic achievement and community cohesion. Two of my children now at Uni (Bristol and Cambridge) and last is now in the excellent sixth form.

It is the worst school in all of London stabbings and exclusions daily and all incompetent staff worst 4 years of my life it has sent me into depression social anxiety and the brink of suicide do not bring your kids here teachers are all pedos and money grabbing whores fvckin horrible starvation camp and prison good day too all

Worst then prison 3fight in school p/day 10 fight outside school incompetent management void

This schools pretty average - the people (school pupils) are very supportive of other people and will condemn others if they have said any homophobic / racist language or offensive shite. The schools social aspect therefore means that friends are supportive apart from obviously - a select few. The problem I believe lies in the rules and especially the new ones.

The detentions are set for one hour for something as small as not carrying a sharpener or reading book in class to disrupting the classroom in a rude manner. I find it personally ridiculous that even talking in the line up can result in a one hour detention after school with no first warnings. Another term that is universally known in school are line ups and strict standards for uniform - in fact students are led into school to line up constantly before going into their lessons in a calm, quiet manner which is not usual for a normal school that usually just brings students inside to find their own classes on their own.
All students are given an individual card that is ticked and the tick is given when the uniform does not fit the schools “first impression” which means no dyed hair or shirts that are not tucked in etc... If there are three ticks in the card, this results in a detention. The rules are strict but what baffles me is the fact that if you lose the card it means that students face an SBE which is a school based exclusion (a punishment higher than the actual uniform restrictions given)

Many students have been accusing teachers and blaming the rules on them as one of the rules that have been renewed are “skirts should be below knee length” and “pants need to be tailored”. In my opinion, THERE SHOULD BE NOTHING SEXUAL OR DISRESPECTFUL ABOUT WEARING CLOTHES THIS WAY. Wearing a skirt below the knee was disrespectful- one of the ways that teachers tried to justify this rule. There used to be detentions for this, however the detentions were so out of hand as so many did not follow these rules as a way to go against the ridiculousness and as a protest in their own little way. The teachers ended being a lot more lenient to those who wear their skirts above the knee and pants that are tighter than usual. Thank goodness for that

Now, onto the teachers. In fact there was a teacher that was forced out because he was being too “lenient or kind”. In fact, the school may have seen him in that light but he was one of the most fun science teachers that have helped me learn and considering the fact that I used to have a supply for a whole term, he helped the whole class get through 4 courses that the other teacher couldn’t. His discipline was also very strong and could stop a banter conversation if it disrupted a lesson. Although he was here for a short while, he led a lasting impression. Therefore, considering the new rules that are set in place students may find that building a close bond with a teacher is less likely - as in class - they are already set to be cold and “following the rules” this means no talking and getting straight on with the work. Of course, my science teacher did not try this approach and allowed everyone to explain their reasoning out loud. Personally, it was a learning environment that I felt was safe and open however, over time I even felt as a student of his, he was getting progressively stricter as he did not allow others to shout out anymore with a quiet, no talking environment - the teaching forced upon them is also an aspect that is incredibly strict. This also included dress codes where teachers have to wear professional attire and suits now.

As the school is an academy, these rules have been placed to ensure that it would fit the outlook of United Learning and this meant that standards were high. But it also compromised with students who have higher social skills or work better in fun environments (which I think everyone does). Finding trustworthy teachers are tricky as teachers are disappearing.

That being said, the resources are absolutely great!! Clubs that are set up have a wide variety of sports and competitions and those who do extra workloads such as triple science or an extra GCSE (astronomy) have more personal tutoring paid for by the school. They also have a camping trip which also needs money from parents to pay, however, the experience can really develop their students social skills. Towards mental health and counselling, the school very much encourage talking to counsellors for bullying. Specific teachers would be recommended. Students would also be able to find out who is capable of understanding their situation and sorting out the problem (nice ones!!!!!) However, for mental health, not much has changed if I’m honest. Most of it is just talking and venting and until something can be done about improving their mental health, it may be done in a long time or not done at all.