Sport
Every boy is encouraged to get involved in sport and develop an enjoyment for physical activity and teamwork. Our main sports are rugby, hockey, cricket and athletics coached by specialist teachers.
St. John’s has extensive facilities for physical education. We have four rugby pitches, three cricket grounds, an athletics track, a cross-country course and a pitch and putt golf course. The all-weather playing area provides hockey and football pitches in the winter and six tennis courts in the summer. Our gymnasium is well equipped for basketball, badminton, volleyball, indoor cricket and gymnastics. Boys also benefit from the swimming and hockey facilities at nearby Merchant Taylors’ School.
From the age of seven, boys take part in a programme of inter-school matches in our main sports. We enter national competitions in rugby, swimming and athletics. School fixtures are also played in basketball, cross-country, tennis and golf. Our 1st XV rugby and 1st XI cricket squads have toured Italy, Grenada and Sri Lanka in the past few years.
Rugby
Rugby is the main sport in the autumn term with every boy having the opportunity to represent the School. Coaching follows the Rugby Union Continuum and the boys start tag rugby In Year 3 before building up to contact in Year 4. They take part in competitive fixtures and tournaments both locally and nationally, including the Rosslyn Park National School Sevens, the world’s largest schools rugby tournament. St John’s has hosted its own Invitational Sevens Tournament, attracting schools from around the Southeast, for over thirty years
The current fixture schedule can be found at the link above and results will be added as matches take place. Our weekly newsletter, The Lamb, contains full match reports and photographs.
Hockey
Hockey is the main sport in the spring term and was introduced at St John's following the installation of the artificial turf pitch. Boys in Year 3 and 4 learn the basic stick and teamwork skills in preparation for fixtures, which begin in Year 5. The boys enjoy specialist coaching including coaches from Merchant Taylors’. Years 7 and 8 also enter teams in the Merchant Taylors' Hockey League in the Autumn Term.
The current fixture schedule can be found at the link above and results will be added as matches take place. Our weekly newsletter, The Lamb, contains full match reports and photographs.
Cricket
Cricket is the main sport in the summer term. Years 3 and 4 play kwik cricket which helps them acquire basic concepts and skills. In Year 5, after two years of playing with a soft ball, the boys start playing with a hard ball in eleven-a-side fixtures against other schools.
There are eleven cricket teams at St John’s playing sixty fixtures in the Summer term involving 150 boys. In addition to our three cricket grounds, we have all-weather cricket nets and an artificial turf pitch.
The current fixture schedule can be found at the link above and results will be added as matches take place. Our weekly newsletter, The Lamb, contains full match reports and photographs.
Athletics
Athletics is the second sport in the summer term. In addition to P.E. and Games lessons, boys have opportunity to develop their track and field prowess through running and athletics clubs.
St John’s boys compete in national competitions; one at Eton and the other in Birmingham. This year we came a close second in the annual athletics competition held at Merchant Taylor's School. Athletics at our junior and senior sports days are an opportunity for boys to win points for their houses and we have school records dating back several decades.
The current fixture schedule can be found at the link above and results will be added as matches take place. Our weekly newsletter, The Lamb, contains full match reports and photographs.