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U14 county cricket champions!
The U14 team have won their third county cup in as many years after the most dramatic of finishes at Stowe. Playing against our hosts, JHGS...
Posted / 16/06/25
Welcome from the Headteacher and Head Boy
John Hampden Grammar School is remarkable. We seek to give our young men the personal qualities as well as the qualifications to carve out their own bold paths into the future. As you would expect, a challenging academic education is at the heart of what we do. John Hampden is an outstanding school with exceptional academic success. But in a changing world our young men will need more. They will need character, spirit, resilience. They will need to lead, to inspire, to take responsibility. They will need to care, collaborate and create. This is what we mean by #BeMore at John Hampden. We support every individual to build these qualities necessary for happy, successful and fulfilled lives, ‘Big lives’ as one of our students recently described it. The all round education and values your son will receive at JHGS are embodied in our motto “Quit Ye Like Men.”
Our exam results are excellent at GCSE and A level and place us amongst the top performing schools in the country. These results equip our students to succeed at the best Universities in Britain and abroad, to secure places on ultra competitive level 3 apprenticeships and even to set up their own companies upon leaving the Sixth Form. Over 125 years ago JHGS was educating young men and women to work in the Wycombe Furniture Industry. Today, we maintain strong links with many local and global companies, preparing our students to succeed and lead in a rapidly changing global economy. Alongside the academic rigour of the taught curriculum the #BeMore campaign develops in the boys “soft skills” to succeed as a JHGS Learner and in the future world of work.
Our parents praise our commitment to genuinely caring for their son and believe it is what makes JHGS unique. The Pastoral Team at JHGS is outstanding and they will get to know your son and help him throughout his journey at JHGS. We are committed to building a strong partnership between home and school so that as parents you feel as much a part of the JHGS community as your son. There are always opportunities for parents to help with our evening events, second hand shop or careers talks and mock interviews for example.
With such an extensive extra curricular programme your son will make friends and have many opportunities to develop new skills and talents. I encourage you to read the sports page on the website to get a flavour of the sheer number of sports on offer and our teams’ achievements. Music is also strong at JHGS with a large number of music groups, termly concerts and an annual school production. As you would expect from intelligent and articulate young men debating and discussion are very popular and this is supported through the Pratchett Debating Society, JHGS Question Time, and the Young Magistrates. Regular school visits here and abroad deepen understanding, widen horizons and create friendships and memories that last a lifetime.
JHGS is a forward thinking, innovative school which embraces technology to support and promote learning and personal development. To further demonstrate our commitment to your son we have recently opened our new Design Technology studio and workshops, 2 new Science labs and our £3.5m Innovation Hub of learning spaces and IT suites. This now houses our Maths, Business, Economics and Psychology departments and will be a true Innovation Hub for the 21st Century.
We are proud of everything we do at JHGS but most of all we are proud of our students, your sons. They join us as young boys and leave us 7 years later as young men. They are inspirational.
Miss Hartley
Headteacher
Head Boy Welcome
It is with great pleasure that I introduce myself as the new Head Boy of John Hampden Grammar School. John Hampden is not just your normal school, it has paved a route of excellence and set me up for success. I genuinely believe in its ability to give our students a real sense of ambition and community. From inside the classroom, outdoors on the sporting facilities or further afield such as the streets of Barcelona and fjords in Iceland, the opportunities the school provides here are endless. Personally, I have been extremely fortunate to represent the school in a range of sports I may have never imagined myself playing. It is through experiences, such as having the honour to captain rugby teams, that I have learned the importance of discipline, teamwork and leadership, three values I believe are embedded within our school ethos.
What truly sets JHGS apart is its commitment to developing each individual person within the school. Our motto ‘Quit Ye Like Men’ reminds pupils to be courageous within their actions, act with love, and follow their principles. At JHGS, we do not just use this academically, we show it in how we treat each other and represent both ourselves and the school in the wider community. In more recent years, at JHGS, the ‘#BeMore’ principles have been introduced. As students at JHGS, we are encouraged to embody these values in order to ensure we, as students, can go beyond our comfort zones and embrace new challenges to become the best version of ourselves. Our ‘BeMore’ principles sum up what it means to be a successful student at JHGS, and make the time here worthwhile.
JHGS is a place where leadership is nurtured throughout the entire community. Having the opportunity to involve yourself in extra-curricular activities from the day you walk through the gates of JHGS, and until the day you leave is something that differentiates us from other schools. Perhaps you could get involved in Year 7 and 8 Drama club, both junior or senior debating societies or take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme. At JHGS I truly believe the opportunities available cannot be ignored. In the sporting world of John Hampden, success is evident. Having had memorable achievements in a variety of sports, highlights include: KS5 Squash 2nd in the National Plate Finals, U16s Last 8 in ESFA national football, U14 National State School Champions 7 Sided Hockey, National Handball Finals U13, as well as local success in U12 and U16 County Cup Football Champions, Cricket County Champions in multiple age groups. This success is truly reflective of the commitment and dedication by both staff and students here at JHGS.
Here at John Hampden, we pride ourselves on the success of our performing arts and enrichment programmes, which expand and develop consistently year on year. Recent school productions include Shrek the Musical and Grease, showcasing the genuine talent within our school community, by both those on the stage and behind the scenes. The school's very own student-led AV Team empowers students, giving them real-life exposure to managing lighting, audio and staging. . There has also been notable success by our school’s Bar Mock Trial team, who combined with Wycombe High School students and reached the national finals; a remarkable achievement.
As Head Boy, it is an honour to be able to celebrate the successes of the student body here at John Hampden Grammar School, and I aim to guide and support others throughout their time to ensure that everyone has a chance to shine. I want to be a voice for students across all year groups, and not stand above, but stand beside others to create a community we can all be proud of. Finally, I would like to say that it is a huge privilege to be appointed as Head Boy, and I am looking forward to the year to come.
Guy Forward
Head Boy 2025 - 2026, on behalf of the Student Body