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County Football Champions!
We came away from last week’s finals as both Year 8 and Year 10 County Football Champions! Many congratulations to both tea...
Posted / 27/03/26
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
Having experienced life at JHGS from Year 7 through to Sixth Form, I can wholeheartedly say that my time here has been a positive journey like no other.
At John Hampden, students are constantly encouraged to collaborate, share ideas, and gain a deeper understanding of the world around them. From personal experience, I have had the opportunity to connect with different cultures and languages: whether walking through the streets of Barcelona, standing beneath the Eiffel Tower, or experiencing new traditions elsewhere. These moments highlight just how far the school extends learning beyond the classroom.
Whether your son is an athlete, musician, actor or even a future astronaut, there is a place for everyone at JHGS. There is a real sense of community. It is what sets the school apart.
This is reflected in the wide range of societies, clubs, and activities offered, all designed to inspire engagement and enthusiasm. Whether it be debating current economic issues in society, developing strategic thinking over a game of chess, performing on stage, or representing the school in one of the many successful sports teams, every student is encouraged to step beyond their comfort zone.
This ethos is rooted in the school's foundations, particularly in our motto “Quit ye like men”, encouraging students to act with maturity, strength and character in order to leave JHGS as better versions of themselves not only in an academic sense but also as men of society. As an older student at the school, the "Be More" principles have become ingrained in my life here at JHGS.
It is a true privilege and honour to be selected for the role of Head Boy, and I am extremely excited about the rest of this year and next.
Tao Liverpool
Head Boy 2026 - 2027, on behalf of the Student Body