WELCOME TO SAINT JOHN BOSCO COLLEGE

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For a tour of the school  phone 0208 246 6001 and for the Sixth Form call 0208 246 6013

Welcome back to our summer term in the peace and joy of Easter!

Dear parents and prospective students. On behalf of our school community I would like to welcome you to our school website which is now available multilingually by choosing your preferred language setting with the tool at the bottom right of this homepage!  Here are a few comments from our recent (January 2012) Voluntary Inspection of the Religious Chatacter of our school.

In terms of bringing together two existing schools the Inspector said "The school has made significant strides to develop community cohesion, within the school (the merging of two different schools); within the locality; nationally; and internationally."

As for our school as a place of prayer the Inspector said "Students reported regular and positive experiences of prayer...They also valued the fact that they had regular opportunities to experience Mass."

Poignantly, "Students were agreed that school feels like a Catholic school, the school was helping them have higher aspirations in both their academic life and their faith." 

We were delighted that after one term both Community Cohesion and Leadership and Management were judged to be good.

It is with great pleasure and much enthusiasm that I am now leading  St John Bosco College or SJBC as we call it. As the only Catholic secondary school in Wandsworth, this is a real opportunity for the Catholic community and to benefit from a new place of learning and I can assure you that staff and Governors alike are committed to making our college an outstanding, and happy, place of learning. Our school is distinctive: a Catholic community in the Salesian tradition where excellent academic progress is matched by exceptional care. (The judgements above from our recent Inspection reflect this!) High expectations are the order of the day – of me, of my staff and of our students. Parents and carers are absolutely key partners in ensuring our success and I will ensure you receive high quality information to help you support your child’s learning. 2012 is an exciting year for us as we open our Sixth Form - the first Sixth Form based in a Wandsworth Catholic school for many years. We  welcome applications from existing SJBC students and external candidates who wish to apply. Simon Uttley, Headteacher

For more information please visit our Latest News Page

16th May 2012 SJBC brings home the medals!

Years 7 and 8 took to the track for the first competition of the season in Wandsworth at Battersea Park Stadium.  After the success of the yr9&10s two weeks ago we had our fingers crossed and were quietly confident.  As ever we weren't  disappointed!  Not only did the students match the success of the older athletes they performed above and beyond our hopes coming away with an amazing 16 medals!!!  Pictured athletes are (top from left to right) Che Ochuboju, Joey fume, Yotam Birhane, John Okafor x2, Nathan Owusu, Shemar Biggs, Brandon Malutshi x2, (front from left to right) Joao Bosa, Tommy Nygen, Emmanuella Aidoo, Irissa Da Silva, Elizabeth Esin, Tamia Stone Martin and Bailey Marshal Telfer.  An absolutely fantastic effort from everyone! Now we are looking forward to the Inter-Salesian Schools competition in Liverpool ! Well done too to the PE Department for all their hard work,

Monday 7th May 2012 Inaugural Round for the SJBC Golf Society

The inaugural round of golf for the SJBC Golf Society. A bit of rain could not dampen the spirits as our first tranche of students enjoyed a few holes as full members of Wimbledon Common Golf Club. We are hoping that many students - especially our girls - will benefit from this membership over the coming years.

Friday 4th May 2012 - SJBC students become members of Wimbledon Common Golf Club

SJBC is delighted to announce a formal partnership with Wimbledon Common Golf Club to develop golf in the school. Offering our students free membership and the opportunity to play at a 'proper' club - with all its high expectations and rituals - we are hoping to develop some great latent talent. Today, Wimbledon, tomorrow The Masters!

Friday 4th May - Year 9 students learn about university life at one of our Partner Universities, St Mary's University College, Twickenham

 A great day was had by all as a large group of our Year 9 students benefit from a visit to our partner university, St Mary's University College, Twickenham. The students enjoyed the opportunity to hear about university life, reflect on their own aspirations, meet real students and eat real university food - all of which received the thumbs up.  SJBC enjoys a formal partnership with St Mary's, University College London and Robinson College, University of Cambridge. St Mary's is one of only a handful of UK universities with a distinct Christian (Catholic) foundation and ethos.

2nd May - Medals haul for SJBC Athletics Team

The athletics season got underway at the Wandsworth Borough Competition for the year 9 & 10 boys and girls.  With every school from the Borough competing this is always a strong event and sees the very best from each school going head to head.  As SJBC's very first athletics event we were hoping for a strong start as this is the beginning of a busy summer on the track.  As ever we weren't disappointed with the entire team performing admirably!  Particular mention goes to those featured above who came back with medals, 2 golds, 3 silvers and 1 bronze.  Well done Garfield Francis, Michal Rybacki, Justin Thompson-Lee, Arkel Whyte and Million Shaun.  In addition Tamia Stone-Martin and Irissa Da Silva both narrowly missed out on medals despite competing against girls a year above them, fingers crossed when they go to the year 7 & 8 competition.    

 Friday 27th to Sunday 29th April- 'The Cheshire Set' - SJBC at National Salesian Schools' retreat, Bollington, Cheshire

Staff and students enjoyed a two night weekend Retreat at Savio House, the Salesian Retreat Centre in Bollington, Cheshire. Our students - looked after by Mr Regan and Ms Mieszkowska - met students from the other UK Salesian schools. Each school gave a presentation reflecting the work of students and there were many actities and discussions throughout the weekend. Great interest was expressed from staff and students of the other schools as to our exciting yet challenging journey to become Saint John Bosco College.

 April 2012 Football Focus

The Saint John Bosco College Year 7 boys football team finished their season in style with a 3-3 draw against Southfields and a 2-1 victory over Ashcroft. In the game against Southfields Joshua Toya, pictured above with the match ball, was the SJBC hero as he showed great composure to score a hat trick in extremely difficult conditions. This capped off a fine season for Joshua, who is a member of the Premier League’s Fulham FC U13 academy and will head to Holland on their tour to compete against Europe’s best club sides this summer.

Against Ashcroft a great all round team display enabled Tiago DiSilva and Johann Holguin to produce the vital strikes that secured victory for SJBC.  

SJBC Year 7 Boys Football Squad: Meli Istrefi, Liam Coyle, Bailey Telfer, Leonardo Fasalojo, Alex Mendonca, Joao Bosa, Sean Mbala, Uriel Caceres, Daniel Doherty, Joshua Toya, Johann Holguin, Richard Amponsah, Calum Warnock, Nana Osei & Nana Ahenkorah.

Tuesday 24th April - SJBC Student wins prestigious award

On Thursday 29^th March at Ashcroft Academy one of our students participated in  the regional finals of the Jack Petchey ‘Speak Out Challenge’ which included 18 talented students who had been nominated from around the borough.

Despite the fierce rivalry Favad Mobariz was awarded 3^rd place for his humorous and entertaining speech titled ‘Whose the spice of your life?’ A great evening was had by all and Favad was presented with his trophy by the Mayoress who is a keen supporter of the event and the opportunities it offers for young people.

Thursday 26th April - SJBC students competing in the UK Junior Maths Challenge

Thursday 20th April - Spring Concert

A fantastic evening was had by all as our talented musicians performed songs and music old and new. Hayden met Beyonce in a tour de force which included a guest piece from our friends from Elliott School with whom we have been collaborating. The Joint Choir was a particular favourite. Many thanks to all our musicians, to Mr Yates (Sound Engineer) and to the wonderful Miss Walder who brought the whole evening together.

Wednesday 28th March - Whole School Numeracy

"With five other Year 11 students, I was lucky enough to be chosen by Mr Uddin to be trained to sit and mentor Year 10 students in the beautiful art of Maths! As a helper to the younger years, we give our students extra help to gain confidence and re-kindle their passion with maths. As we tutor them every Monday & Tuesday, the Year 10’s will pass down their new knowledge to the Year 9’s; a way for new found talents to be taught to other peers who can benefit from this. Personally I am grateful for being selected to play a part in this, as it also take effect into the Year 11’s, gaining new experiences in teaching. It’s really given me a new perspective, and it could be one of my new career choices for teaching!" Article by Michael Semere, Year 11

  Friday 23rd March Year 9 Young Enterprise Day

 A fantastic occasion in which Year 9 students learnt about business and enterprise

 Thursday 22nd March 2012 - Library Event



SJBC students and our Learning Resources Manager, Miss De Valera attended  the 'Fabulous Book Award' ceremony at the Professional Centre in Tooting. Organised by Wandsworth school librarians, the FAB Award is chosen by secondary school students to be given to what they consider to be the best book published the previous year. The highlight of the morning was a talk and question and answer session with Sita Brahmachari, whose first book for young people, Artichoke Hearts, was on the shortlist of potential winning books. The overall winner was announced as Boys Don’t Cry by Malorie Blackman. A great event and many thanks to Miss De Valera for all her hard work!

 15th March 2012 - SJBC Rocks Elliott School!

A triumphant performance from our young musicians at a concert at Elliott School this evening. Well done to all involved and to Miss Walder for (as ever!) her hard work as our musical impresario.

14th March 2012 - Prayer Spaces in the SJBC School Hall

Monday to Wednesday this week we have been offering a space for prayer and quiet reflection for all our students as part of their Lenten preparation. The magical environments pictured here are created by Orison who offer this service to a range of schools.

A range of environments are created in the hall through which students in class groups move, pause and reflect. A time for thinking about the wider world in one area, of thinking about friends and loved ones in another area and for reflecting on each individual's value and uniqueness. The experience is truly hands-on, all our students have experienced it and  have raved about it. One even said it was his best time yet!

14th March 2012  Carry On Camping! SJBC launches its Duke  of Edinburgh Award Group

Expeditions, challenges, community service and skill development are just some of the reasons why the Duke of Edunburgh award scheme is so popular throughout schools across the country. We are delighted to launch the SJBC group and pictured are some of our students learning how to put up a tent. For information for parents about the DofE scheme click here.

9th March 2012 - SJBC win the RFU Emerging Schools Competition at Reigate! 

Click HERE for official Harlequins Press Release!

Great credit must go to the boys from Saint John Bosco College in Year 7 and 8 for winning the school’s first rugby competition on Thursday 8^th March at the RFU’s Emerging Schools Competition held at Old Reigatians RFC Surrey. Most of our boys began their rugby careers only 6 months ago! On their path to the final SJBC had to overcome tough opposition in Reigate School, Christ Church School and St Andrew’s, however a combination of the boys’ outstanding physical power and developing skill set enabled them to overcome these challenges.

In the final against St Andrew’s  the boys demonstrated a huge amount of discipline and character while at one score up and a couples of minutes to go they were able to keep St Andrew’s at bay. Phase after phase as they attacked our line before collectively the pack were able to drive a rolling maul backwards and Nathan Owusu was able to rip the ball out of the grasp of an opponent. Nathan was then able to release Number 8 John Okafor who was able to smash through a couple of St Andrew’s tackles and then offload to outside centre Shamar Biggs to score a breakaway try under the posts, which Jordan Alonge duly converted and victory was there for the boys from SJBC.

Great credit also goes to Mr Henry, our Director of Rugby, for his superb work with our team.

SJBC Squad Alonge, Jordan, Bayne-Browne, Omar, Brafman, Rory, Okafor, John, Almeida, Jaoa, Rzepka, Sebastian, Tucker, Danay, Ndjoli, Glenn, Ochugboju, Che Owusu, Nathan Nkuadio, Kevin Shamar Biggs Bailey Marshall Sean Mbala Gee Schodeler Meli Istrefri

6th March 2012 - Local MP visits SJBC

Jane Ellison, Member of Parliament for Battersea, took time out from her busy schedule and made a special visit to SJBC and was impressed with the good progress being made at the College.

5th March 2012 - The Head of Ofsted learns about the good work at SJBC

The Headteacher briefs the new Head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, on developments at Saint John Bosco during Sir Michael's visit to our Partner University, St Mary's University College, Twickenham.

1st March 2012 - The Trip of a Lifetime to Trinity College, Kandy, Sri Lanka

A group of year 10 and 11 students from SJBC spend a wonderful week in Sri Lanka, as guests of staff and students at Trinity College, Kandy, considered to be the premier private boys' school in Sri Lanka.   The exchange visit was organised through the British Council Global Link Programme.  SJBC has International School Status. The group, led by Mr Obah and Mr Dunne, travelled overnight to Colombo via Dubai and arrived tired, but excited, in the country on Sunday 12 February.

They spent the week visiting sites of local cultural, historic and religious interest as well as enjoying Sri Lanka’s natural beauty.  The visit also enabled the group to spend time working alongside staff and students at Trinity College, one of Sri Lanka’s most prestigious public schools.

The journey back was equally long, with the party arriving back at Heathrow on 18 February after another overnight flight.  The effort was well worth it though and all are keen to return to Sri Lanka in the future and are looking forward to welcoming a group from Trinity College to London in May.

February 25th 2012 - The Quins Partnership Begins! - Year 7 students benefitting from expert rugby tuition from Harlequins RFC

The boys finished third in the 7s tournament hosted by Harlequins School of Rugby after beating Carshalton Boys Sports College in the 3rd &4th  playoff 15-10. Try scores were Joshua Toya (2) & Joey Fumo. Player of the tournament for Saint John Bosco College was Sean Mbala

February 21st 2012 - Cambridge Calling!

Students at our Partner College, Robinson College Cambridge are briefed on applying to Cambridge and life at one of the world's best Universities 

February 1st 2012 - Citizenship Day: Students visit the Houses Of Parliament and Westminster Abbey

Following her visits to Saint John Bosco College we were delighted to receive an invitation to Parliament to spend time with our MP, Justine Greening, during a busy day. Ms Greening spent a long time answering a range of questions from our students before she had to leave for Prime Minister's Question Time. This photo was taken in a room in Portcullis House.

Later in the day students visited Westminster Abbey to see the commemoration of many famous people who have been responsible for building modern Britain. During the day they shared in one of the Acts of Worship as well as visiting famous spots such as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Poets Corner and the Tomb of Henry VII.

January 20th 2012 - MP Justine Greening visits SJBC

 Following a brief visit last term students and staff were delighted to welcome our MP, Justine Greening, for a formal visit. Justine spent a long time with our students where she was keen to learn of their experience in the challenging project of bringing two schools together. Later Justine took a tour of the school where she met many more students and was suitably impresses by what she saw. A real supporter
of our mission, Justine will be returning the invitation by welcoming a number of our students to Parliament in a couple of weeks time. Click here to view press coverage. 

 January 18th  2012 - SJBC Aimhigher Programme sees students visiting University College, London

Year 11 visit to University College London – The London Global University – part of the prestigious Russell Group of elite Universities and ranked in the top 10 in the world. Students from year 11 were invited to visit University College London as part of the SJBC Aim Higher Programme.  This opportunity follows on from our successful visits to St Mary’s University College and South Bank University.  The Aim Higher Programme continues next month with an invitation to visit Robinson College Cambridge.

Our Sixth Form which will open this September will be formally linked to Robinson College via the Cambridge College Area Links Scheme and to St Mary's University College, Twickenham which is one of our Partner institutions.

January 6th  2012 - Quality and commitment ensure we start the year unbeaten. 

The year 7 U12 rugby team played out an exciting fixture on Thursday 5^th Jan away to Ernest Bevin School that ended in a draw, 17 apiece. Try scorers Bailey Marshall-Telfer and Meli Istrefi are pictured above, along with hooker and man of the match Sean Mbala.

Working together all of the boys involved produced a performance of quality and commitment that should be highly commended, which bodes well for the future of rugby at Saint John Bosco College.

15. Daniel Doherty 14. Richard Amposah 13. Nyewuna Amadi 12. Joshua  Toya 11. Tiago DiSilva 10. Bailey Marshall-Telfer 9. Meli Istrefi 1.Elliot Murphy 2. Sean Mbala 3.Nana Akenhorah 4.Leonardo Faslajo 5.Joey Fumo 8.Nana Osei 16. Reuel Auguis (13 aside)

December 16th  2011 - SJBC students receive guided tour at Canizzaro House

Year 11 pupils from SJBC enjoyed a fantastic 'behind the scenes' look at one of South West London's most prestigious hotels.  Manager of Cannizaro House in Wimbledon, Jeff Ward (pictured with our students) gave a talk on Customer Service to the pupils and then took them on a tour of the hotel which has hosted, amongst others, Ant and Dec, Pierce Brosnan and Hugh Grant.   The pupils, studying for the OCR National in Travel and Tourism, were most impressed and have vowed to go back there again - as paying guests next time

  December 12th  2011 - SJBC students look to University and beyond

On a lovely December Friday our students spent a most informative and enjoyable day discovering more about University and Higher Education in general. Our hosts was one of our Official Partners, St Mary's University College in Twickenham. The students are pictured with (dressed casually) members of the University 'Student Ambassadors' who spoke to our students about their experience as well as Mr Uttley and SJBC Higher Education Consultant, Assistant Headteacher Mr Regan. This visit followed an earlier one to South Bank University and will be followed up in the New Year with a visit to Robinson College, University of Cambridge.

 December 6th  2011 - Remembrance Day, a wonderful gift from past pupils of Salesian Battersea

On a beautiful November morning at the conclusion of a Service of Remembrance Mr Nick Potter and Mr Patrick Morrissey present Mr Uttley with a cheque for £2500 from the Past Pupils of Salesian College. (Fr Martin Coyle, Provincial of the Salesians UK who had celebrated the Mass is also pictured).This generous donation was presented to strengthen Chaplaincy provision and will support students travelling to the Salesian Headquarters at Turin and to our partner school.

 December 5th  2011 - Salesian Schools, An international Family

A great thing about being a part of an international family of Salesian schools is welcoming students and staff from all over the world. One such guest was Valdrin Maliqi, a Kosovan student at the ‘Don Bosco Social Education Centre’ in Pristina, Kosovo. Valdrin dropped by to send warm wishes from his school community to ours and is pictured with our students, Deputy Headteacher Mr Dunne and Mr Uttley. Valdrin, speaking excellent English, explained to us how his school had been opened only a few years ago and how its students, many of whom had experienced war and conflict, regard it as an excellent place to study.

December 2nd  2011 - Good Samaritans!

 December 1st  2011 - SJBC Year 7 and 8 Combo Rugby Team beat London Oratory

Following our recent run of good form, the Year 7 and 8 SJBC Rugby team did us proud by beating the London Oratory 45 - 22 in a thrilling game. Well done boys.

November 28th  2011 - SJBC Staff Training Day

 SJBC staff benefitted from an excellent input from Salesian priest, writer and speaker Fr David O’Malley at their recent in service training day. 

November 22nd  2011 - Our Students question Simon Hughes MP during visit to South Bank


Year 11 students on their recent visit to the London South Bank University had the opportunity to meet Simon Hughes,  Deputy Leader of the Liberal Democrats and member of the Coalition Government.  He spoke with them about tuition fees and the challenges facing the government over the forthcoming months.  He was very impressed with the level of questions and interest shown by the SJBC students.

November 22nd  2011 - Headteacher's Commendation

Following the many Open Events and visitors we have had over the last few weeks a number of students were officially recognised as having gone the extra mile – and then some – in helping to make these events a success. Here they are receiving a Headteacher’s Commendation.

November 15th 2011 - visit from the Provincial of the Salesians.

On the 21^st October we had the honour of hosting the Provincial of the Salesians, Fr Martin Coyle, who had made a special journey from Salesian headquarters in the North West of England to be with us. Fr Martin is pictured with some of our senior Prefects together with Mr Regan and Mr Uttley. Fr Martin was delighted with the visit and added ‘I have met some outstanding students today. I am particularly impressed at how the students from the two predecessor schools have come together.”

 November 11th  2011 - Another Special Visit!

We were delighted to welcome our new Director of Education for the Diocese of Southwark, Dr Anne Bamford who made a special visit to SJBC. Once again our students could not fail to impress!

November 4th 2011 - SJBC Golf Society Launched!

On a cool autumn day students from SJBC have clocked up another milestone in the unfolding story of our new school. Focussing on their swing these eager young golfers are beginning what we hope will be a long term love of the game, benefitting from the excellent local driving range. Time will tell if we have a future Rory Mcilroy or Tiger Woods but one thing is for sure, even they had to start somewhere!

October 27th 2011 - Historic Partnership between St John Bosco College and The Istituto Eduardo Agnelli, Turin, Italy

Pictured from left to right Fr John Dickson SDB, Vice Chair of Governors (SJBC), Mr Mark Diekmann, Business Manager, (SJBC), Mr Uttley and his counterpart, Fr Alberto Zannini SDB, Director of the Istituto Eduardo Agnelli.

 The Istituto Eduardo Agnelli is an all-through (ages 3 to 19) Salesian school situated close to the Mother House of the Salesian Congregation in Turin in Northern Italy. This prestigious school offers technical, vocational and academic education and has historic ties with the Fiat Corporation whose factory is a stones throw away. Mr Uttley and Mr Diekmann visited the school this half term as part of a broader visit to important sites in the history of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

 SJBC and the Agnelli School are committed to offer a range of opportunities for both our schools including student exchanges, joint projects using multimedia and remote conferencing. Most importantly Fr Zannini and Mr Uttley pledged to offer each of their respective school communities the opportunity to understand the importance of the teachings of Don Bosco to young people throughout Europe and beyond.

 We look forward to welcoming students from the Agnelli School in the Spring with a reciprocal visit shortly thereafter.

October 10th 2011 - Salesian Student Gathering including students from SJBC.

Salesian students from Bootle, Bolton, Farnborough, Croxteth, Chertsey and Wimbledon took part in the 8th Salesian Student Leadership Gathering. They met in Savio House from October 7th to October 9th 2011.

These weekends have gained a remarkable momentum and this proved to be the most popular with over 70 students accompanied by staff attending. The students were a great credit to their schools and enjoyed the opportunity to share their leadership experiences and forge new friendships.

This was also the inaugural visit for Saint John Bosco College, Wimbledon, and for many of the students their first experience of the Salesian network of schools.