St John's School Billericay Review

[Yokoonu]

We are thinking of taking our son to St John's School Billericay primary. Is there any recent reviews about the school. Thanks

When was the last ofsted?

They are an independent school so regulated by ISI, which was done 2020.

I was looking for feedback from parents, students, etc. I didn't want to rely solely on the inspection report.

Is there anyone who can give an honest feedback or review?

Thanks

Ah it was use of the word “primary” rather Than “prep” that made me assume state

Hello

My daughter just finished her GCSEs from the school and to be honest I won’t recommend the school to my worst enemy.
The school does not push students and leave them to their own defences. If not for my daughter’s determination she would have failed her GCSEs.
The reviews were over 7 years ago which should give you a clue.
If you are able to I would send her to woodlands or Brentwood. But stay CLEAR of this school.

Thanks, your feedback has been useful and confirmed my suspensions.

@Yokoonu how old is your child and what school did you end up at?
I am actually in the process of transferring my child to St John's Year 9. I have been very surprised though at the absence of online reviews or word of mouth and so glad I came across this thread.

@Iyawo2005 did your child go through all of secondary school there? And were there other things you didn't like apart from the lack of academic push and did you consider withdrawing your child?

Please am looking into enrolling my daughter into St Johns School, Billericay (secondary). Can any current parent please provide a review on the academics and overall learning. They don't many reviews on the internet on the school and 1 or 2 not great ones here. Am just conflicted with these reviews and it will be nice to hear some positives if any. Thank s

My DD went here for years 7-9. It was beyond awful. They do not push for results and the local high schools get better results( don't be fooled with their results page- they do not use the same yardstick as state schools have to.) It is very small,so no where near the opportunities for friendships if you fall out with someone.
DD a moved to Brentwood Independent for years 10- 13 and it was worlds apart from St Johns.

Not sure about the prep school- I think they do 11+ prep for local grammars but the high school,part is awful!

Thank you @KnottyKnitting this is very helpful. I've recently met with a current mum of St John's who mentioned the lack of academic push and size vs managing fall outs from friendship groups.

I have reached out to Brentwood School but they have said they haven't had any spaces yet in my DD year group since they're intake in year 7.

How was the transition in year 10? Just thinking about if it is worth moving after year 9.

The transition was pretty smooth. My DD was lucky as she had friends at Brentwood before she started. The staff were totally amazing at getting her settled in. She had some minor health issues which could affect her learning sometimes and all the staff were aware the minute she walked in the door. (Unlike St Johns who had to be repeatedly reminded...)

She was also quite behind with some of her subjects and they put all sorts of support in to help her catch up.

I agree with others that this school is academically awful, no drive at all to get good results, ironically also no drive to make children into nice people. Here's my review!

St John's is a terrible school when dealing with soft skills like kindness and empathy. They do a great job selling a happy school that's like a family. unfortunately our experience couldn't be further from this image. Our daughter was emotionally bullied over a period of 2 years with the school refusing to do anything but allow the girls to do whatever they wanted.
If you are lucky enough to have a child who doesn't run into any bullies then you will be fine, if not be warned. If you think this is just an unwarranted attack please take a look at the report on their own website and read the section on bullying, very similar experience to ours. In the end the school made it almost impossible for her to go in and we were forced to move her schools. Thankfully we did as she is starting to return to the happy girl we sent to st john but they wouldn't look after. They are also very old fashioned in there teaching approach, they don't have any robust methods of tracking progress and enduring pupils are achieving their potential. They use very little technology to engage the students.

Also look at Thorpe Hall in Southend. Much better

Thanks @Pwallace50 . You have again confirmed as with many parents on their academics and pastoral care. I am happy to have done some research before sending our DD off to the school. I spoke to another parent in trying to make our decision and it was the same comments. We have decided not to take the offer with St John’s and send her to another school. It’s worrying why a fee paying school like them, do not want to ensure the best and stay competitive all round.

When my DD was at a state secondary school in Billericay many of her friends had been at St John's Prep but changed to her state school for year 7. Make of that what you will. St John's does not have a good reputation locally.

i think with every school there are positives and negatives, my experience is fine for the money we paid my children are doing well. I did find i had to top up with extra tuition ...looking at the current year 11's this year will be their best set of results...this year they are bringing home the 9's...

I have heard of all schools different families having massively different experiences so will always get that and I don’t mean to take away from those posting above, but to give some balance/ difference experiences, although not relating to the prep school, I will share our experience. My daughter is in year 7 so early days, she started in sept 24. She absolutely loves school. To me it seems balanced between academics and wellbeing. My daughter has told me countless little stories of teachers going out of their way to be kind & encouraging. She likes all her teachers so is happy going to school. She also has mentioned a few things where they have been pulling her up and getting her to aim a bit higher & there has been a focus on what you do now feeds into your gcse results. I love that the PE teachers seem genuinely motivated to make it fun and inclusive for everyone, not just those who are great at sport. Overall we are very happy so far with St John’s. From what I can tell about half the students from the prep school stayed on and the parents I have spoken to at pick up etc, that have kids that stayed on from prep, seem really happy with the school. My daughter doesn’t like huge busy places, although she’s quite outgoing, so felt st johns was better for her than Brentwood, and she is definitely benefiting from being in sets for maths and English & also small classes.

I have a child in prep school where there is a focus on growth. If there are concerns, the teachers are ready to help, support, and advise. I am one of those pushy parents who want my child to be well-rounded, both academically and in extracurricular activities. I would suggest St. John's to any of my friends. I cannot advise people I do not know; it is up to them to do their own research and form their own conclusions.

My daughter was also bullied at St John's for sometime and nothing was done about it. We made the decision for her own safety, to pull her out. Please do consider another school, do your research and understand that this school do not favour white families over the bullies.

I’m a children’s author, who’s visited 100s of schools, and want to say that my 2026 visit showed that St John's is one of the very best.

Why? What was immediately striking about St John’s was the atmosphere – friendly, confident, and yet calm. I was welcomed first by Jenny with a smiling warm welcome. (She was typical of the staff: a published history book writer, dressed on this Book Day, as a cat – empathetic, clever, fun). Performing my assemblies, I was struck how the tolerant fun culture had spread to the pupils: they were creative, enjoying themselves, but respectfully quiet, when asked. Reading their stories, I was struck by the advanced levels: Year 3s were working at a level I’d expect from Year 5 – work that was correct, but creative.
How was this achieved? Often visiting schools, one is struck by an atmosphere that feels manic, tense, even a touch paranoid: St John’s was notable for the culture of trust and genuine respect. Sitting correcting stories, I was struck by evident friendship amongst staff, who talked with such enthusiasm about their pupils, and the ideas I’d brought in for the day.I particularly liked Ms Littlefield, who’d expertly managed me for the day, and Hannah, teaching drama, but a wonderful goodwill had spread amongst the whole community.

What do you want for your children? If it’s highly qualified staff, who love their work, able to empathise with children, giving them space to grow into their own talents – then my sense is that this is as good a choice as you’ll find.