Secondary

With a roll of around 625 pupils, the secondary department provides learning across all curriculum areas by specialist staff. Classes are organised into a 35 period week with registration every morning. Tutor registration groups are grouped by Houses and are made up of S1–6 pupils enhancing our community ethos.

Learning is enhanced through a wide variety of after-school clubs, sports clubs and extra curricular opportunities.

The school day starts at 8:50am and finishes at 3:30pm.

Broad General Education

In S1, children from our own primary department are joined by pupils from our cluster schools, Our Lady’s, St Stephen’s and St Dominic’s, as well as a high number of pupils from non-cluster primary schools.

Pupils in the broad general education have opportunities to develop depth in knowledge and skills across all eight curriculum areas: languages, mathematics, technologies, religious education, social subjects, science, health and wellbeing, expressive arts. Pupils learn through a wide variety of teaching and learning approaches.

Opportunities to transfer learning and skills across curriculum areas are provided by a variety of interdisciplinary learning experiences throughout the broad general education. Literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing are the responsibility of all staff and are developed across the whole curriculum.

Pupils in S3 prepare for the Senior Phase through a wide range of subjects from across all curriculum areas, before choosing the subjects they wish to study at national qualification level.

S1 Course Descriptors (All subjects)S2 Course Descriptors (All subjects)

Senior Phase

The qualifications phase from S4–6 provides pupils with a wide opportunity to study academic and vocational courses as they prepare to leave school and enter positive sustained destinations.

As part of our commitment to developing literacy, numeracy and health and wellbeing for all, pupils in S4 continue to study English, Maths, PE and a health and wellbeing elective. Pupils have the opportunity to choose traditional subjects such as History, Chemistry and French, studying six or seven national qualifications in S4 and a further five qualifications in S5. Alternatively, young people who plan to leave at the end of S4 or S5 can choose a vocational pathway, studying skills for work courses such as Sport and Recreation, Hospitality, Hairdressing and Metalwork. There are further opportunities for bespoke solutions for individual pupils, including through Foundation Apprenticeships in S5. In partnership with Perth College UHI and Perth City Campus, pupils at St John’s RC Academy have access to a wide array of courses in S6 at Advanced Higher and other levels.

All pupils within the senior phase continue to benefit from two periods of PE and RE each week, and S5/6 pupils have an additional health and wellbeing session focused on the transition to adult life. S5/6 PE is delivered jointly with Perth Grammar School as part of our Sports Comprehensive initiative. Pupils continue to be supported through a variety of lunchtime and after-school activities and study classes, and have opportunities to participate in excursions to places of interest such as the Battlefields of World War I.

Leadership opportunities are available throughout all the stages of our school, and culminate in S6 with a wide variety of opportunities for pupils to volunteer to support the needs of the community, through peer mentoring, organising charity and other events and through our House system. Our pupil leaders proudly represent the school regularly within and outwith our school at local and national events.