There was no place like St John the Baptist’s College as pupils took to the stage for their spectacular production of The Wizard of Oz. This much-loved classic transported our audience from Kansas to the magical Land of Oz, featuring all the unforgettable characters — Dorothy, Scarecrow, Tin Man and the Cowardly Lion — as they followed the yellow brick road in search of home, a brain, a heart and some courage! Our talented cast and crew, drawn from across the school, have been working tirelessly to bring this vibrant story to life through song, dance and dazzling costumes and this evening - under the direction of the school’s performing arts team, this evening’s production was a visual and musical treat for all. Mrs Murray, Principal said, “We are so proud of our pupils for their dedication, creativity and teamwork. The Wizard of Oz captures the magic of community and belonging and friendship — values we hold dear at St John the Baptist’s College.” Special thanks to our production team Mrs McConville, Mrs Van de Westhuizen, Miss Seeley, Mrs Wardell, Mr Watters, Mrs Rafferty, Mrs Coyne, Nicole, Shay and Mrs Leathem for their unwavering dedication in making this evening so special along with our sound and light team Mr Jim McConville, Mr Declan McAtarsney, Mr Enda McCusker and our brilliant choreographer Mrs Nikki O-Hara-Murphy. A massive thank you also to our sponsors and contributors, JPM Motors, McKeever Sports, Commercial Property Let, Phoenix Players, KT Dance, Fusion Theatre, BSPA, Banbridge Musical Society, Building Bridges and Moyraverty Arts and Drama Society. And finally, we extend our sincere thanks to our pupils, their families, community members and governors, who came along this evening to support our school performance. It was a wonderful celebration of our pupils’ creativity and talent, an evening of music, laughter and magic — because there truly is no place like SJBC!

A Chairde,   

It gives me immense pleasure to introduce myself as the Principal of St John the Baptist’s College (SJBC). We are now entering our eigth year having officially launched as a new co-educational all-ability school on 1^st September 2017. I feel incredibly proud and privileged to be leading such a highly talented and dedicated team of staff who are fully committed to ensuring that “every child is valued, nurtured and empowered to excel”.  

St John the Baptist’s College was launched initially as a Key Stage 3 model but as a rapidly growing and very successful school, SJBC was re-designated as an 11-16 school in April 2021. This changed status enables our pupils to remain with us through to the end of their GCSE journey and as the school continues to thrive it is our intention to achieve 11-18 status which would see our pupils studying A Levels within the college also.   

Our school is located in the heart of the Portadown community but welcomes students from an array of neighbouring towns and villages. We strongly value our close links with a growing partnership of feeder primary schools with whom we liaise very closely to plan for a seamless transition from primary to post-primary as well as sharing expertise, resources between our local schools for the benefit of all.