An independent Cardiff school has taken extra space at Eastern Business Park after a seeing a significant increase in student numbers.
St John’s College, a day school for 3-18-year-olds, has had a university-style campus for its sixth-form students since 2018 at EBP in St Mellons, owned by Robert Hitchins Ltd.
Now, following a 30 per cent increase in its enrolment, the school has taken another 4,500 sq ft at the site to provide additional study areas and three new fully-equipped science laboratories.
Francis Taylor, Director of Co-curriculum and Digital Learning at St John’s College, said both the school and the students have benefitted from being based in a business environment at Eastern Business Park.
“The College has invested heavily in new state-of-the-art science laboratories within the new, additional ground-floor suite. These outstanding spaces provide our students with university-level facilities, preparing them for higher education and future careers. This further investment at Eastern Business Park strengthens the College’s commitment to providing the highest quality A Level education, whilst also supporting a local business site,” he said.
Students have access to all the facilities the park has to offer, including the Energie Fitness gym, Milk & Sugar restaurant and green open spaces.
Mr Taylor said: “The students enjoy mixing with the staff of the businesses located in the park and some have undertaken work experience in these organisations.
“It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to experience the independence of a campus environment before university.
“Having the campus has also helped us attract a wider range of students from the UK and overseas, including from Europe and Asia.”
John Jones, Senior Asset and Development Manager at Robert Hitchins Ltd, said: “We were delighted to hear the College wished to take further space at Eastern Business Park, and their new laboratories add a further dimension to our unique offering in Building 3.
“The students make use of the facilities on the Park and are always professional, polite and a credit to the College. We look forward to welcoming more students from around the world to experience the Park and our unique offer to those seeking a business location with a difference.”
In 2022 St John’s College was named the Best Independent School in Wales for Academic Outcomes by the Sunday Times, and this year is a finalist in the Cardiff Life Awards education category.
The school offers a large co-curricular programme, as well as wide-ranging opportunities in sport, music, drama and chess. It is the choir school to Cardiff Metropolitan Cathedral.
