Welcoming Rhys Paterson: Our New Development Director

With a strong commitment to youth development and a rich background in charity fundraising, Rhys is set to lead the fundraising campaign for our new bursary programme, enhancing opportunities for children and young people in our community to access a St John’s education. Rhys spoke to the Parents’ Association earlier this term and has already started looking at ways in which we can raise funds for the School going forward. It is a pleasure to introduce him more widely to the parent body.

Rhys’s career is rooted in a deep passion for helping young people. Before joining St John’s, he worked with the Tower Hamlets Youth Sport Foundation, who through Rhys’ guidance supported over 20,000 children in 400 schools per year. Before that he was at Alzheimer’s Research UK, where he honed his skills in fundraising and development, raising a substantial amount for the charity. His prior expertise in business development and experience as a former police officer at Charing Cross provide him with a unique perspective on collaboration and community engagement.

Residing in Foxton with his wife and 18-month twin daughters, Rhys enjoys football, rugby (a nod to his Welsh heritage), golf, fishing and playing the guitar. A fun fact about him: he famously serenaded his wife during his wedding speech with a mashup of Busted songs—her favourite band!

“I’m excited and proud to be at such an amazing school. I understand there will be many questions as with anything new, but I feel passionate that once up and running the new bursary fund will enable us to support deserving children and families. In addition to the bursary programme, I plan to enhance alumni and parent engagement through the launch of a new St John's College School Community Portal. This platform will provide a space for alumni, ex-parents, and current families to connect, share memories, and stay informed about events, clubs, career opportunities and view galleries celebrating our school’s vibrant history. It’s a fantastic opportunity for former students to reminisce and reconnect with friends from their time at St John's. This will launch in the new year along with our development brochure and campaign detailing all the new ways of giving to the school to help create the bursary fund.

In the meantime, I’m really happy to announce that we have partnered with Run for Charity, an organisation who help with charity entries to runs, cycles, bungee jumps and lots more fundraising events. We are looking for runners to join the SJCS Cambridge Half running team, with funds raised from this event going towards our bursary programme. I’m happy to say many staff have entered the event and we can now offer out places to any parents or friends of the school wanting to support us. This event is sold out to the public, but we still have charity places available…. So don’t miss out!”

To enter the Cambridge Half and support the school please follow this link:

https://runforcharity.com/st-johns-college-school/cambridge-half-marathon/871193

I really hope you share in my vision for our amazing school and of course if you do have any questions or want to have a conversation please do get in touch with me: on rpaterson@sjcs.co.uk.”

We are excited to have Rhys Paterson on board as Development Director. His vision for St John's College School, coupled with his extensive experience and passion for youth development, promises to bring exciting new opportunities for our students and community. There will be further information in the new year about the Community Portal and an official launch of our fundraising campaign. We look forward to your support if you are able as we embark on this journey together!