Established as an old grammar school in 1960, Berkshire Education Committee named JMS after sixteenth-century intellectual, diplomat and spy Sir John Mason, whose picture can be found hanging in the school hall. He was born in Abingdon and educated at the nearby Abingdon School. Coincidentally, the first Headteacher of JMS, Derrick Hurd, went on to become Head at Easthampstead Park School based on the estate of which John Mason was the keeper in 1548. Situated on Wootton Road, John Mason is centrally located in a four-way partnership of Abingdon schools known as 14:19 Abingdon. The other members are Larkmead School, Fitzharrys School and Abingdon and Witney College. The four partners share Sixth Form lessons. John Mason has approximately 1000 students as of 2017. Mrs Sarah Brinkley began as the school's new headteacher in 2015.
The three schools in the Consortium were granted Specialist School Status in 2004. John Mason focused on visual arts which meant it received greater funding from the government to provide specialist equipment. In 2006 JMS opened the 06 Gallery, a new construction reflecting the specialism and featuring much of the students' artwork. Previously a community school administered by Oxfordshire County Council, John Mason School converted to academy status on 1 February 2014. However the school continues to co-ordinate with OxfordshireCounty Council for admissions.
Houses
The school has three houses, Stert, Ock, and Thames, of the colours red, green and blue respectively. There was a fourth house, Isis, but this was dissolved in 1993. The houses are named after watercourses in the town of Abingdon.
Positive performance
According to the Department of Education 2011 breakdown of A-level results, John Mason were the sixth best in the UK for performance in mathematics, with 38% of students getting A* grade. In 2013, then-Education Secretary Michael Gove praised John Mason as "a school that, under a particularly inspirational head, is taking very very positive steps to provide students with a range of qualifications and the type of education that is relevant to the modern world."
The Welsh Farm
The school owns a farm, generally known as the Welsh Farm, at Troedyrhiwgellifawr near the village of Pumsaint and the town of Llandovery in Wales. Students commonly undertake a four-day trip and some have the option to revisit for a Geography Fieldwork trip or a Triple ScienceObservational Cosmology Trip and in Year 12. The John Mason Association owns and runs the farm, which is visited by nearly all students.
