John Taylor High School is a specialist science and leadership academy located in the East Staffordshire village of Barton-under-Needwood, near Burton-on-Trent.

The school was initially to cater for a maximum of 600 pupils between the ages of 11 and 15 from Barton itself and the nearby districts of Branston, Tatenhill, Yoxall, Edingale, Alrewas and Walton.

The school itself opened to pupils on 23 September 1957, with the John Taylor crest designed by the first art master Mr Harvey.

Under the Tripartite System, John Taylor was classed as a Secondary Modern and catered for local children who did not pass the 11+ examination.

The work was required to accommodate a large expansion in student numbers which resulted from its transition from a Secondary Modern to a Comprehensive in 1972.

[7] However, in September 2009, the old system was replaced with new Houses all named after historic local forests – Kingstone, Marchington, Sherwood and Needwood.

In 2021, Lichfield District Council approved plans for the construction of a further new John Taylor Free School operated by JTMAT on the site of the Rugeley Power Station redevelopment.