Impact of COVID-19
We had six months of normal teaching of our Year 12 in 2019-20 including formal mock exams in January. Classroom lessons ceased on 20th March 2020 as we went into the national lockdown. At this point we ensured that all students had textbooks and access to materials we posted on the internet. For some students this meant sharing laptops or tablets with parents and/or siblings and others were reliant on mobile phones. We were therefore unable to offer live lessons and relied on using Microsoft Teams; posting documents, PowerPoints etc. and some learning resource websites. Work completed was submitted and feedback given. This was done to provide the normal working time and so that students could keep up the schedule of our schemes of work. Higher Education guidance was provided through the school website and made extensive use of on-line resources generated by UCAS and a range of HE providers.
Between 15th June and 15th July we continued on-line provision and had limited numbers of sixth form students back on site in rotation. All students had a half-day workshop session to review their on-line learning, to launch our EPQ programme and to give guidance on the UCAS application process. In addition each subject had one or two lecture style sessions of about two hours with their cohort to consolidate the on-line work and launch any non-exam assessment tasks.
All controlled condition internal and external assessments were cancelled during this time.
Lessons recommenced on 4th September 2020. We have prioritised classroom time. We have therefore not held a series of mock exams nor suspended our timetable for the usual sessions on higher education guidance.
Our 2020 summer examination grades were generated using previous year’s results in line with ASCL guidance. They were therefore not inflated.
UCAS predicted grades
Students have been assessed to exam board standards using exam board assessment elements under exam conditions in lesson time. This has informed our UCAS predicted grades.
Description of the School and Community
Type of School: Durham Johnston is a state comprehensive school of 1700 11-18 year olds where we aim to give our young people the qualifications to open all the doors in the world to take their place among the best, globally and nationally. Founded in 1901as a grammar school by a bequest from a radical Scottish educator – James Finlay Weir Johnston – we fulfil his aim to provide free, useful, secular and scientific education to girls and boys, rich and poor in Durham City and the former mining villages beyond.
Contextual Information about Durham Johnston School:
The sixth form intake is very mixed and includes some more affluent areas and some of the most deprived areas in the country. 15% pupils overall are in receipt of Free School Meals and about 10% of sixth formers are in receipt of additional financial aid through the national discretionary bursary scheme.
Academic Details
Size of Graduating Cohort: 180
We offer an A level based curriculum. Most subjects offer the opportunity to take an AS at the end of the first year. Most of our students take four courses in the first year and at the end of this they generally take Advanced Subsidiary (AS) assessments in one course and then focus on three subjects in the second year. Only about 10% complete four A levels and very few take five. Each course takes five hours of classes per week over an average thirty-six week year. Classes vary in size, classroom subjects are up to 30 students and practical subjects such as sciences recruit up to 22.
Grade Distribution
|
A-Level Results |
Percentage of Students Receiving Result UK-Wide in 2019 |
Percentage of Students Receiving Result at Our School in 2019 |
|
A* |
8% |
20% |
|
A |
18% |
31% |
|
B |
26% |
25% |
|
C |
24% |
16% |
|
D |
15% |
6% |
|
E |
7% |
2% |
*2020 grades did not follow the usual distribution nationally due to COVID-19