20 January 2023
Dear Parents & Carers,
Thank you to all those parents, carers and students who attended Monday’s options evening. It was a very positive night, and it was good to discuss next steps so widely. It was also encouraging that so many of you supported our view that students should choose subjects that they enjoy, are good at and keep their options open for further study or employment at 16 and 18. Mrs McFadden and Miss Davies also met with the parents and carers of our students in Year 9 with a special educational need to ensure more detailed and specialised guidance. Thank you to all those who attended for making that such a positive session too. Choosing subjects can be very difficult for students and, as we consistently referenced on Monday, it is important that students continue to ask for support and guidance; they don’t need to make their final choices until Friday 17th February 2023 and we are very keen to discuss the process with them.
You will be aware of very important announcements this week in relation to teachers taking national industrial action because of concerns in relation to pay and a wide range of other issues. All County Durham schools are currently working with the Department for Education and the Local Authority in order to make contingency plans. It would be wonderful if there were some manner of negotiated, national resolution before the first of the 4 proposed days for industrial action, but that seems very unlikely based upon other ongoing action taking place in the NHS and other parts of the public sector. At present one of the two largest teaching trade union (NEU) has met the threshold for industrial action and one other hasn’t (NASUWT). In addition, neither of the two trade unions that represent Headteachers and School Leaders (ASCL and NAHT) are taking industrial action. This means that not all teachers have voted to take industrial action and we will now need to plan carefully to identify what level of service we can offer on the key dates outlined below. Workers within the Department for Education and Ofsted also intend to strike in February, underlining the wide-ranging nature of the action. I know that many of you reading this will have gone through a similar process recently, with a great many of you also working in professions that are in similar circumstances. These situations are never straightforward, and we are currently thinking about how best to support our students and families on those key dates.
The 4 proposed days that will affect schools in the North East are:
- Wednesday 1 February 2023: England and Wales.
- Tuesday 28 February 2023: North East England, North West England, Yorkshire & The Humber.
- Wednesday 15 March 2023: England and Wales.
- Thursday 16 March 2023: England and Wales.
Whilst I think it is very important to share the above dates with all members of our community, please be clear that it does not mean that the school will be either fully open or closed on those dates. I will write to all parents and carers next week outlining our contingency plans for Wednesday 1st February, the first proposed day. That communication will be sent directly to parental email accounts and will also be shared via the website. We will also share our plans with students via form teachers. Please update your email address if it has changed by contacting the school and we will ensure clarity on how the proposed industrial action will affect the school day.
Have a good weekend.
Mr O’Sullivan
What is my child learning?
In the Learning section of our website you can find guidance on what every student at the school is studying. As well as an overview of our curriculum and principles behind it, you can find an overview of each subject area. You can also find a guide to the content being covered in every subject and how you can support your child for each half term here: Year 7 | Year 8 | Year 9 | Year 10 | Year 11 | Year 12 | Year 13
Sixth Form Subject Support for Year 11
As we approach the last months of GCSE courses, we are as ever keen to support all of our students in their preparations for examinations. This term we have launched a Sixth Form study support scheme where all of Year 11 were given the opportunity to be paired with a Sixth Form student for support in Maths, English or Science. We have been very pleased with the uptake from both sides, demonstrating our older students' admirable attitude to public service as well as their commitment to academic excellence. All those in Year 11 who chose to take part in the scheme have been paired with a student in Year 12 or 13 who will help them revise each week during a lunchtime.
Mr Horrocks
Whole School Intervention Lead
Sixth Form Notices
Please click the link below to read the weekly digest of news and information for Sixth Form Students.
Drama Production
The drama production has had to be postponed until Thursday 9th of February.
“Fears” KS3 Drama Production
Thursday 9th of February
6-6.45 p.m. Year 7 and 8 plays
7-7.45 p.m. Year 9 play
Year 7 and 8 students must be in school by 5.30 pm and can leave in the interval, unless they want to stay and watch the Year 9 production.
Year 9 students must return to school at 6.30 pm.
Tickets are £1 concession and £2 adults, payable on the door.
Ms Ayrey
Subject Leader, Drama
Music Notices
Stage & Screen Concerts
Rehearsals are now well underway for our 'Stage & Screen' Concerts on Wednesday 29th March and Friday 31st March. If you have a pupil who plays in any of the school ensembles, please do check that these dates are in your diary. Please also note that the dress rehearsals for these concerts will be on Monday 27th and Tuesday 28th March.
We are looking for a number of soloists for each concert. Pupils who are interested in performing at one of these concerts, preferably an item that ties in with our theme, should see me. We do anticipate that we will have lots of interest in this, and will therefore have to make a selection, but remember that the Music Festival takes place after Easter so anyone who does not get chance to perform at the concert, will be able to take part in this.
Evensong
We are delighted that Chamber Choir will return to Durham Cathedral on Monday 23rd January to sing the service of Evensong, following excellent performances from all our choirs and Senior Orchestra at the Cathedral Carol Service. It would be great to have friends, family and other supporters in the congregation on this occasion. If you would like to attend, please arrive by 5.15pm. The service, which is quiet and contemplative in nature, begins at 5.30pm and will last about 45 minutes. Visiting choirs are often invited to sing at the Cathedral services, but as far as we know, we are the only state school to do so.
Samling Workshop
Yesterday, more than 50 of our musicians took part in a workshop organised by the Samling Institute for Young Artists. This charity, based in the North East, helps young people who live or study in the region to find and develop their talent for classical singing. Singers aged 14–21 explore all aspects of classical singing and develop wider performance skills, led by expert vocal coaches, song pianists, actors and movement specialists. Josephine (Year 10) and Sarah (Year 13) bravely volunteered to take part in a masterclass, and everyone enjoyed watching the professionals perform. We were also treated to some rather challenging musical and mental warmups as part of the workshop.
Mr Holmes
Subject Leader for Music
PE News
After a very successful ski-trip last week (have a look at our Twitter feed @djcspe1 to see what we got up to!) fixtures have restarted this week.
It has been an excellent week for our Year 7 boys’ basketball team. On Tuesday they travelled to Hermitage for the Area tournament. They won all their matches conceding only 3 baskets to become Area champions. Player of the tournament was Louis Burke. On Wednesday we took on Dame Allan's in a friendly. The scores were level with only 5 minutes to go. However, we scored three late baskets to win by 6 points. Finally, yesterday we hosted the Durham Junior NBA tournament. We maintained our 100% win record, scoring 50 points and only conceding 4 points to win the tournament and reach the play-offs.
On Tuesday, our Year 10 futsal team were at Easington for the county finals. They beat Hurworth 12 - 3 and the hosts 8 - 2 to be crowned Regional Champions. Player of the tournament was Alex Graham.
Also on Tuesday, our Year 9 netball team hosted St Bede's and secured a convincing 10 - 1 win. Following that, our Year 8 team made the short journey to Durham School where we won 24 - 13. Player of the match for Year 9 was Liv Richardson and Harriet Howe for Year 8.
Netball continued yesterday as our Year 7 team took part in the Area tournament at the Louisa Centre. This was an outstanding afternoon of high-quality netball. We remained undefeated until we met the eventual winners Hermitage, where we lost a very close game by 1 goal. A great achievement to finish runners up.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE