Friday Bulletin

Dear Parents and Carers,

This is my last Friday update as Headteacher at Durham Johnston and I would like to thank all parents, staff and students for their support in my time at the school and, specifically, since becoming Headteacher in 2018. I wrote my first update in January of that year with the intention of offering a weekly overview of what had been happening in school and to, hopefully, reflect our ethos and culture. Looking back, those early updates do offer an insight into the life of the school  at the time and the difference in tone before and after March 2020 is notable. Some of the initial subjects of those bulletins – Napoleon, Japanese football supporters, quite a bit about books and reading, social media concerns, Clint Eastwood’s mule in the ‘Dollars’ trilogy, the Rorschach Test, the school’s history, and goats – now seem a little frivolous with hindsight; issues associated with education became much more urgent during that awful period that followed of isolation, school closure, bubbles, masks and restrictions. In 2020 and 2021 regular communication became much more significant, as there was often contradictory information, confusion and a need to interpret the information being shared with schools and parents. As a teacher, written communication has always been integral to my working week, but being clear, concise and accurate became especially important during those difficult months when schools were closed. I hope that those updates also provided a link to school for parents in particular, as people tried to balance their own work commitments with the difficulties being experienced by their children, who were separated from their teachers and peers. If you were a parent at that time, I hope that those weekly letters and updates were useful and kept you in touch. Or maybe you’d rather look forward not back, as there isn’t much to remember fondly from that period.

I have completed my final 5 assemblies this week with years 7 through to 12, as well as presenting awards at some of our additional celebration assemblies. It has been lovely to hear about the wide-ranging achievements of our students, whether academic or sporting; linked to great progress or their contribution to the lives of others in the school. My year group assemblies have primarily focused upon change, the passing of time and the importance of taking advantage of every opportunity that is offered by the school and in life more generally. They are familiar themes but also integral to a successful education and growing up.

As well as saying goodbye in those assemblies, I have also attended the school’s 36^th Public Speaking Competition and 28^th Sports’ Presentation evening this week. Both highlight the commitment of our teaching and support staff. Parents often ask me at open evenings why I would recommend the school to them and why I feel their child should attend Durham Johnston. I always respond by saying that I wouldn’t recommend the school directly and certainly wouldn’t encourage them to choose Durham Johnston over another school; parents know their child best and what is appropriate for them personally. I’m a Headteacher, not a car salesman. However, if asked what the school does well, I always comment on the fact that, whilst far from being perfect, we are proud of our history and have very experienced and long serving staff who adapt and change, but fundamentally respect what has worked for years. They are consistent and committed to maintaining high standards. I personally came to understand how important those things were by learning from the talented people that I worked for and with between 1997 and 2017. I have tried to build upon those things in my time as Headteacher and have tried to pass them on to all members of our school community.

I started teaching at Durham Johnston in a year when a significant change of government occurred and will leave as a similar changing of the guard takes place. Regardless of the political party involved, I would suggest that they should guarantee stability for the duration of this Parliament and commit to increasing funding for children. They should encourage the widest curriculum opportunities possible, urgently increase resources to support children with a specific need and, above all else, work quickly to end the scandal of child poverty. Hungry children struggle to concentrate and families in need, without access to services, flounder. I hope that the new government advocates for children and prioritises education in our national life, as it can help to shape an integrated, harmonious society, unlock talent and help the country to succeed.

A lot has changed in my time at the school. In my first year I taught in two very old buildings, approximately 2 miles apart. One a 1950s building in Crossgate Moor, the other a down on its luck 1920s building located at Whinney Hill. I have now spent 15 years in a wonderful building, for all its quirks, because politicians chose to invest in education. (And, if you have read (the wonderful) Ben Myer’s recent Guardian article on the impact of the last 14 years on Durham, please note that we don’t turn the heating off in winter! That would be both bizarre and potentially illegal. Part of my job has involved learning to deal with several very strange rumours and misconceptions about the school. I just raise an eyebrow and move on now).

On one of those sites was the school’s sole computer with internet access and using it involved booking a 1-hour slot, as connecting to the internet could take up to 15 minutes. I wrote with chalk on a blackboard, used a bander instead of a photocopier (look them both up millennials) and relied upon books and my imagination to bring history alive in the classroom. Parental communication involved sending and receiving letters and all reports were handwritten. A lot has clearly changed, but I loved teaching my first classes at the schools in 1997 and I have equally loved teaching Year 9 in 2024. The school’s ethos remains the same too, as does a sense of how important education is. I have worked for a series of Headteachers and Governing Bodies and they have all been equally committed to providing a comprehensive education for all children. That approach and ethos will be further cemented by Mrs McFadden and the other teachers and school leaders that step up next. Things will adapt and change, but the unique nature of the school will be maintained. The good things will be passed on.

When referencing the difficulties faced by schools in recent years, a number of parents and staff, with empathy, have commented how unlucky I have been to lead a school through such a turbulent period. I understand that perspective, but I feel nothing but pride and good fortune to have led and represented the school. I have met many people over the years with the drive and ambition to become a Headteacher. I admire that passion. I can honestly say, however, that I never had any desire to take on such a role and was very happy teaching History and working to improve the quality of teaching and learning in the wider school with teaching colleagues. In 2017 I became, by default, the ‘last man standing’ after the school’s Headteacher and hugely experienced Deputy Headteachers retired or left the school. Therefore, I feel very lucky to have served the school in that leadership role.

As of September, I will have the opportunity to work with those training teachers at Newcastle and Durham Universities and that will allow me to return to the job that I have enjoyed most in my career. The scale will be different, but helping to develop the next generation of teachers is hugely exciting. If you are reading this and are bored or unfulfilled in your current job, then train to be a teacher! If you want to make a positive contribution to society as a former student of the school, then choose that path too and work with young people in the Northeast to change their lives for the better. I didn’t make that decision until I was 26 and it is the best professional decision that I have ever made. My love of History and English at school in the 1980s was awakened by great teachers, Miss Salt and Miss O’Shea, and the fact that I can remember lessons that they taught between 1982 and 1987 so vividly highlights the impact that teachers had on me and can have on all children. That’s why teaching matters so much, as one question in class, or one discussion after lesson can set someone on a path that is transformative. Reflecting on my time at Durham Johnston the key thing that I have always tried to do is to make education engaging and enjoyable; from my Newly Qualified Teacher interview in 1997 to this last bulletin in 2024, that has been my consistent aim.

I have regularly written about culture, music and the importance of developing a hinterland in these updates. Reading back through those bulletins, I focus upon my teenage obsession with Paul Weller and The Jam far too much. But everyone has to have their eyes opened by someone, and Paul Weller’s references to poetry, novels, film and music took me on countless journeys to my local library (maybe the new government could bring some version of those back too), gave me a love of culture and developed interests that took me first to college and then to being the first person in my family to go to university. Therefore, my final parental update could be regarded as a beat surrender (and as it was in the beginning, so shall it be in the end), but I’d rather reflect my honest feelings about working at the school as a teacher and then Headteacher.

I had referenced that the main theme of my assemblies this week has been the inevitability of change and that something ending often also means something new starting. Therefore, my advice to all our students, support staff and teachers is something that I have learned in those 27 years; what you give is what you get.  

In my time at Durham Johnston, I have always tried to give as much as possible, and I have been rewarded by receiving so much more in return from our brilliant young people. I will always be appreciative of that.

Thank you too for your kindness over the years. The support of parents is integral to the success of the school, and it is important that I acknowledge that in this final update. 

Have a good summer.

Mr O’Sullivan

---

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

---

We have also been asked to share the following:

Information about Private Fostering