31 January 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s been a busy few days in school with the upside that I have lots of to write about despite it being my second bulletin this week!
The week started with the fantastic news that Durham Johnston has once again been recognised in the School Sport Magazine list of the top 200 sporting school in the country, reaching 59th place. This a brilliant achievement that celebrates the array of talent, dedication and hard work of our incredible students as well as the staff in school who give up their time to support and develop them.
Sixth Form students have been reflecting on their futures this week as representatives from Newcastle University spoke to them in assembly about student finance, support for tuition fees and accommodation; this is part of our ‘Preparing for Higher Education’ programme in the Sixth Form to ensure students make informed decisions about their future and know that higher education is achievable for all. Our Sixth Form is integral to the wider school community, and our students regularly exemplify our core values and are role models for lower school. An example this week was a group of students who had recently visited Auschwitz leading our school wide Holocaust Memorial Day commemorations. It was encouraging to see the younger students reflecting on the lessons from the past and thinking outside their world.
Later in the week, we had confirmation that 12 of our Year 13s have received offers to study at Oxford and Cambridge in September 2025. Both universities have a highly competitive application process, and these students are representative of our comprehensive school, coming from a wide range of backgrounds and circumstances; we are genuinely thrilled for them. Where there’s success there is always disappointment, and we are also very proud of our students who are demonstrating resilience as they take stock and remember there is not just one path to reaching their goals.
This fortnight there has been a focus on wellbeing for our community and Year 7 in particular have stepped up with their ‘random acts of kindness’. These have included writing letters to local care home residents, donating toys to One Point, appreciation cards and being kind to their peers. We have also had a visit from ‘Investing in Children’ as part of the process of renewing our award. This gives organisations national recognition for actively including children and young people in dialogue that results in change. It involved hearing directly from children and young people in school, giving them a voice to contribute to changes in our work with them. It was lovely to see our students talking with such confidence to external visitors. All year groups next week will have assemblies led by an emotional resilience nurse. This is all part of our inclusive offer around mental wellbeing for our students.
As we approach the halfway point in the academic year, week 19 of 39, it is a good point to take stock of all that we, as a community, have achieved since the start of term and what we want to achieve in the remaining weeks. I had a lovely morning visiting Year 7 forms and asking them to reflect on their Durham Johnston experience so far. I asked them what was the best thing about the first half of Year 7. There was a flurry of hands and lots of enthusiasm as they shared their highlights – events such as the spooktacular, extracurricular opportunities, new friends, facilities. Regular readers of this bulletin will not be surprised to hear that the school dinners once again featured significantly; they were full of praise for the choice, quality and of course the gravy! I’m starting to think they are on the kitchen staff’s payroll... I also asked what they were most looking forward to for the rest of the year. Answers included the upcoming Beamish trip, “Beat the Chasers” and one student was super excited to get to make her language choices (she is picking French and German in case you're interested). Food did feature again but this time it was excitement about them doing the cooking in Food technology. All in all, it was a great start to the day; seeing the school through their eyes reminds me to keep focused on who is at the heart of our school.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs McFadden
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 Assessment Calendars, and 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
Classics News
On Wednesday afternoon, we were delighted to welcome Prof Serafina Cuomo from Darwin College, Cambridge to talk to us about Classics and Maths. This was the third in our series of "Classics and..." talks which are designed to investigate the links between the study of the ancient world and other areas of the school curriculum. Prof Cuomo discussed Pythagoras' theorem - whether Pythagoras actually discovered it, how the theorem has come down to us and other formulations of the same mathematical principle that have been found in other places in the ancient world. Ranging from a Babylonian cuneiform tablet from the second millennium BC to Egyptian papyrus fragments and mediaeval manuscripts from both the Greek and Arabic traditions, we considered the ways that maths was used, taught and valued in antiquity. The talk was attended by 45 students from DJ, Teesside High, Newcastle High School for Girls and Framwellgate School. We are hoping to have our next talk early in the summer term - please let me know if you have any suggestions for areas that you would like to hear about.
Mrs Bothwell
Languages Department
Music Notices
Chamber Choir Evensong
We are delighted that Chamber Choir have again been invited to sing Evensong in Durham Cathedral. Visiting choirs, including school choirs, are often invited, but we believe that we remain the only state school choir ever to have sung the Service in Durham Cathedral. The service will take place next Monday (3rd February) at 5.30pm. All are welcome to attend - please be seated by 5.20pm, and it will last about 45 minutes. We will be singing music by Martin Neary, George Dyson, Samuel Wesley and Daniel Friderici, and we will be accompanied on the organ by the Cathedral's own Sub-Organist, Mr Joseph Beech. It would be great to have some supporters in the congregation, but the service is also live-streamed on the Cathedral's YouTube channel if you wanted to tune in!
Spring Concerts
Our two concerts this term will take place on Wednesday 2nd April (Wind Band, Junior Orchestra, Junior Choir & Soloists), and Thursday 3rd April (Senior Choir, Senior Orchestra, Chamber Choir & Soloists). The theme is 'Greatest Hits' so prepare to hear top tunes from the past five centuries! Tickets will be on sale after half-term at the usual inflation-proof prices of £4 and £2 (concessions). Pupils who might like to perform a solo in either concert should contact Mr Holmes. A reminder that these will be the final large-scale performances of the year, with all ensembles having a break in the summer term, therefore, it would be great to have full attendance at rehearsals over the coming weeks. This ensures a quality performance, but for Year 13 pupils it is important to make the most of your final musical experiences at Durham Johnston.
Mr Holmes
Subject Leader for Music
PE News
I would like to start this week with some outstanding news for the school. School Sport Magazine have just produced the annual list of the top 200 sporting schools (private and state) in the country. Durham Johnston has achieved 59th on the list. An indication of just how difficult it is to reach the list can be seen when you realise that reaching the top 100 represents the top 3% of sporting schools in the country. However, if you filter the list for co-educational state schools, we are ninth in the country - a real credit to the hard work of the talented students at Durham Johnston.
More amazing news for Year 10 Ben B. Ben has been selected to represent the ESSA England Schools’ Swimming Team in the ISF U15 World School Games, which are being held in Zlatibor, Serbia from 4th -13th April. The World School Games is a multisport event involving 21 sports and 4 para sports.
On Tuesday, we hosted the Durham & Chester-Le-Street Year 8 basketball tournament. Unfortunately, several schools dropped out, leaving us to face a straight final against Framwellgate. We started strongly and took control of the game, eventually becoming champions after a 52-13 victory. Brodie S was POM. This was also excellent preparation for the Tyneside final on Friday where we face Dame Allan's.
Our U15 rugby team were all set to take part in the county finals on Tuesday at Durham School. Unfortunately, this competition was postponed due to waterlogged pitches.
Finally on Tuesday, our Year 9 boys futsal team travelled to Hurworth School for the County finals. The standard was high, and we never gave up, but couldn't find the win we needed, eventually finishing 3rd in the County.
On Wednesday our U13 girls handball team were at Hermitage School for the County final. This was a close match which went to extra time and then penalties. We held our nerve, eventually scoring the winning penalty to progress to the Northern Schools’ finals which take place in Oldham later this year.
Yesterday our U15 boys and girls handball teams were at Maiden Castle receiving some expert coaching from the University team in preparation for their County finals in the coming weeks.
Good luck tonight to our Year 8 basketball team who take on Dame Allan's in the Tyneside Schools final.
Also, good luck to our U19 netball team. On Sunday they are at Newcastle Sports Central competing in the north-east regional round of the English Schools cup. They have a tough day of competition ahead against the best schools and colleges in the north-east but are confident of finishing in the top two, and therefore reaching the national finals for the 3rd year running.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
Sports Bulletin
