9 May 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
The school year is full of milestones and this week we have reached a big one.
At the start of the year these bulletins mark the many firsts in our students’ journeys through school; their first day of school; their first full week through of the timetable, their first school dinner; their first secondary school photograph! We have however now reached the somewhat bittersweet time in the year where the milestones we mark become about ‘the lasts’, be that the last time performing in a concert, last lessons in subjects, or even just the last time on second lunch!
Wednesday this week was the day we said goodbye to our Year 13 students, and it won’t be long before we are also saying goodbye to Year 11. Teaching a Year 11 or Year 13 class is both rewarding and bittersweet. The year represents such a pivotal moment in their young lives as their 5 or 7 years of hard work and dedication at school culminate in external exams. It is often a year of growth, self-discovery and, as teachers, we have the privilege of watching the students transform and mature ready for their next stage. As a Year 11 teacher myself, I have watched many of my students go from being quiet, slightly nervous individuals into vocal, confident young people. Others have shown incredible resilience in the face of both personal and academic adversity and demonstrated maturity beyond their years. They have become a tight knit community who support each other and their ability to adapt, take responsibility and challenge themselves all with a smile on their faces makes me incredibly proud; I am really going to miss them. I know that many other teachers of Year 11 and 13 will feel exactly the same, and it’s these moments that make our job so rewarding.
In the final Year 13 assembly, Mr Wilbraham praised the students for their dedication to their studies and fantastic contribution to the whole-school community. The Sixth Form Team shared some reflections on the students' time here and expressed warm wishes for the summer and beyond. We also celebrated with the students the positive legacy they leave behind, confident that they are ready and willing to make a positive collective contribution to modern Britain. Mr Wilbraham sent them off with a final reflection including words from the iconic Bob Dylan, imploring the students to not become old before their time and to embrace their youth, their positivity and desire to make changes for the good. We hope students use their youth as their 'superpower' as they soon enter higher education and the world of work.
We will of course continue to offer support and guidance to our Year 13s through the exam period (which started yesterday) and beyond, as they look ahead to results days in the summer. We are very proud of all they have contributed and accomplished in their time at Durham Johnston and know that they will continue to be fantastic Johnstonians wherever the future takes them.
A final goodbye this week, albeit temporarily, goes to Miss Stannard (Year 9 Year Leader) who is now on maternity leave. We want to wish Miss Stannard and her family well and reassure parents and carers that Year 9 will be left in the very capable hands of Mr Briggs who will be stepping up for the second time as Year Leader during Miss Stannard’s absence. Mr Briggs is the current Assistant Year Leader, knows the cohort very well and is excited to support the students pastorally as they move into Key Stage 4. Miss Stannard has asked me to share a message with parents and carers which is in the items below.
There is also an important notice about vaping that I would draw to parents' attention.
I hope you all have a good weekend; I’ll leave you with Bob Dylan’s lyrics as shared by Mr Wilbraham with Year 13:
May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young.
Mrs McFadden
Message from Miss Stannard
As some of you may be aware I am expecting a baby and will be leaving on the 9th May to begin maternity leave.
I wanted to write to you to wish all of the year group the best of luck going into their first year of GCSEs next year. It is an exciting, but daunting time for them, having the choice of what they study but also faced with the prospect of exams and coursework. I am confident that they will approach this with great maturity and that they will be incredibly successful.
Whilst I am looking forward to my own personal adventures, I have genuine sadness to be leaving the year group and will keep in touch with Mr Briggs to get further updates on how everyone is doing. I look forward to coming back and continuing to support them through the rest of Year 10 and into Year 11.
They are a wonderful year group, with an array of personalities, skills and interests and I am immensely proud of the young people they are growing in to.
Miss Stannard
Year Leader for Year 9
Vaping
We are committed to working in partnership with families to safeguard the health and wellbeing of all our students. As part of this commitment, we want to reiterate the serious health risks associated with vaping, particularly for young people. This is a growing national issue, and we are actively educating our students about these dangers through assemblies, PSHE lessons, and targeted support.
In line with our school behaviour policy, we would like to inform parents and carers that any student found in possession of a vape on school premises will receive a fixed-term suspension. The nature and length of the suspension will be determined by individual circumstances following a thorough investigation. After this, the student will be required to take part in a re-integration and education programme, delivered by a member of the school leadership team. This programme is mandatory and will involve parental engagement to ensure a united approach in addressing the issue.
Our goal is to create a safe and supportive school environment, and we believe that open conversations and education are essential steps in preventing substance use among our young people. We want to work collaboratively with parents and carers, and we would encourage you to talk to your child about this issue at home. If you have any questions or would like resources to support these discussions, please don’t hesitate to reach out. Together, we can help our students make positive, informed decisions.
We thank you for your continued support as we work together to keep our school a safe, healthy, and supportive environment for all.
Parking in the Community
We have received several complaints from local residents regarding inconsiderate parking in the vicinity of the school. A number of the complaints relate to Sixth Form students who drive to school. We have taken steps in school to address this issue with students but would appreciate parental support. If your child drives to school, please remind them to park considerately and in accordance with local parking regulations. Their cooperation is essential in maintaining a safe and positive relationship with our neighbours.
Similarly, if you are dropping off or collecting your child, we kindly ask all parents and carers to park respectfully and responsibly, ensuring driveways, access points, and pedestrian paths are kept clear at all times.
The Durham Road Safety Team have asked us to inform parents that Police Community Support Officers and Civil Parking Enforcement Officers will now be deployed to streets around school to help keep our children and young people safe. This may result in students and parents receiving fixed penalty notices
We appreciate your support in working together to ensure our school community continues to be considerate and respectful of those living nearby.
Year 11 Exam Stationery Packs
The Maths department have exam stationery packs available to purchase, which contain the necessary items for Maths and Science exams. These include an exam-regulation transparent pencil case, 30cm ruler, protractor, compass with pencil, eraser and pencil sharpener (pictured below). The cost is £1.40, and should be paid for via ParentPay. Once payment has been made, students can collect from Mrs Urwin in the Maths Department. Please note - students do not have to buy these items through the school, other retailers are available!
Mrs Urwin
Subject Leader for Mathematics
Classics News
On Tuesday 6th May, we were delighted to welcome Clive Letchford from Warwick University, who talked about Classics and Music. Students from Year 9 to Year 13 learned about the range of instruments used in ancient Greek and Roman music and the contexts in which music was performed, from water organs and trumpets in the amphitheatre, pipes in the theatre, to lyres in private performance. We saw some examples of surviving musical notation from Greece and learnt how it has been possible to recreate some ancient music from this. The talk included three performances of different songs, ending with the opening of Homer's Iliad - arguably the oldest work in the European literary tradition - sung and accompanied on a lyre, as it would have been almost 3000 years ago. It was a fascinating opportunity to learn about an area that neither those studying Music nor those studying the Classical world were familiar with. We are very grateful to Mr Letchford for giving up his time and travelling such a long way to share this with us.
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Mrs Bothwell
Languages Department
PE News
Last Friday our Year 8 basketball team made the short journey to Framwellgate for a Junior NBA play-off game. We started strongly and dominated the game going on to win 48 - 14. We have now reached the last 8 in the North East and are only one more win from the play-off finals in June. Brodie S was POM.
On Tuesday, our Year 8 cricket team started their County Cup campaign with a match against Whitburn. We batted first and scored a very impressive 121 runs with Isaac C top scoring on 33. We bowled well and secured a 15-run victory after restricting them to 106 runs in their 20 overs. Laurie A was POM.
Also on Tuesday, our Year 11 boys’ football team played their final match for the school as they faced King James in the League Cup final. They produced another robust and mature performance to lift the trophy with a 2-0 win. Goals came from Ben H and Zack S. Tom B was POM in his final game as captain.
Finally on Tuesday our Year 7 & 8 girls’ football teams competed in their final CVL of the season. The Year 8 team won 1 and drew 2 games while the Year 7s won 2 and lost 1. We are waiting for the final league tables to be sent to see where we finished.
On Wednesday we had a record attendance at athletics club with over 100 athletes attending. This was despite several being away with DofE! It was amazing to see so many enjoying the full range of events.
Yesterday was the first athletics competition of the season as our Junior & Inter teams were at the Riverside Stadium for the Area Championships. It was an excellent day of athletics as all of our athletes produced excellent performances. We are still waiting for the team results, but we had lots of 1st place finishes. Amazingly, our Junior boys’ team won all of their track events.
It was also the final CVL for our Year 9 girls’ football team yesterday. They won all their games. Again we are awaiting final confirmation of the table but it looks likely we will be champions.
Finally today our Year 10 cricket team are competing in the national T20 competition. We face Seaham this morning and if we win we then take on Durham School for a place in the national knockout stages. Also our Year 7 team are at Brandon CC playing Castleview in a friendly.
Excellent news from out of school as well as Katriona R was been awarded player of the year for the U13 regional netball squad - a great accolade.
Finally thank you to all parents who attending the Malaga parents meeting on Tuesday. Below is a link to the PowerPoint we used in case anyone missed information:
Malaga Presentation
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
Sports Bulletin