20 June 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
“Lang may yer lum reek”
The above is an old Scottish saying that means to wish someone a long life and prosperity (the literal translation being “long may your chimney smoke”) and it feels appropriate this week as we mark the end of Year 11’s journey; the last exam is done and the prom will be in full swing in just a few hours.
The Year 11 Prom is a brilliant celebration of everything our students have achieved and a chance to mark the end of their 5-year journey in style. Fittingly fallen on the eve of the summer solstice, it’s a time to dress up, take photos, laugh with friends, and make lasting memories. After months of revision, hard work, and stress, it is always great to see our students supporting and celebrating each other, comparing outfits and dancing the night away.
Many students will return to us for Sixth Form in September but equally many will move on to pastures new. To all those students leaving us this year, a final Scottish proverb: “What’s for ye’ll no go by ye.”. This is a favourite of my mother’s, and words that have always reassured me growing up when the chips were down. Remember this as you move forward – don’t be discouraged by setbacks, and always trust that your path will unfold as it should. You’ve already proven your determination and resilience, and I have no doubt you will continue to rise to whatever challenges come next. Never forget that you will always be a pupil of Durham Johnston, and we will always be here if you need us.
Meanwhile around school, Year 10 are stepping up brilliantly as they prepare for their own first set of mock exams and have been acting as roles models for the younger students on single lunch. Year 9 will shortly have their subject choices for next year confirmed and are looking ahead to Key Stage 4. Year 8 are continuing to bring energy and enthusiasm to the school, whether it’s on the sports field, in the taskmaster challenge, or through their kindness to one another, they are showing what a strong year group they are. Year 7 have nearly completed their first year and are well and truly part of the school community now, with many of them ambassadors welcoming and looking after the new Year 6’s who have been visiting over the last few weeks.
Have a lovely, sunny weekend; I’m off now to go and find my dancing shoes…!
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
RSE Sessions
There are a number of Relationships and Sex Education sessions taking place in school in the coming weeks.
On Monday 23rd June, Year 7 will attend their RSE event with Wayne Stevenson. The session looks at reproduction, relationships and the law. You can find out more about Wayne here and see the resources he will be using here.
Year 8 have sessions on Tuesday 24th or Wednesday 25th June. This session looks at pregnancy, pregnancy choices and parenthood, and you can see the resources here.
Programming competition
We've had another year of amazing entries for the 2025 Programming Competition for Years 7 and 8.
This year's theme was the school map, so students had to create a game themed on the layout of the school. The projects were assessed on:
- Code ability
- Design ability
- Use of the school map
It was another year of excellent entries, with some very tough decisions to be made, but the winners are:
Huge congratulations to the winners, and a huge thank you to all students who took part.
If you would like to try out some of the programs this year, you can click here to find out more and find links to the games.
Year 7/8 Programming Club returns at the start of next school year. If you're interested in joining, please see me in IT2!
Mr O'Connor
Lead Teacher of KS4/5 Computer Science
Future Business Magnates
Our FBM journey is almost over. The team headed off to The Work Place in Newton Aycliffe this week to meet with Business Durham Leads to pitch their idea. Students spoke with confidence about their business, their experiences and most importantly, the importance of teamwork and hard work. They have had a real insight into being an entrepreneur, developing skills which will help them with their next steps and future careers!
We are incredibly proud of the team; the awards dinner takes place next week, but they are all winners in our eyes. They’ve represented the school so well and are such a credit to us and their families. Well done Year 8 FBM 2025 – you are a bunch of superstars!
Special thanks to Lesley and James at Waterstons (Digital & IT), who have supported us throughout, offering workshops, guidance and expertise. We are incredibly grateful.
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Miss Forbes
Subject Leader for Business and Computing
Year 8 Taskmaster
Year 8 tutor groups have been battling it out in a hilarious and creative inter-form Taskmaster-style competition this half term! The first challenge saw students blindfolded, frantically sticking as many Post-it notes to themselves as possible in just 30 seconds – one team impressively managed 15, while another, sadly, scored zero. In the second task, students tore up A3 paper to create animals, with highlights including a brilliant 3D flying butterfly that took the win, and a rather bizarre “tiger lizard” that raised a few eyebrows. The third task, titled “chicken potato,” required teams to transport feathers down a two-metre table – without using hands – for their partner to stick into a potato. One team swept to success using a broom, while another lost half their feathers with a gutsy blowing strategy that didn’t quite pay off. The final task is still to come, with the competition set to finish in style as teachers take on a mystery challenge in the final assembly. Stay tuned!
Ms Kavalier
Year 8 Tutor Team
PE News
Last Saturday around 30 of our athletes were at Monkton Stadium competing in the County Championships. Durham Johnston students were outstanding throughout the day, and we had several County Champions. Many athletes have now qualified for the Inter-County Championships which take place this Saturday in Middlesbrough. Good luck to them.
On Monday, our Year 8 boys’ cricket team hosted Parkview in the Tyneside Cup. We batted first and scored an amazing 174 runs in our 15 overs. Parkview were not able to match that total, so we now progress to the semi-final where we face St Leonard's in a local derby next Friday.
Also on Monday, our U15A boys’ tennis team travelled to Whickham for a league game. After 6 exciting sets of tennis the match ended 3-3 so we needed a tie-break shootout to decide the winners. Unfortunately, we lost this 10 - 6.
The final athletics competition of the year took place on Tuesday as our Year 7 & 8 teams were at the Riverside Stadium for the Area Championships. It was an amazing day for Durham Johnston as all four teams came first to become Area Champions. We also had an excellent 20 athletes who won their event. That means that out of the 8 area athletics competitions we have won 6 and finished second in the other 2.
On Wednesday it was the turn of our Year 10 boys’ cricket team to face Parkview in the Tyneside Cup. It was a similar story to Monday as we batted first and amassed a big total which Parkview couldn't match. They also now move into the semi-final.
Also on Wednesday, our U13 and U15 girls’ tennis teams travelled to Yarm School for league games. Our U15 team won both their matches against both Yarm and Egglescliffe to top the group. Our U13 girls struggled against strong opposition but never gave up, eventually finishing 3rd.
Yesterday morning 30 of our Year 7 students were lucky enough to get to spend a few hours at Durham Amateur Rowing Club having a taster session on the water. The all had an amazing morning in glorious sunshine and learned a great deal about how to row. Thank you to Elliot Kay and all the other coaches at DARC who gave up their time freely to coach our students.
Yesterday afternoon it was the turn of our boys’ tennis teams to travel to Yarm for league games. This was an outstanding evening of high-quality tennis. Our U13A team won 5-1 to become Durham & Cleveland Champions and now go on to the national knockout stages in September. This win included two amazing tiebreak wins for Ethan C and Youseff M. Our U15s had a close match which went down to the final set, but unfortunately we lost 4-2.
Today a group of our Year 7 students have been at Maiden Castle taking part in an "Engaging Pupils in PE day". They had a great time trying a range of new and fun activities.
Finally, those Year 7 students going on our Malaga sports trip next week – don't forget to set your alarms early and be ready to meet at school for 2.30am on Sunday morning for what promises to be an unforgettable week of sport in the Spanish sun. Don't forget parents can follow our progress on the school Instagram account – @djcspe
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
Sports Bulletin