4 July 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
As we approach the end of term, we are preparing to say goodbye to some long serving colleagues in school. Last night at Music for a Summer Evening our students said goodbye to Mr and Mrs Holmes in the most fitting way possible - showcase pieces from our talented students and a wonderfully mismatched ensemble of students, former students, current staff and former staff sightreading the Star Wars theme – a nod back to the very first piece performed by Junior Orchestra in our new building in 2009.
Over the last 25 years the Holmes have filled our hall, atrium and even Durham Cathedral with the sound of music. Their passion for music education has not only nurtured incredible talent but also built confidence, discipline, and provided joy in the lives of more students that even I could count, but my rough estimate puts its easily in the tens of thousands! They have guided our students to national competitions, music scholarships, and careers in the arts, but just as importantly, they have nurtured self-esteem in the quiet children who find their voice in junior choir, resilience in the struggling students who find friendship and community in working in harmony with others and have provided opportunities for students from under-resourced backgrounds. Their legacy will last for many years to come in the thousands of students who have benefitted from their exceptional guidance, and we will remember then each year when we award the newly commissioned Music Student of the Year trophy in their honour.
It is no secret that the success of Durham Johnston is built on our incredibly talented and committed teachers, many of whom dedicate a massive part of their lives to serving the young people in our community. Another example of one of these exceptional people is Dr Tournier who is retiring at the end of this term. With over 26 years at Durham Johnston teaching German and French, Dr Tournier has opened doors for our students exposing them to the richness of world languages and cultures, ideas and opportunities. Her strong belief in the power of languages to connect people and foster understanding has shaped students into global citizens ready to engage with the wider world. A servant to social justice, Dr Tournier has always promoted the ethos of languages for all, and her inclusive classroom and exceptional practice has inspired countless students over the years. As a well-respected member of staff and a lead practitioner, Dr Tournier has also supported many colleagues in school both nurturing talent in trainee and early career teachers as well as supporting many other colleagues across school. We will greatly miss her wise words and calm approach around school.
In a week where we celebrate the remarkable service of long serving staff members, it was lovely to be reminded on Tuesday night at that the spirit of dedication and public service is still alive in the next generation of teachers. This year, Miss Fairclough, a trainee teacher working within our PE department, has brought boundless energy, enthusiasm and commitment through her leadership of a school Dance club complete with two showcase evenings. On Tuesday evening we were treated to an incredibly inclusive event with a diverse group of pupils, many of whom had never performed individually before or indeed had any formal dance training. They were incredibly brave, performing dances they had choreographed themselves under the guidance of Miss Fairclough and it was amazing to see them express themselves so confidently and have their moment to shine. At a time when national headlines often paint a discouraging picture of the profession, this was a hopeful reminder that talented, compassionate, and inspiring teachers are still choosing to step into our vocation.
All four of the individuals mentioned here today absolutely epitomise our core value of public service and their careers are a testament to the profound and lasting influence a dedicated teacher can have on young people. I could have written equally highly of so many teaching staff and support staff in our school and I feel so fortunate to be headteacher of a school filled with dedicated professionals whose core purpose is to improve the lives of students. I am sure you will join me in thanking all of our staff who so often go above and beyond in their care our students, your children.
Wishing you all 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
Safeguarding
We are always keen to support students and families with safeguarding issues. This week's safeguarding theme is WhatsApp.
Please click here to read the factsheet.
You can also find these on the Class Charts app and you can find the link to the school website on Online Safety for further information here: Online Safety | Durham Johnston School.
Mr Bowman
Associate Assistant Headteacher
Parental Survey
A reminder that our second parental survey of the year is still open for responses, and will be available until Thursday 10th July at midnight.
The link to the survey was emailed directly to parents and carers last week; if you did not receive it, please contact the school via school@durhamjohnston.org.uk
If you have multiple children in the school, please feel free to complete the survey for each child.
The survey is a really valuable tool to let us know what you think about the school as parents or carers and helps us to understand how we need to continue to develop and improve to best serve you and your children. It is also helpful in identifying what we are doing successfully. We thank you in advance for sharing your views. We use the surveys to inform our planning, and the feedback has a direct impact on what we do in school.
Individual responses to questions are not possible when completing the survey and we would encourage anyone with a specific question or concern to contact the school directly via the school email address.
As previously, we use an outside organisation to carry out the survey who will then analyse the responses for us. However, this organisation has had no access to anyone's personal data at any point, nor will they share your responses with anyone other than us.
As ever, your support is much appreciated.
Public Speaking Competition
On Wednesday evening, the English Department held the annual 37th Public Speaking Competition. Thank you to all who attended to support our fantastic students, and of course our judges Dr Tournier, Ms Colquitt, and Councillor and Mayor, Gary Hutchinson. The 10 finalists had battled it out in their class round and year group round to be selected for the final from over 750 students. We heard a range of speeches on subjects from the environment, to gender equality, to the annoyance of ducks. All students used their voices to share topics they were passionate about and should be incredibly proud of their achievement. Well done to our year group winners Kemi and Isla, and our overall winner Mia!
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Help us win books!
As we continue to expand and grow our library, we are always looking for ways to acquire new books.
Please take the time to nominate Durham Johnston to win £1000 worth of book tokens with the National Book Tokens. All you need to do is enter your email and nominate Durham Johnston Comprehensive School. The more nominations, the higher chance we have of getting even more exciting books for our library in September!
As always, thank you for your support!
Please click here to nominate the school
Miss Bailey
English Department
Future Business Magnates
Our FBM journey has come to an end, and what a year we have had! Eight Year 8 students entered this competition with limited business knowledge, but over time and with hard work and a real desire to learn, they have left as budding entrepreneurs, with a clear understanding of how businesses work. They have learnt about marketing, finance, prototyping, pitching and research. They also ran a showcase at Beamish Museum - this event saw them take the award for this coveted challenge! A huge well done.
I am incredibly proud of the team, they have developed essential skills which will not only help them at school, but in their future careers too. Most importantly they have showed resilience, determination and teamwork - for me the most important skills of all. Well done FBM Team 2025, you are a credit to the school!
Special thanks to Business Durham and their FBM Team and to our partners Waterstons (Digital & IT) who have been excellent throughout.
Miss Forbes
SL Business & Computing
House System Update
As our school year comes to an end, we reflect on what the students and wider school body have achieved through collective endeavour and giving back. Today we sent off a cheque to Macmillan for £1000 to support the amazing work they do. This week we received letters of thanks from Changing Lives, St Cuthberts and Stray Aid, charities we have supported this term. Throughout the year Durham Foodbank, Feeding Families and Young Carers have also benefitted from our support. Our twenty-is-plenty campaign showed that by giving a little we can achieve a lot - a really important message. We have raised thousands for good causes this year and have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our student body and our parents and carers.
I would like to say a personal thanks to the staff here at DJ for all of their hard work in supporting the House System and our charity work, events and (often slightly crazy) ideas! Special thanks also go to the Sixth Form House Leads and lower school Captains (past and present); their commitment to our core values goes above and beyond. I am very privileged to work with such an amazing team of young people who are 100% committed to making our community a better one.
With the House Cup, four rewards assemblies and two sports days on the horizon we end what has been a fantastic year for the House System!
Miss Forbes
Senior Teacher, the House System
PE News
Last Friday our U13 boys’ cricket team took on St Leonard's in the Tyneside Cup semi-final. We batted first and scored 109 runs. We reached the final after bowling them out for 88 runs in the 18th over. Sandie S took 4 wickets, but POM was Thom B who was excellent with bat and ball.
On Monday and Tuesday this week our U18 boys’ cricket team took part in the Durham School festival of cricket. We won both our games on Monday against Barnard Castle and St Peters, York. We then went on to reach the final with another victory against Dame Allan's on Tuesday morning. We faced Parkview in the final and another strong batting performance saw us win the competition. This is the first time Durham Johnston has won this event. Thank you to captain Joe T for all his organisation.
Also on Monday, we hosted the Tyneside tennis championships. Despite the hot weather both our U13 & U15 boys teams played over 3 hours of high-quality tennis. Our U13s won all their games including a 4-2 victory against Kings School in the final to become champions. Our U15s had several close games but ended up 4th place with Kings wining this event.
On Tuesday evening Miss Fairclough hosted our second dance show of the year. This was a magical evening as the audience were entertained by 16 different dances. The standard, commitment and enthusiasm of everyone involved was incredible to watch and the final dance to "Slipping Through My Fingers" left many of the audience in tears. A huge thank you to Miss Fairclough who has worked so hard over many months to put this together.
On Wednesday our Year 10 cricket team were due to play Thornhill in the quarter-final of the County Cup. Unfortunately, they had to concede the game so we now progress to the semi-final which will be played in September.
Also on Wednesday, our Year 8 dodgeball team travelled down to Stoke to prepare for the National Finals which took place yesterday. It is the first time we have entered this competition and had qualified from the regional round which took place in February. After a restful night we started our group games with a tense 7-5 win. Two more wins saw us guaranteed a place in the last 8. Our final group game ended in a draw meaning we finished top of our group. A comfortable 8-4 quarter-final win saw us reach the national semi-final. Unfortunately, we were drawn against the favourites and eventual national champions from Wellington School, Somerset. Despite a battling performance we lost to move into the 3rd/4th play-off. This was the most exciting and tense game of the day as we fought back from trailing 5-1 to beat Chellaston Academy, Derby 7-5 and finish 3rd in the country - an amazing achievement. The whole team were POMs and were a credit to the school throughout the two days.
Today 14 of our Year 9 girls have been out of school taking part in a "Get girls active" event. They all had a great experience getting involved in a variety of activities and fun games.
Finally, the PE department are now looking forward to welcoming everyone to our 29th annual sports presentation evening at the Ramside Hall next Wednesday (9th). We have a record attendance with nearly 350 tickets sold so it should be a great evening celebrating the amazing success of Durham Johnston students. Please try and be seated for a 7.00pm start.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
Sports Bulletin