17 October 2025
Dear Parents and Carers,
What kind of witch likes to go to the beach?
A sandwich.
We live in a serious world, full of serious news and serious responsibilities, but with Halloween just around the corner, we have a window of permission to engage in some lighter hearted activities and, my personal favourite, bad jokes! When working with young people and their potentially turbulent range of emotions sometimes the best tool we can use isn’t a complex strategy, it’s simply a really terrible joke. There is something magical about the effect of hearing a truly awful pun; the kind that makes you groan, roll your eyes and then laugh in spite of yourself. A good chuckle can trigger the release of endorphins, relieve tension, de-escalate a situation, and start to move a student’s state from stressed to relaxed. Even if the best you get is a reluctant smile (as you can see, my jokes aren’t very funny), it can serve as a micro reset reminding them that they are in a safe and supportive space. Whilst this doesn't miraculously minimise or solve their problem, it can alter their physiological state, making them more receptive to guidance and lead to a better outcome. Sometimes the silliest form of communication can be a very effective way to show we care and make someone else's day a little bit lighter.
Halloween fever has definitely been on the rise in Year 7 this week as we prepare to host our annual ‘Spooktacular’ event. A highlight of the calendar, it’s a brilliant evening where our newest students have the opportunity to dress up and unleash their energy in a fun-filled evening that includes capture the flag, hide and seek, dancing, and other fun activities. The event wouldn’t be possible without the support of the house team consisting of an army of Sixth Formers and brave staff who voluntarily stay late in school to make the event such a success – a great demonstration of our core value of Public Service and giving back to our community.
The Spooktacular is just one example of how education at Durham Johnston extends beyond the classroom. We are proud of our academic standards, but equally Diverse Opportunities is another of our 5 core values, and as such we place significant value on the wide range of opportunities we offer. It is often through participation in extracurricular activities, school events, and wider enrichment opportunities that our students discover new interests and passions, develop confidence, and learn the value of teamwork and leadership; a strength that is often recognised and praised by visitors to the school. We are constantly reviewing our offer and seeking out new opportunities as we continually strive to increase student participation and provide all students with opportunities to get involved. As part of this, our pastoral team have been creating a timetable of experiences that their whole year groups can get involved in. These include the Year 7 Spooktacular and the Year 11 Zombie colour run taking place next week, as well as future events such as movie nights, local trips, and more. We are committed to trying our best to ensure every student has access to these events with the aim of further strengthening cohort identities, supporting students’ personal development, and building lasting memories and a sense of belonging.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs McFadden
The Reading Room
A reminder of the times Year 7 and 8s can access the Reading Room:
Year 9 RSE Event.
On Wednesday 22nd and Thursday 23rd October we welcome back Wayne Stevenson from Stevenson Training and Interventions Relationships and Sex Education. Wayne will be in school working with Year 9 students. The focus of the session is contraception, and you can find details of the resources used on our PHSE & RSE page.
German Study Visit
Last week, 36 Year 9s and 6 Sixth Formers took part on the annual German Study Visit to the North Rhine region of Germany. As well as taking part in lessons, the students visited Düsseldorf, exploring the Landtag (parliament), Rhine Tower and the old town, as well as Köln (Cologne) where they visited the cathedral and a chocolate factory. Throughout, they were able to practice their German ‘in the wild’! Well done to all the students, who were fantastic throughout. You can see some snapshots below, as well as read Sixth Former Annie’s reflections on the visit.
I had the great opportunity of going on the trip to Germany this October. I have been on a few school trips during my time at Durham Johnston, and this has been the highlight.
The German learning aspect of the trip was amazing. All week I practiced my German in real life scenarios like in shops and talking to people who lived in the towns and cities! I also learnt a lot at the hostel from speaking to Miss Schwaiger, the chef Ullie and even the Year Nines. As Sixth Formers, we even got the opportunity to teach the Year Nines some German, which not only helped our language skills but our teaching skills as well. This has helped me a lot with my fluency and will also benefit my German A-Level.
The trip was also so fun not just educational. Getting to go with friends was great but the teachers also made the trip so special and unforgettable!
Annie
Languages Department
PE News
Last Friday our U13 girls’ football team travelled to Whitburn in the first round of the English Schools Cup. A close game ended 1-1 after an excellent equaliser from Molly. She then scored again in extra-time to give us a 2-1 win. POM was Tanvi P.
Also last Friday, our Year 7 boys’ basketball team and Year 8 & 11 boys’ rugby teams all travelled to Emmanuel College for friendlies. This was an excellent evening of sport with all our teams having some success.
On Tuesday, our boys’ football teams were at Woodham for the final league games of the first half of the season. Our Year 7 team created dozens of chances and did everything but score as the game ended 0-0. POM was Adam Y for his fantastic work rate and footwork. Our Year 8 team secured a comfortable 4-0 victory. This included a "goal of the season" contender from POM Ethan G. Our Year 9 team continued their 100% start to the league season with another straight-forward 10-0 victory. POM was Alfie BL. Unfortunately, Woodham conceded the Year 10 game at the last minute.
On Wednesday we hosted the U14 girl’s County Rugby Tournament. This was an excellent afternoon of high-quality rugby. We had a small squad and despite an amazing effort from all our girls, they eventually ran out of steam in the final game against the eventual winners from High Tunstall.
After school our Year 7 boys’ football team travelled to English Martyrs for the game of the season so far. We started slowly and were 3-0 behind after 10 minutes. We then fought back and were 4-3 behind at half-time. Then, with 3 minutes to go, they scored to take a 5-4 lead. Elliot K then stepped up to smash an equaliser in the top corner. In injury time Dan J lobbed the keeper to give us an amazing 6-5 win. The whole team were POM for never giving up.
Yesterday our U14 girls’ football team were at Woodham in the County Cup. We started slowly and despite dominating possession were only 1-0 ahead at half-time. A much improved second half saw us progress to the quarter-final with a 5-0 victory. Eva-Rose A scored a hattrick and was POM. Also at Woodham were our Year 11 boys' football team in the League Cup. They also progressed to the next round with a hard-fought 3-2 win.
Our U16 girls were also in action as they travelled to Carmel in the County Cup. We faced a strong team and despite a battling performance we lost 3-0. Joint POMs were Emily R and Naomi L
Finally, to complete a busy day, our Year 7 & 8 boys rugby teams were at Consett RFC for an emerging schools tournament. We took on 6 different school from around the county. We improved with every game winning our final 3 matches.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
Sports Bulletin