20 February 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
It’s lovely to see the sun shining as we end both this week and a very busy half term. I think both staff and students are ready for the break and the chance to rest and recharge. The other half of Year 7 who had their turn visiting Beamish this week had an excellent time and returned equally laden with sweets and stories about their day. They were also thankfully blessed with considerably better weather than last week!
I would like to give a special mention and a well done to our Year 11 students who have had an incredibly busy two weeks of mock exams; their behaviour has been exemplary, and they have shown incredible maturity up to and during this period. I hope they all have a well-earned rest over half term.
Finally, two key reminders as we go into the half term. Firstly, a reminder that from the start of next half term we will no longer be accepting cash in school. The only exception to this will be non-uniform days. Any problems related to this, please get in contact with school as soon as possible. The second reminder is that from Monday 2nd March parents and carers with passes will be able to collect their child at 3:00 pm when the site is quieter. Parent or carer vehicles will not be allowed on site prior to this time and only those with passes will be allowed after. Students will be able to wait in the atrium or on the seating outside. We would like to remind you that parents and carers without permits should not be driving on to the school site at the end of the usual school day. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation as we work together to keep our school community safe.
Wising all members of our school community a restful break and a chance to spend time with people you care about - and maybe even some time for yourself!
Mrs McFadden
SEND Clinics
We are holding a SEND clinic Friday 6th March 9.30-11am with the theme of neurodiversity.
Parents/carers or family members are invited to come into school to find out more about the neurodevelopmental pathway process, the needs-led support offer and to talk to staff about any concerns or queries you may have about your child. Alongside school staff, Liz Jackson from the Communication and Interaction Team will be available to answer questions you may have. If you would like to attend, please come in at any time between 9.30-11am; there is no need to book. If you do have any questions prior to the SEND Clinic, please email learningsupport@durhamjohnston.org.uk.
We look forward to welcoming you into school.
Year 11 Prom
A reminder that the final prom payment is due today, Friday 20th February, via ParentPay. No new requests to attend prom will be accepted after today.
English Department News
Sparx Reader League Table
As we come to the end of term, the Sparx Reader League Table is heating up. 7RH has overtaken 7UA for 1st place, and 8RH has knocked 8CW out of third place in Sparx Reader completion! Amazing work Year 7 and 8! We hope you love reading your Sparx books over the holidays. Remember you can read more than your set 250 homework points, if you are gripped by a great book. Happy reading and we can't wait for the first week back when we celebrate World Book Day!
|
SRP |
Completion |
||||
|
Year 7 |
|||||
|
1st |
7JW |
177,055 |
1st |
7RH |
95% |
|
2nd |
7MK |
154,543 |
2nd |
7UA |
95% |
|
3rd |
7UA |
148,680 |
3rd |
7HH |
92% |
|
4th |
7RH |
138,955 |
4th |
7CW |
91% |
|
Year 8 |
|||||
|
1st |
8SW |
152,511 |
1st |
8SW |
94% |
|
2nd |
8UA |
123,241 |
2nd |
8DA |
86% |
|
3rd |
8RH |
121,245 |
3rd |
8RH |
82% |
|
4th |
8DA |
117,970 |
4th |
8CW |
81% |
Year 7 Fantasy Writing
In Term 1, Year 7 developed their editing skills, just like real authors! Having completed their fantasy writing assessment, students redrafted to make edits based on their feedback and improve their fantasy descriptions. After working on sentence structures, character development, and complex punctuation students submitted their final version.
You can now enjoy reading some of our favourites, as nominated by class teachers. Well done to our final authors, who received house points and a certificate in January!
Miss Bailey
English Department
PE News
On Monday our U14 girls’ basketball team hosted High Tunstall in a friendly match. This was an excellent game in which we lead from the start eventually winning 60-36. Rosie-Mai W was POM.
On Tuesday we hosted the Year 7 boys regional futsal finals. We remained unbeaten, winning all our games to become regional champions. We now progress to the next stage. POT was James T.
Also on Tuesday, our U15 boys’ handball team were at Hermitage for the County Finals. We started with an excellent 6-6 draw against the eventual winners from Hurworth. We then lost to High Tunstall and despite an excellent victory against the hosts in our final game we finished in 3rd place.
Finally on Tuesday, a group of our Year 7 students had the opportunity to get some expert coaching in the sport of Fives. It is similar to squash, but hands are used instead of a racquet. The coaches commended them on their skills and would welcome them back at any time. If anyone else is interested in playing, please collect a leaflet from PE.
Wednesday was a very busy day with sports hall athletics, handball, futsal and football. During the afternoon our Year 7 & 8 boys and girls sports hall athletics teams were at Newton Aycliffe Leisure for the County Finals. We produced some outstanding performances to dominate the event, winning all four county titles - defending the titles we won last year. After school it was the turn of our U15 girls’ handball to compete in the County Finals at Hermitage. This was a tense, close tournament with three schools finishing level on points. Good news is that we had the best goal difference and therefore won to qualify for the regional round after half term.
Our VIth Form football team were in Sunderland taking on Whitburn in the league. They remained unbeaten after securing a 3-2 victory. We remain top of the league after goals from Cole C and Ini K. Joint POMs were Leonard L and Ini K. Finally on Wednesday, our Year 11 boys’ futsal team travelled to Hurworth School for the regional final. Unfortunately, we fielded an under-strength team and struggled against a strong side, eventually losing by 9 goals.
Yesterday our Year 7 & 8 netball teams hosted Hermitage in league matches. Both teams remain unbeaten and top of the league after comfortable victories. Our Year 7's won 23-1 with Issy D POM. Our Year 8's won 36-1 with Kat R voted POM. Both teams have two league games remained to secure the league title.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin: