27 March 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
Last night was our Full Governing Body meeting in school and our excellent Year Leaders (7-11) shared updates on their cohorts. All year leaders referenced how supportive parents and carers are of the school and the ethos that we continually promote. They said some fabulous things about your children too, so I thought it was only right to share some highlights here with you.
On a similar note, I received a lovely phone call from a member of the public who was an Alnwick Gardens last week and she wanted to call to say how fantastic the group from our school were. She said they were very polite and behaved exemplarily, especially around the smaller children playing nearby. She added it was so nice to see a group of older children being so kind to others and that they were all very well mannered. Well done Year 8!
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs McFadden
Mrs Banner - Year 7
Year 7 have embraced a wide range of opportunities that have supported both their personal development and their sense of community. As a cohort, they have taken part in several successful fundraising initiatives, including a Santa Run in December which raised money for St Cuthbert’s Hospice, and our current spring craft competition and raffle, designed to raise funds for our year-group kindness locker, to provide additional support for our less privileged students, and to allow students to showcase their talents. We are taking part in the Key stage 3 talent show on Thursday 30th April which promises to be a great success. We were also delighted with the success of our Beamish trip in February, where we were able to heavily subsidise places for our Pupil Premium students, ensuring the whole cohort could enjoy the experience together. Our year-group Key Improvement Point has focused on promoting effective use of planners, helping students develop organisation, independence, and responsibility as part of their transition to secondary school.
Year 7 continue to show a growing commitment to their school community and are living up to our year group ethos of ‘Unity’.
Mrs Anderson - Year 8
The Year 8 cohort continues to develop a strong collective identity built around our cohort motto: S.P.A.R.K – Support, Positivity, Attitude, Respect and Kindness. This ethos underpins our pastoral programme and contributes significantly to the positive culture within the year group. Through tutor time activities and pastoral engagement, students are encouraged to embody these values both academically and socially, helping to foster a genuine sense of belonging and a strong “year group family”. We have a “Bright Sparks” celebration, which takes place each term. These awards recognise students who demonstrate what it means to be a Durham Johnston student and who embody the SPARK values. Students may be recognised for a variety of achievements, including academic progress or excellence in a subject area, achieving a high number of house points, producing an outstanding piece of work, achieving a personal best, demonstrating exemplary manners and conduct, or contributing to public service or community initiatives. Parents and carers are actively involved in celebrating these successes. Certificates are awarded and positive contact is made home, ensuring that achievements are recognised both within school and by families.
The Year 8 pastoral team has prioritised providing a wide range of opportunities that support personal development, creativity and community engagement. Students have been encouraged to participate in a variety of enrichment activities, including “Give It A Go” craft sessions designed to promote creativity and collaboration, year group movie nights which provide opportunities for social engagement and community building, and trips to local attractions including Alnwick Gardens which broaden students’ cultural and experiential learning.
The cohort has also demonstrated strong engagement with charitable activities. A highlight of the year was participation in the Pudsey Run, where Year 8 students raised an impressive £1,653 for charity. This initiative reflected the students’ willingness to contribute positively to wider society and demonstrated the values of kindness and community spirit embedded in the SPARK ethos.
Student voice continues to play a central role in shaping the Year 8 experience. Student voice feedback indicates that the majority of students feel happy, safe and well supported within school and that they have regular contact with pastoral staff when needed. Form representatives meet regularly with the Year Leader and Assistant Year Leader to discuss cohort issues, ideas for activities and areas for development. In addition to these meetings, the pastoral team regularly conducts cohort-wide questionnaires to gather feedback from students. The insights gathered inform planning for tutor time activities, year group events and enrichment opportunities, and pastoral priorities and areas of support.
Mr Digby - Year 9
Year 9 is a wonderfully talented cohort, with students excelling across sport, dance, art, theatre, and drama. Their extracurricular achievements have been a real highlight. The year group has also shown great commitment to wider school life, supporting fundraising events and working alongside other year groups to contribute to the community. Their response to the Christmas appeal was exceptional and a moment of real pride for the pastoral team.
A standout achievement this year was when two Year 9 students, alongside a Year 11 student, delivered an external session to nine undergraduates studying for a BA (Hons) in Community and Youth Studies. They spoke confidently about their involvement with Investing in Children, the importance of children’s rights linked to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and a project they had led exploring childhood history and its significance. They explained how they managed the project from start to finish, the impact it had, and their planned next steps. The feedback from the session was outstanding.
We are incredibly proud of this cohort and look forward to supporting them as they begin their GCSE journey.
Mr Briggs - Year 10
In Year 10 we have our Charity Champions, split into three groups (Creative events, Out of School events and Sporting events) that coordinate and organise fundraising events. By the end of Year 10, the students involved raised £2000 for charity and are planning a wide range of events for this year as well. This is a valuable outlet for these students, as it is all led by them and gives them experience in creating and managing events. One of the key events at the end of Year 9 was a small group completing the Yorkshire 3 Peaks, contributing a significant amount of the money raised.
As for other events this year, Ms Anderson is organising some outreach work with Durham County Council. A group of 15 students will be travelling to Coxhoe skatepark to help renovate it and create a graffiti style mural with a local artist. 10 students within the year group are currently researching the Battle of Neville’s Cross in order to create a plaque with information and a design to go on the benches being installed on the A167.
Mr Blake - Year 11
This year, our students have been highly active in fundraising and community support initiatives. They successfully raised funds through Christmas candy cane sales, Valentine’s lollipops, and will shortly launch an Easter basket fundraiser. We also contributed to local Christmas toy appeals, supporting families within our community.
These efforts have enabled us to assist students with the cost of prom and leavers’ hoodies, ensuring all feel included in these important milestones.
Despite a demanding academic year with mock exams and upcoming GCSEs, students have enthusiastically engaged in a wide range of competitions and events, including:
- Rowing, football, volleyball, Humberball, and basketball shooting competitions
- A Christmas "decorate your door" challenge
- A live performance during mock week by local indie musician Tom A. Smith
We continue to celebrate student success through our “Go Faster Forms,” which have generated hundreds of peer-to-peer recognition entries—an uplifting testament to our culture of encouragement.
A significant number of students have excelled across academic and extracurricular domains:
- Mathematics: Winners of the Newcastle University maths problem-solving competition; strong performances in the Maths Challenge and Maths Olympiad
- Culinary Arts: Students reaching regional cooking finals
- Music: Performances at school concerts, the cathedral, and community events
- Sport: A world champion swimmer, two students invited to a Team GB rowing camp, national cross-country finalists, and our football team reaching the League Cup final
Additionally, our prom, yearbook, events, fundraising, revision, and mentoring committees have remained active throughout the year, contributing significantly to school life.
With GCSE exams approaching, our priority is now firmly on revision strategies and high-quality exam preparation.
SEND Clinics
We hold SEND online clinics every month for parents to meet with a member from the learning support team to discuss any area of their child's learning or development. The aim of the clinic to identify the most appropriate support which may be signposting to external support. The next clinic will be held online 8th May between 8.30- 11 am. If you would like to make an appointment to talk with a member of school staff please contact Mrs Sangster who will arrange this for you via learningsupport@durhamjohnston.org.uk.
Focus on Health: Keeping Medical Information Up to Date
To ensure we can support your child effectively in school, please make sure all medical information is accurate and up to date.
If there have been any changes to your child’s medical needs, please email: djcsmedical@durhamjohnston.org.uk
If you would like to discuss any medical or dietary requirements, medical plans, or consent for medication, please contact Mr Urwin, First Aid/Medical Coordinator, via the same email address.
Students with Asthma
- Students should always carry their own inhaler, clearly labelled with their name and form.
- Inhalers must be taken to PE lessons outside and on all school trips.
Emergency Inhalers in School
School holds an emergency salbutamol (Ventolin) inhaler for use if a student cannot access their own.
Although this may not be your child’s usual inhaler, medical guidance states that using it in an emergency is better than giving no treatment.
We require parental consent to administer the emergency inhaler.
Students with Anaphylaxis
- Students diagnosed with anaphylaxis should carry an emergency pack containing:
- Antihistamines
- One in‑date AAIs (Adrenaline Auto‑Injectors)
- Packs must be clearly labelled with the student’s name and form.
- Students must take their emergency pack on school trips and for outdoor activities, including PE, depending on the allergen.
Emergency AAIs in School
Recent legislation allows schools to hold emergency adrenaline, this has been held in school for a number of years. This may be used if a student goes into anaphylactic shock and is unable to access their own medication.
This emergency medication will only be administered to students who already have a prescribed AAI, and parental consent is required.
Medical Care Plans
If your child has a diagnosed condition requiring a medical care plan (e.g., epilepsy, diabetes, asthma, anaphylaxis), please ensure the most up‑to‑date plan is sent to school.
Individual Health Care Plans
If your child has a medical condition that impacts daily life in school, please contact Mr Urwin to discuss whether an Individual Health Care Plan is appropriate.
Year 7 Beamish Trip
Recently Year visited Beamish Museum for an educational visit; form groups DURHA visited first and then MJCS. The groups spent the day exploring the different eras and learning about what life was like during those times.
The groups visited1820’s Pockerley and the ‘new house’ – the home of the tenant farmer and the ‘old house’, which dates back to at least the 1440s. In addition, the students visited and learned about life in the 1900s leading up to the First World War by exploring the Edwardian town. There was a huge buzz around the sweet shop, and we are grateful for the patience of the staff as 100 Year 7 pupils lined up outside!
A highlight of the trip was the ‘Just One Spark’ workshop where the students were given a live demonstration of how miners controlled explosions. The group learned of the 1812 mining disaster in Felling that killed 92 young boys and men. Just One Spark is “the story of the investigation into the explosions and the race to find a solution to ensure the safety of miners.” If they wished, there was an opportunity to visit the mine and learn about the poor, wet and cold working conditions the miners were subjected to and how dark the mine shafts were.
To round off a lovely day, all students travelled via the tram and visited the gift shop. We were so impressed with their behaviour and attitudes throughout the day – well done Year 7!
Mrs Banner & Mr Kidd
Year Leader & Assistant Year Leader for Year 7
Drama Notices
Congratulations to all students who were involved in the Trilogy of Greek Plays last night, who had been working diligently all academic year and did themselves proud, either as a performer or backstage crew.
For information: there will be no extra-curricular drama sessions next week and the first week after the Easter holidays and we will inform students for the plans going forward for the Summer Term
Ms Ayrey
English Department
PE News
Last Friday seven of our athletes travelled to Bristol in preparation for the GB nationals Schools Biathlon Finals which were taking place over the weekend at Bath University.
The girls competed on Saturday and produced some excellent results. Kat R finished in 12th place in the country with Freyja R in 30th and Year 7 Lilian H in 36th. It was the turn of the boys on Sunday and again we produced outstanding performances. Year 7 Daniel T produced two personal bests to finish in 11th place. The highlight came from our Year 9 boys. Wilf B was 4th, Seb C was 5th and Jensen S was 9th. This meant that we won the team event to become National Champions beating Coopers Company & Coburn School (Essex) by over 500 points. Well done boys
On Monday our U16 girls faced St Joseph's in the County Plate Final at Washington Hub. We started slowly and were 3-0 down but fought back to 2-4 at half-time. We couldn't maintain our comeback eventually losing 9-5. Special mention to Roma B who stepped in as goalkeeper and POM Emily R who scored all 5 of our goals.
On Tuesday our Year 7, 8 & 9 boys football teams were due to play King James. Unfortunately, they conceded the Year 9 game. Our Year 7 team dominated possession and created lots of chances but struggled to score eventually winning 3-2. Blake I scored all three goals and POM was Logan R. It was also good news for our Year 8s who won 6-2. Noah W was POM with a solid display in midfield.
On Wednesday we hosted the girls’ county rugby sevens tournament. This was an outstanding afternoon of high-quality rugby with nearly 200 girls taking part. We had teams in the Year 7, U14 and U16 events and all the girls won matches to finish in the top 4 schools in the county.
After school on Wednesday our Year 10 boys’ football team took on St Joseph's in the county cup. They are a very strong team who have reached the national final. However, we played some great football and dominated possession. Unfortunately, we just couldn't find a goal eventually losing 1-0.
Also after school, our Year 11 football team travelled to King James to take on St John's in the League Cup final. We took an 1-0 lead, but they levelled to take the game to penalties. We held our nerve to win the shoot-out, thanks to 2 great saves from Tom W, and become League Cup champions.
To complete a busy night, a selection of our Year 7 & 8 girls’ football teams finished their season with friendly matches against Durham High. All the games were played in a great spirit with lots of goals scored.
On Thursday we hosted the Year 7 boys’ county sevens tournament. Seven teams gathered for an excellent afternoon of rugby. Yarm School won the event, but our boys never gave up, finishing in 6th place with several very close matches.
After school our Year 9 & 10 netball teams completed their seasons with matches at Framwellgate. Our Year 10 team completed an unbeaten season becoming league champions after a 17-2 victory. The Year 9 game was much closer, and despite the scores being level with less than 2 minutes to play, we lost 14-12. Our Year 9 girls finish in mid-table.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
We have also been asked to share the following:
On behalf of the North East-Central, School Age Immunisation Service
The school age immunisation team will be delivering the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine at your child’s school on 23rd & 24th April 2026 to both boys and girls in Year 8.
Parents and carers in Year 8 have been emailed a letter containing more information, including a link to complete either the consent form or a refusal for the vaccination. The link will close on 16th April 2026.
If you have any problems accessing the link, please telephone 03333583397, option 3, option 2.