19 June 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
I wanted to start by thanking all of you who took the time to complete our recent parental survey on Safeguarding. Your feedback plays an important role in helping us to continue to strengthen our provision and ensure Durham Johnston Comprehensive School remains a safe and supportive environment for all our students. We also carried out student voice alongside this parent survey and I would like to share a summary of the responses from both surveys with you today.
Parental responses told us that relationships between students and staff remain a real strength of the school. The vast majority of families reported that their child has an adult in school they trust, and this level of confidence is higher than in similar schools nationally. This is echoed in the pupil voice survey, where the vast majority of students said they feel part of the school community and this figure was 20% higher than similar schools nationally. Similarly high was the percentage of students who know who they can talk to if something is worrying them. Sixth form students in particular highlighted in their free comments the value of supportive relationships with staff. The strength of these relationships is reflected across all year groups and continues to be one of the most positive aspects of our safeguarding culture.
Feeling safe remains a strong feature of our school. Parents expressed strong confidence in the safety of the school. Most families said their child is always safe, with very few expressing regular concerns. Safety ratings were consistently high across all year groups, with most above 90%. Pupils also reported high levels of safety, with 93% saying they feel safe all or most of the time compared to 65% for similar schools nationally. This reinforces the importance of the consistent routines, high expectations and strong pastoral support at Durham Johnston that help our students feel secure.
Wellbeing support was another area where parents were particularly positive. A large majority felt the school supports their child’s wellbeing effectively and this figure again sits well above the national benchmark. Younger year groups were especially confident in this area, but the pattern was strong throughout the school. Pupils also reported positively about friendships, with 100% of students who were surveyed reporting that they have close friends at school.
Most parents told us their child has not been bullied this year, and this aligns with previous surveys. Among those who said their child had experienced bullying, responses about how the school handled the situation were again significantly above similar schools. Pupil responses were similarly positive, with most saying the school handles bullying well (36% higher than similar schools). Importantly, 95% of pupils also told us — in direct response to the survey question about respect and equality — that the school encourages them to treat people from all backgrounds fairly and to value differences. 65% of our students strongly agreed compared to 36% of pupils in similar schools nationally. This emphasis on respect and inclusion underpins our approach to preventing bullying and supporting positive relationships across the school.
Finally, parents expressed very high levels of confidence that the school would act appropriately if they raised a concern about their child’s safety. Pupils reported that when they speak to an adult about a worry they are usually listened to and supported. 45% of pupils reported this happened every single time compared to 11% of similar schools nationally. The vast majority of the remaining students said this happens most of the time. This trust was consistent across all year groups and is something we value and will continue to build upon to ensure every child feels listened to when they have a concern.
Whilst the results of the survey are very positive, it is important to note that both surveys included a small number of students and parents who felt improvements could still be made. We are ambitious in wanting to provide exceptional provision for all our students and we want all of our students to feel safe and supported in school. To achieve this, we will continue to monitor and review our safeguarding practices regularly, provide staff training to ensure all adults in school can support students effectively, maintain open communication with parents and carers and act as promptly as possible on any concerns raised. We will also reflect on how we communicate outcomes whilst retaining confidentiality to support those involved.
If you ever have any concerns about your child's safety or wellbeing, please do not hesitate to contact us. There were a small number of comments in the free text section relating to individual situations across a variety of areas however the survey is completely anonymous, so we are unable to address these. If you have an individual concern, please contact school so we can work together to resolve the situation. Safeguarding all members of our school community and ensuring they feel safe is essential to supporting them to make the most of their time with us and achieve their best possible outcomes.
Thank you again for your participation in this survey and for your continued support.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs McFadden
Year 10 Charity Champions
On Monday and Tuesday this week, 12 of the most outstanding year 10s (and staff!) tackled the Lyke Wake Walk, completing 40 miles in 19 hours and 38 minutes. Their attitude, team camaraderie and enthusiasm made the challenge one of the highlights of my academic year (even if my knees and feet disagree!). There were certainly some tough times and hard slogs on scenery that rarely changed, but in the words of Esme C "Mama didn't raise a quitter, just a complainer who gets it done anyway!". I cannot describe the immense pride that I have in these students, it makes me feel incredibly grateful to be their Year Leader.
Congratulations on an EPIC achievement to Esme C, Esme G, Charlotte B, Roma B, Emma S, Myles A, Sam G, Caitlin H, Carys M, Tilly M, Hannah C and Freya B!
A special thanks to Mrs Hopper, Mr Everett and Mr Urwin for all of the support, company and laughs along the way, I certainly wouldn't have been able to do it without any of them!
If you would still like to donate, there is still time. All donations will be split between Great North Air Ambulance Service and St Cuthberts Hospice. The link is here.
Well done on a fantastic achievement!
Mr Briggs
Year Leader for Year 10
Public Speaking Competition
Join the English Department for a fantastic evening of public speaking on Tuesday 7th July at 4.30pm. Year 7, 8 and 9 students have battled it out to reach the final, where they will perform in front of our judges to crown a winner. Students will present on a range of topics from the environment, Room 101, and social justice.
Royal Geographical Society Events
A reminder of upcoming webinars from the RGS – all events take place in GG2.
Tuesday 23rd June 3:30pm – ‘What do Geographers actually do?’
Wednesday 8th July 3:30pm – ‘Choose Geography – careers in river landscapes.’
Open to all – please see any member of the Geography Department for more information.
Scholastic Book Fair
Durham Johnston is excited to host our annual Scholastic Book Fair. As we get ready for the Summer Holidays, come along to the 'Holiday Reads Book Fair' and get reading! The fair will be open from Wednesday 24th June - Wednesday 1st July.
The book fair will run during lunch and after school in the Reading Room.
We will be using a cashless system for payments. Parents/carers/students must use the link below to upload an online payment. Upload credit to spend at the fair on books/stationery of your choice. Most books cost between £4.99-£9.99 with a few brand-new releases priced at £14.99!
Click here to upload a payment.
House Programming Competition Winners 2026
Congratulations to the winners of this year's house competition for programming!
The theme this year was creating a game based on the school yard. Well done to all those who took part, it was brilliant to see what was created.
And the winners are:
You can have a go at playing the first and second placed games by clicking on their images below. Be warned though, Jessica's game "School Yard Dash" is highly addictive...!
A reminder that the competition was open to all Year 7 and Year 8 students (that means Year 7 you will get another chance next year!).
Mr O'Connor
Lead Teacher of KS4/5 Computer Science
PE News
I want to start this week by congratulating all our Year 7 students who were part of our sports trip to Malaga last week. They were a credit to their families and the school throughout the week. They took part in all the activities with great enthusiasm and had an amazing week playing sport in the sun. Congratulations to Brazil who were the winning country. I would also like to thank our Year 12 leaders who accompanied the trip - they did a great job organising and supporting the Year 7 students. We are now looking forward to returning with our Year 8 students in 3 weeks’ time.
On Monday our Year 8 basketball team were at Maiden Castle taking on Whickham School in a Junior NBA play-off match. We started slowly but improved as the game went on, playing some excellent basketball on our way to a 54-42 victory. Isaac T was POM. They have now qualified for the North-East Junior NBA finals which take place on Tuesday at Maiden Castle - good luck to them.
On Tuesday afternoon our U13B & U15B boys tennis teams travelled to Darlington to play league matches against Polam Hall. All the games were very close. The U13 match ended 3-3 so a tie-break was needed. We held our nerve to win this 10-6 and win the match. The U15 game was also heading for a tie-break but unfortunately, we just lost the final set to lose 4-2.
After school on Tuesday, we hosted the Year 7 district rounders tournament. This was an excellent afternoon of high-quality rounders and 7 teams took part. Our B team finished in 3rd place and our A team were 4th.
On Wednesday our Junior boys’, Junior girls’ and Inter boys’ athletics teams were all in York competing in the English Schools North-East finals. The best schools in the North-East and Yorkshire gathered for an outstanding day of high quality athletics. All our teams produced excellent performances - our Junior boys were 8th, our Junior girls were 6th and our Inter boys were 5th.
During the evening around 30 of our Year 8 & 9 students gave up their time to help out at the Durham Dash at Beamish. Hundreds and primary school children take part in a variety of activities and our students received lots of praise for their attitude and professionalism.
Yesterday our Year 7 cricket team took on Easington in the County Cup quarter-final. A good bowling performance saw us restrict them to only 47 runs in their 20 overs. Xander B then scored 35 not out as we reached the semi-final with a comfortable 9 wicket victory. Xander was POM.
Also during the afternoon, our U13 and U15 girls tennis teams hosted Polam Hall. Honours ended even after we won the U15 match 5-1 but lost 6-0 at U13.
Good luck today to our U14 cricket team who at playing Yarm School in the county cup at Durham City CC.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
We have also been asked to share the following:
Early Help in County Durham
Please click here to see their latest newletter.
County Durham ‘Fun and Food’ Programme
Our Fun and Food programme runs during the Easter, Summer and Christmas school holidays across the county. All sessions are free and include breakfast/lunch/tea and snack. Children taking part in the programme can enjoy a wide range of sessions including things like: sport, dance, art and crafts, outdoor adventures, fun with animals, circus skills, seaside trips and much more.