Dear Parents, Carers and Families,

The day that this update is published will have been marked by a variety of events in school for our Year 13 students as they finish their time here and prepare to sit their A Level exams in the coming weeks. When I think of the phrase “youth is wasted on the young”, it is 18-year-olds that I think of, students on the cusp of adulthood and all too often rushing towards it and keen to leave what they regard as childhood and childish things behind them. All of our Year 13 students last year left us to their destination of choice and I’m confident that there will be a repetition of this success in August, but I also hope that they will at some point be able to look back on their time here and realise that some of the reason they are where they are is not just because of their own hard work, but also because of what happened here, be that because of strong teaching at A Level or Level 3 qualifications, solid guidance as to where their qualifications might take them, or simply the school having provided a sense of structure and stability for them from which they will have established the foundations on which they will now build.

The media tends to amplify negative traits about this generation, portraying them as spending more time on their screens than engaging in real life and not being willing to work hard, but these lazy stereotypes don’t reflect the young people I know, nor do they acknowledge the unique set of difficulties the world has gifted them. When I turned 18 in 1998 this country had seen three different Prime Ministers, Thatcher, Major and Blair. Someone who is 18 today has known eight, a reflection perhaps of a period of political turmoil and general unease with what the political class has to offer as their vision of the future. In 1998 the country had experienced seven years of economic growth and was set for ten more. 6th Formers today have also lived through some economic growth but at much lower rates and with far greater levels of inequality across the country, something most stark in our own region. The Britain of my youth was one where the country could have been said to have been on the winning side in the Cold War and where western democratic liberal values appeared to be the direction all the world was turning towards. Regardless of your political strip, this isn’t the world any 18-year-old sees now and all of them, having spent their early teenage years dealing with the consequences of the pandemic, are aware that even the fragile world they think they know can become very different, very quickly.

The 18-year-olds I know are a constant source of optimism for the future. I see young people just as hard-working as any other generation, less inclined to waste time and money on bad habits and more frequently committed to making the world a better place than the average person. Cynics will say that their belief that they can make a difference is because they don’t know about the ‘real world’ yet, but I’d rather side with their positivity and willingness to try than the sceptics and the pessimists. I congratulate all the Year 13 students who are leaving us, thank them for how they have made this school a better place for their presence here, and wish them every success in the future.

Now, please revise for your exams.

Many thanks for your continued support of the school; I hope you all have a good weekend.

Michael Wright

Headteacher

Training Update

There was no CPD session for staff this week due to the Bank Holiday but we’ll be returning to whole staff training next week with a continuing focus on SEND issues.

Parental Focus Groups

Many thanks to everyone who signed up to this event for this coming Wednesday. Those who signed up should have an email with specific instructions.

Bus 2 Update

I have been communicating with Durham County Council regarding Lee’s unilateral decision to cancel their provision of Bus 2 from September. DCC have informed me that they are still chasing the bus operator for a response to a data request.

Key Stage 3 Assessment Week

The annual KS3 assessment week is the week beginning 2nd June, the first week back after May half term.

Therefore, we will be using this half term to get the students prepared! Students will be introduced to this concept via an assembly:

Year 7 assembly - Friday 2nd May

Year 8 assembly - Wednesday 7th May

Year 9 assembly - Tuesday 6th May

8th May – all students will have received their revision booklets, which will include topic checklists so they know exactly what to revise and staff will let students know when their in-class assessment will be. Students should record this on their exam timetable in their booklet and the class teacher will also put the date of the assessment on ClassCharts.

Weeks beginning 12th and 19th May - Students will receive 'How to Revise' tutorials on Fram’s 6 revision strategies during tutor time.

How can I support my child?

  • Talk to your child about their assessments after they have had their assessment assembly.
  • Help your child to be organised by looking at the dates of the assessments on ClassCharts and getting them to record it on their exam timetable.
  • Encourage your child to make a revision plan following the steps in their revision booklet to alleviate stress.
  • Actively help your child to revise by engaging in the ‘How to Revise’ tutorials which will be made available to you via ClassCharts.

 

Ms Lutynski, Assistant Headteacher