20 March 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
I am pleased to report that today, after the excitement of yesterday, we have had a normal and comparatively uneventful day in school. On Wednesday this week I was watching a lovely Year 7 science lesson where students were learning about atoms and discussing electrons. Both myself and the class thoroughly enjoyed the lesson, blissfully unaware of the impact and disruption the flow of those very same electrons would bring us the next day.
Yesterday provided a stark reminder of just how much our modern lives and indeed the modern school day reply on electricity, and it didn't take much for us to return to dark ages (in many parts of the school quite literally!). It was quite humbling to realise how quickly invisible systems and tools we take for granted became very visible by their absence. No computers, internet, landlines or Tannoy returned communication to the analogue age – thank goodness we have a lot of walkie talkies! Not only were the catering team unable to provide hot meals but the kitchen being in complete darkness meant even sandwiches were out of the question. And there may be some of you who wondered why did a power cut stop the water (because I did)? Our water is provided by electric pumps, so no running water and thus no toilets sadly made it impossible for us to continue the school day.
However, on a positive note, when the whiteboards and computers went dark and the Wi-Fi vanished, I am very proud to report that the teaching didn't stop. My favourite trait of resilience kicked in and our skilled teachers didn’t miss a beat as they completed their period 2 lessons. As soon as the power went off, I immediately went to classrooms to check on staff expecting to see confusion and perhaps a little panic. Instead, I saw teachers who had seamlessly moved to markers, who had classes engaged in discussion and I saw students fully focused on the tasks in front of them; proof you don't need a plug socket to ignite a passion for learning!
Our support staff also rallied quickly and were an incredible support to me and the leadership team, sorting buses, taxis, figuring out how we could feed people, looking after our most vulnerable children and calling parents. And of course, throughout it all, our students were excellent in their response. They followed all instructions quickly and calmly and behaved extremely well. It was another reminder of why I feel so grateful to work in this school; the sense of community and team spirit was genuinely lovely.
As ever though when children are involved, the day was not without its lighter moments. I was informed by (many) more than one child – “Miss, there can't be a power cut because my phone still works" and I was also asked by a Year 7 why their calculator was still working; and so, next week’s science lesson: the concept of battery life vs. the national grid.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs McFadden
Investing in Children Student Presentations
Recently, three of our students delivered a fantastic session to nine students undertaking a BA (Hons) in Community and Youth Studies at Sunderland University. Emma, Wendy and Lucas have been working with the charity Investing in Children for a number of years, taking part in several projects including “Seen and Heard”, a project researching children's history in the North East, “Decision Group”, a project that gives children and young people a say about how the charity is run and “Research Group”, a project that researches children's rights.
Whilst speaking to the undergraduates, our students spoke about their views on Investing in Children and the importance of children’s rights linked to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. They also shared details of a project they had been involved in around covering childhood history and importance of this, explaining how they led the project as a group from start to finish, the impact it had, and the next steps planned. You can find our more about this project at this link.
The attendees were very impressed with our students – here’s some of their feedback:
“Well done to Emma, Wendy and Lucas for delivering in front of our group and being so confident. Thoroughly enjoyed the presentation.”
“Young people were very good at showcasing their hard work.”
"Brilliant session, great engagement and excellent delivery."
“A massive well done to the group of young people, they were fantastic! :)”
“Well done! You did a great job! :)”
Fantastic work team!
Mr Digby and Mr Blake
Year Leaders, Year 9 & 11
Key Stage 3 Drama Performance
Students in our KS3 Drama Clubs are excited to present a performance on Thursday 26th March at 6pm in James Hall. Performing and backstage students have been working diligently on the performance since the start of the academic year.
It is a trilogy of Greek plays based on the stories before and after the battle of Troy. If you would like to purchase tickets, please see the poster and the link to the ticket booking site below. If your child is involved, all students have been informed about the logistics of the rehearsals, and information is available on Class Charts.
Ms Ayrey
English Department
PE News
Last Saturday, our U18 netball team travelled to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield to compete in the English Schools National Finals. The best 16 schools in the country gathered for an outstanding day of high-quality netball. We won two of our matches to finish joint 9th in the country. An amazing achievement, making us one of the top 5 state schools in the country.
On Monday our Year 7 boys’ basketball team took part in the Junior NBA tournament at St Aidan’s School. We played some excellent basketball winning all our games to become champions. We now qualify for the playoffs after Easter. Joint POMs were Ben S and Elliot K.
Also on Monday, our VIth Form boys’ football team played Lord Lawson in the County Cup. We secured a comfortable 6-0 victory to move into the semi-final. Three goals from Cole C, one from Oli B and two goals from POM Dom W.
Our U13 girls’ football team were also in action as they faced Parkside in the County Cup. Some excellent teamwork saw us win 3-1. Joint POMs were Poppy G and Molly C. They face Manor in the semi-final next week.
Girls’ football continued on Tuesday as our Year 7 & 8 teams returned to Parkside for the CVL. Our Year 8 team won all their games and our Year 7 team only lost to our Year 8s. We are awaiting final league standings but hopefully we have won the league.
Our Year 7 - 10 boys’ football teams travelled to Whitworth on Tuesday for league games. Our Year 7 team conceded an early goal but eventually fought back to secure a 5-2 win thanks to a hattrick from Blake I. POM was Oliver S. Our Year 8 team took a 3-0 lead thanks to a hattrick from Harry F-H. However, Whitworth levelled at 3-3 before an excellent Charlie D finish saw us win 4-3. Our Year 9 team were also successful, dominating possession in a 2-0 victory to maintain their 100% league record. To complete an excellent evening our Year 10 team won 9-2 with joint POMs Malachi D and Louie B.
Also on Tuesday, our Year 7 and Year 8 netball teams were due to play their final league games against Framwellgate. Unfortunately, they had to concede the Year 8 game. We dominated the Year 7 game eventually winning 20-3. Excellent news that both teams are now League Champions. Finally, to complete a busy Tuesday our U14 & U16 badminton teams were at Framwellgate for the Tyneside tournament. Our U14s won all their matches to become champions. Our U16s finished runners up by just one game to Framwellgate.
On Wednesday our U19 netball team were back in action as they took part in the end of season Easter tournament at Durham High. We remained unbeaten to finish as joint winners with Durham School. There were no medals awarded but everyone got a Cadbury creme egg instead! That was the final game for our Y13 players who have been outstanding for the last 7 years. Good luck to them for the future. Also on Wednesday, our U16 volleyball teams took part in their Tyneside competition at Kings School. This was a great chance to play some competitive volleyball, and all teams had an enjoyable and successful afternoon.
Finally on Wednesday our Year 7 & 8 girls football teams hosted Durham High in friendly matches.
Despite the school closing on Thursday, we still managed to field 4 netball teams who travelled to Dame Allan’s for friendly matches. It was a great afternoon of netball played in a great spirit with all teams getting some success. Our Year 7 boys futsal team were at the Beacon of Light for the regional final. They faced a very strong Monkwearmouth team and despite never giving up they proved too strong for us as we finished runners-up in the region - a great achievement.
We also hosted 2 football matches. Our Year 10 team eventually managed to get their County Cup match against Whickham played after several attempts. We started slowly but took control in the second half going on to win 4-1. Our VIth Form team took on St Leonard’s in the County Cup semi-final. We created lots of chances and eventually broke the deadlock on our way to a 3-0 victory. POM was Ray F.
Finally, good luck this weekend to 7 of our athletes who have travelled to Bath University to compete in the GB National Schools biathlon finals. The girls compete on Saturday and the boys on Sunday. Our Year 9 boys’ team are ranked 1st in the country going into the weekend so hopefully they can collect a medal.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin:
We have also been asked to share the following:
Following on from the meningitis outbreak in an area of Kent, we have been asked by the School Aged Immunisation Service to advise parents/carers of the following link relating to signs and symptoms of meningitis.
What is meningitis? Symptoms, risks and how to protect yourself
