22 May 2026
Dear Parents and Carers,
There has been a lovely atmosphere in school today as we celebrated the official Year 11 ‘Leavers Day’. Although the exams aren’t quite over, half term provides a well-earned break ahead of the final stretch, and so it’s a good opportunity to say a formal goodbye to this excellent year group. Rather than my usual update, I thought I would share what I wrote in their yearbook reflecting on their time at Durham Johnston:
Year 11,
It’s hard to believe it has already been five years. You joined Durham Johnston at a very strange moment in history, and for your first year here you quite literally lived inside a bubble. Not many year groups can say that their secondary school journey began with hand sanitiser, face masks and social distancing – but you took it all in your stride.
I hope that now, five years on, you have many fond memories of your time here: the friendships, the lessons, the laughter, the triumphs, the unexpected moments and, of course, the legendary chip day. By my calculations, you have collectively consumed over 50,000 chicken burgers and more than 1,000,000 chips – an achievement in itself. But your true legacy is far greater than your lunchtime statistics. You have been a phenomenal year group, and I can honestly say I am proud of each and every one of you. I am proud not only of your achievements, but of the brilliant young adults you are becoming. I’ve had the absolute pleasure of teaching many of you and those lessons have been among the highlights of my own time here – full of humour (bad maths jokes), learning (cool maths problems) and the wonderful moments where you truly surprised me. For others among you one of my biggest challenges was keeping you in line on duty; you certainly kept me on my toes, and to be fair you did it with charm.
You are a special year group in that you have shown a real sense of community over the years – supporting one another and celebrating each other’s successes. Your ability to laugh together, look out for each other, and bounce back from challenges is something that will serve you well long after you leave this school behind.
As you prepare for your next adventure - whether that’s Sixth Form, College, apprenticeships, or perhaps even world domination - remember that the grades you achieve are only one small part of your story. The rest is yours to shape and will be written by your courage, your kindness, and the choices you make as you move forward. There is a Scottish saying: “What’s for you won’t go by you.” Trust in the hard work you’ve put in and the character you’ve built over the last five years. Trust that the right opportunities will find you, even if the path ahead feels bumpy or uncertain at times. Whatever path you choose, go into it with confidence, believing you can succeed and remember you will always be part of our school community, and we will always be here if you need us.
I hope you have a lovely half term break, spending time with people you care about. Enjoy the sunshine!
Mrs McFadden
School Held Medicines
A reminder that we have sent out an electronic consent form to parents and carers of students in Years 7-10 about administering over the counter (OTC) medicines in school to help students with pain, discomfort or to help with bites or stings. For example, if your child develops dental pain or a headache or is stung by a wasp or a nettle within the day. These OTC medicines are deemed ‘homely remedies’ – ones which families are likely to have in their home.
The link was emailed directly and also shared via Class Charts. Thank you to all those who have completed it already – we would be very grateful for all further responses as soon as possible.
Sixth Form Charity ‘El Clásico’
Our amazing sixth formers wanted to raise money for the House System and support our work with local charities - and what better way to do that than with an El Clásico style football game?! Year 12 v Year 13 - who would win - who would take the crown? We had managers, suits, tactics, training (no covert filming took place during any training session I must add - it's all fair here at DJCS!), some serious tackles and a brilliant end to end game of football. At the end a 2-2 draw meant it went to penalties, and the victors...well, it looks like experience won out and the Year 13s were crowned champions for 2026! The teams were cheered on by their peers and our lower school; a great atmosphere and they raised over £150!
Next up were our girls’ teams, another superb show and we're encouraging them to take it public next time and allow spectators, as they are so worth watching - touch of class! Here it was the ‘youngsters’ who triumphed – 2-0 to Year 12.
Well done Sixth Form - it’s really is excellent that you are still wanting to give back and support our school community!
Miss Forbes
Senior Teacher, the House System
PE News
On Tuesday our Year 9 boys' football team ended their season with a League Cup final against Whitworth Park. We dominated the game going on to claim the trophy with an excellent 10-0 win. Dylan F was POM. They have now completed the treble after already winning the League Title and Bishops Cup.
Also on Tuesday our Year 7 boys' basketball team faced High Tunstall in the Junior NBA play-offs. The winners would reach the final 4. It was a close game in the first half, but we struggled to score consistently, eventually losing 43 -26. POM was Seb S.
Yesterday our Year 8 boys' cricket team hosted Whitburn in the County Cup. We batted first and scored an outstanding 194 runs in our 20 overs. Thom B and Harry F-H both scored over 80 runs each. We bowled well to restrict them to 75 runs and now move into the quarter-final.
Good luck today to our U13 boys' and girls' tennis teams who are playing Emmanuel College in friendly matches.
Finally, a reminder that tickets are now available for our 30th Annual Sports Presentation evening which takes place on Thursday 9th July at Ramside Hall. This is always an outstanding evening where we celebrate the sporting success of so many Durham Johnston students. Tickets are £14 and available through ParentPay.
Mr Hopper
Subject Leader for PE
A reminder of our weekly sports bulletin: