14th March 2025

Welcome to our weekly bulletin,

This week has seen all the seasons in one go during break and lunchtimes and we are hoping for some warm weather next week and some much needed sunlight.

Year 11 students have been revising extremely hard and are making the most of their study room and we must congratulate our Year 9 students on their excellent conduct and ambition during their recent assessment week. A reminder to all parents that Year 9 parent's evening is on Thursday 20th March.

Sharing our virtual imagery of the new school building

Following the public consultation, our new build plans have featured in local newspapers this week.

Our virtual reality plans show just how impressive our new school is going to be with additional sports facilities, electric vehicle charging and improved traffic management.

We can't wait!

Celebrating Year 10 Attendance

Good attendance to school is the biggest factor in how well your child does in GCSEs and their life chances that follow.

Our Year 10s have really been working on improving attendance and we are delighted to say that Year 10 attendance was 97% this week.

All students with positive attendance will be rewarded and all students will attendance concerns will be followed up through our attendance team. Please remember that attendance to school is a legal requirement and we are duty bound to address non-attendance to safeguard all children and their education.

Learning from our Alumni

Students in years 7,8,9, and 10 have been learning CPR this week from our hugely inspirational alumni, Helen McAdam.

After learning vital life saving first aid one of our Year 7 students has decided to become a paramedic. Thank you Helen!

Earning CREST Awards

Year 8 students became space explorers for the day and discovered the RAF’s role in space exploration. During the STEM day, students learnt about forces and the impact of drag as they navigated through a series of challenges, including designing and building their own prototypes, developing their teamwork, critical thinking and creativity skills.

A huge thank you to Small Piece for their delivery and to Dr Atwal for organising this brilliant event.

Reminding students around aerosol safety

Aerosols, found in products like sprays and cleaners, can trigger asthma attacks because they contain small particles that irritate the airways and lungs, leading to inflammation and mucus production.

How Aerosols Trigger Asthma:

- Irritants: Aerosol sprays are a type of irritant that can cause inflammation in the airways and lungs.
- Particle Size: Aerosols contain small particles that can penetrate deep into the lungs and trigger inflammation.
- Inflammation and Mucus: The body reacts to inhaled aerosols by releasing substances like leukotrienes and histamines, which cause inflammation and mucus production, leading to asthma symptoms.
- Examples of Aerosol Triggers: Household cleaning products, hairspray, deodorant, and air fresheners can all trigger asthma.

We have a number of students in school who have asthma and therefore no aerosols should be sprayed.

Celebrating the Top 10 Tassomai learners

Homework for English and Science is set via Tassomai. Students are aware this and have been shown how to access it.

Our leader board celebrates those who complete all tasks as expected and those who go the extra-mile. Well done to all STAR students this week.

If students do not complete their homework they are issued with a lunchtime detention. If they fail to attend this, they are issued with an after school detention- this is non-negotiable.

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Rewarding work of the week

Well done to our fabulous artists and mathematicians this week who were nominated for 10 achievement points and an early lunch.

Amazing!

Feeling very proud of our reading strategy

As we keep sharing with you, reading is a high priority at Durham Academy because it is the gateway to all other skills and qualifications.

Our students complete a nationally standardised test in reading three times a year and we are very pleased to say that our Year 9 students have made better than expected national progress- Yey!

This means that the intervention we carry out for struggling readers is working, the reading for pleasure we build in to the school day is inspiring and the reading for meaning we teach in lessons is having a positive impact on vocabulary, comprehension and inference.

Well done Year 9! Year 7 and 8 progress update to follow soon.

Please encourage your child to tell you about the book they are reading at home.