We have bricks on the outside and plaster on the inside!

The school council were very excited to walk around their new school building today and they were joined by a reporter who was here to find out all about the new building and how if will change futures at Durham Academy. 

The internal rooms are starting to be plastered and we walked around each floor learning about the building process, the materials used and the numbers of people at work each week (it's around 60-70 if you are interested). Jeff, our chief in command of the site, toured our students and staff giving fascinating details about the project, how the cost of builds have increased dramatically and how the supply chain is impacted upon during global events. Students asked a multitude of questions about quantities and processes and were even able to stand on the roof when learning about the solar panels that will help to ensure our building is environmentally friendly. Brooke said, "You don't normally get the chance to stand on a roof and being able to see for miles and learn about the solar panels and drainage, it was really interesting."

We were told about the excavation work that will now begin to remove the large mound you can see in our latest image as this will be our temporary outside area whilst the major ground works are carried out where the old building currently sits. Deborah said, " It was more completed than I thought it would be. From the outside it still looks like a building site but inside it looks like a real school. I'm excited to learn there." 

Students were particularly excited about the new auditorium and science labs and said, "It was almost surreal to walk around it knowing I am going to be in there next year. I'm particularly excited about the science labs as we will be able to complete experiments in every room." 

We are delighted to learn that our bid to North East Ambition has been successful and we now qualifiy for a project to increase career aspirations and stability for a group of Year 10 students in addition to all the wonderful things we do already. 

The project will run from Year 10 into Year 11 and we will be inviting parents and carers of students who qualify to be involved in the begining of July. 

We may have a whole half term to go but as you can imagine, planning for the whole school to be rewarded has to start early! 

Please encourage your child to gain as many achievement points as possible in order to exchange them for excursions. Due to the ongoing increased costs of coach travel we will be asking for parental contributions to be paid via school comms. We will do this as soon as possible so you can plan for the expense and we expect costs to range from £5 to £25 depending on the activity. A full programme will be shared with parents and carers after half term and payments will be required by Monday 14th of July. As always we will try to keep costs as low as possible and if anyone is really struggling to cover the charge please contact reception. 

Students will be given the opportunity to 'buy' a reward in class charts but they do not have a guaranteed place unless you have agreed and they have returned their completed consent form.

Reading really is the gateway skill for life and as you know, we prioritise reading for meaning in every lesson as well as through personal development and intervention. 

Every student in our school has their reading ability assessed and within Key Stage 3 this is done on a termly basis. These assessments then tell us if your child needs intervention. 

Mrs Turnbull who is a Primary trained teacher then carries out further screening to find out precisely what your child needs to become a confident and capable reader. Some of these interventions take place every day, others are weekly in small groups and some are on a larger scale such as our Reading Ambassadors who are pairs of students who read together every Thursday.

Intervention is often subtle and is a continuous flow of individuals who come out of lessons to meet their intervention teacher and then return to their subject but Reading Ambassadors is a much more prominent activity and a joy to see. Year 7/8 students read to Year 10 Ambassadors who have trained to listen and guide them. They can be further supported at home by paired reading and reading labels, instructions and news reports. Every little bit helps to develop your child's reading ability. If you would like additional support with this please contact reception. 

Telephone: 0191 3730336

Email: contact@durhamacademy.org.uk

For the most up to date information about what is going on in our school, please visit our website at:

https://durhamacademy.org.uk