17th October2025

Welcome to our weekly bulletin,

Durham Academy has been visiting places far and wide this week and the year 11 exams are being marked ready for feedback and intervention planning.

We have been very busy...

Seeing the ground transform

The building site is now wrapped in Willmott Dixon hoarding that not only protects our community from dust and debris but also acts as a very bight reminder of the exciting work taking place inside.

The ground is now covered in hard core and the very large hole from last week now looks like the beginning of something exciting.

Reminding you about Year 7, 8 and 9 Tutor Evening (next Thursday)

All parents and carers of Year's 7,8 and 9 have been invited to meet their Tutors on Thursday and should have responded with their preferred visit time between 4pm and 6pm.

Tutor and Year Leaders will discuss your child's pastoral development, achievement and behaviour.

You will also be able to gain support with queries about homework and logins as well as access of book fair which will have some great offers in time for Christmas.

Please bring the device you use to access school systems and our technicians will be on hand to help.

Please arrive promptly and before your appointment time as Tutors are aiming to see a whole class- if you miss the start of your allocated time you may be required to wait.

We look forward to seeing you there.

Please contact reception if you have not yet responded to the Google sign up form on 01913730336.

Year 7 8 and 9 Tutor Information Evening.pdf

Showing Racism the Red Card

All students have been learning about the fundamental British Values of tolerance, law, individual liberty and respect this week during the national awareness week to Show Racism the Red Card.

They learnt that all humans share the same 99.9% of DNA and that our ethnicity simply comes from migration across the globe from our original ancestors. We busted myths about migration and researched the positives that comes with a diverse community.

We also celebrated that our school has over 27 different languages spoken by staff and students and we are proud citizens who do not accept any form of discrimination.

There's no place for racism here so let's show racism the red card.

Inviting your child to a Book Fair

The Scholastic Book Fair is visiting school again next week and all students will be given the opportunity to visit the library and browse the collections.

Your child may bring a wish-list home that can then be purchased or you can buy books in person during the Year 7, 8 and 9 Tutor event on Thursday.

More information can be found on the Scholastic website:

https://bookfairs.scholastic.co.uk/parents

scholastic-secondary-book-fair-poster-spring-2025-2311959.pdf

Visiting New College Durham

Our ACE Drama students visited New College Durham on Friday afternoon to see their amazing performing arts area.

They were thoroughly inspired and though their ACE ACCESS time will be changing to another exciting opportunity after half term, all students who have participated in Drama this half term will showcase their talents in a concert just before Christmas. More details to follow.

Asking for some books please

We have a fabulous library in school but we still need more books.

If you have any Children's books at home that have already been loved and you don't mind parting with, please bring them to reception via your child or on the Year 7,8 and 9 Tutor evening next week.

This will enable us to stock even more titles for children to read and enjoy.

Having a masterclass in Macbeth

Year 11 students engaged in a Macbeth Masterclass this week with Elysium Theatre. The students met the Creative Director Jake Murray whose passion and enthusiasm for all things Shakespeare shone through in his explanations of key scenes and themes across the text.

Students had the opportunity to direct the actors on stage to bring to life Shakespeare’s tragedy, Macbeth, from page to stage.

One year 11 said, ‘This really brought to life the play. I have always understood it but seeing it from a director’s eyes made me realise the play is so much more than what is on the page.’

Another said, ‘It was really good. It has helped with my revision because I can imagine the actors saying the lines now and this will help me to remember it.’

Students study Macbeth as part of their GCSE in English Literature. Don’t forget revision for English is every Thursday after school!

Experiencing a driving range

Mr Heppell took his golfers to Brancepeth driving range on Friday afternoon to give them a taste of golfing off the school field.

Students experienced the beautiful surroundings and showed off their recently developed golfing skills. Thank you to Mr Heppell for organsing this.

Reviewing whole class feedback

Your child receives feedback in may different ways; during lessons their teachers carry out 'live' marking which involves talking to them about their work, giving verbal feedback and the them acting on improvements, they also received formal assessment feedback after 'Big tests', self and peer marking in lessons and whole class feedback sheets which tells the whole group what has gone well (WWW) and what would be even better if (EBI).

We also use AI in some areas of school with the English department participating in a trial which uses AI to produce detailed feedback linked to exam specifications in Year 10 and Google classroom which includes quizzes and AI marked questions. Collectively this is 'Assessment for Learning' because it is carried out constantly during each unit of work and across the year to gain a complete and forensic picture of your child's knowledge and understanding.

Assembling the rear axel

Students displayed ambition when assembling the rear axle, tackling a complex mechanical challenge that demanded both meticulous precision and deep technical understanding.

Students demonstrated a clear engineering drive and showed an example of high quality team work.

The Go Kart is coming along!

Still talking about StemFest

Year 8 went to Vertu Motor Arena to attend STEMfest last week and they are still talking about it!

The STEMfest event had a line-up of exhibiting businesses and workshops delivering fun, interactive and hands-on sessions relating to the STEM industry as well as getting lots of exciting gifts from exhibitors.