Receiving responses for ACCESS activities

Further to last week's update, the students have been fantastic at bringing back consent forms. If your child has not returned theirs please ensure that they do so by Monday. 

A £5 transport payment will now appear on your parent pay account but as explained last week, please contact reception if you are experiencing difficulties with this. 

If your child has selected Infinite Air, the waiver will be shared with you on Monday. 

If your child has selected an in-school activity, the information will be shared with them next week. 

Hosting a debate

Students from across the ALP Trust arrived at Durham Academy on Thursday morning to debate the issue of Homelessness. 

All students were exceptionally behaved and we must thank Mrs Orchard from Parkside Academy for organising the event. 

Durham Academy students came second overall and we were especially proud of Deborah who received a magic moment for her contributions. 

A huge well done to Greenfield Academy who take the trophy for the best debating team overall. We can not wait until next year's debate! 

Welcoming our new year 7 families

It was fantastic to see so many families attend our Year 7 Induction evening last night and today has been filled with Year 6 transition activities. 

It is such a significant move from primary to secondary school and we do everything possible to make it as smooth as possible. 

Mr Milligan has been out and about with some advice and guidance for parents and carers and our Parent and Carer Handbook is attached again in case you have missed it. 

The next time we see your children they will be members of Durham Academy and as we view your child as our child, please do not hesitate to contact us if you require any further information or support. 

Meeting (A LOT) of Year 5s

School has been full of Year 5 students this week as they completed a series of subject taster events. 

Each group got to use specialist equipment in faculty areas and were supported by our student leaders who were an absolute credit to the school. 

We might need to buy some more seats for Open evening if the numbers on the site this week are anything to go by! 

With only 100 places in each year group, we know demand for places is going to be high. 

It's never too early to start making decisions about 2026/27 places and our Open Evening for prospective students will be held on 17th September. 

Coding

Over 80 students took part in a coding event held in school this week

Students learned how to engineer there own 3D printed personalised keyring. They then coded their robots around a track and pick up/drop off items. 

Thank you to Big Bang in school for sponsoring the event.

Winning competitions

Durham Academy are winners once again! We are proud of our ambitious year 7 students who have won the RACE to LINE regional competition!

Year 7 won 1st prize and best creative design in designing their racing karts. 

Thank you Hargreaves and the Learning Partnership! 

Wishing Mr Potts good luck

Anyone who knows Mr Potts will know that the man never stops running! 

This weekend is no exception when out of 5000 runners he has been selected to represent England (and his club the Elvet Striders) during the Great North 10K! The race will see him compete against Wales, Northern Ireland, UK runners and club runners from around the UK and we are all wishing him well. 

If your child is interested in running, Mr Potts runs (pun fully intended) an after school club so please tell them to speak to Mr Potts about signing up. 

Supporting the community

Mrs Jamieson attended another PACT meeting last week and spoke to the parish councillors of Bearpark. 

It was great to talk about our area and share the passion we have for making it great for all who live here. 

There is such a strong sense of community here and though we talked about some community issues such as the road speed in Bearpark and the need for a safe crossing on that road, we also shared lots of information about events and opportunities that are taking place during the Summer. 

Sometimes it is difficult to know about all the great things on offer in DH7 and so we agreed to share community news on our bulletin too. 

It would be great to see our families on the 27th of July for a free community event.