7th November 2025

Welcome to our weekly bulletin,

The first week of November has flown by with visits and visitors into and out of school, we have some important health and safety information in our bulletin this week so please read below and share with any other parent/carer that may not have seen it.

We have been very busy...

Installing exciting signs

You may have noticed that we now have some large signage installed on the main road through Bearpark and on the school building itself.

Both signs give a glimpse of the new building and the final design.

On site, the large hole is now being filled with some sturdy looking steel work as we wait in anticipation for the framework to be installed in the coming weeks.

Warning students about a worrying trend

Some of our Year 7 students have alerted us to a worrying trend on social media whereby people are dared to carry out potentially dangerous acts.

Please discuss this with your child, review permissions and remove access to APPs that they are not old enough to use safely. TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Snapchat should not be used by anyone under the age of 13.

We also urge you to check your child's phone. This is not a breach of privacy, it is in order to keep them safe.

As your child has started secondary school they may tell you that their friends have access or that they will be left out if they don't. Please talk to them about this. We strongly recommend that no child is in a large group chat or any app that does not send one to one messages. A good way to explain this to them is to say that you would not allow 30 of their friends to visit your house all at once and being in a group like that is the same but without the parental supervision.

Alerting you to an online danger

Unfortunately we are making you aware of a a dangerous online group called the "764 movement" because it poses a significant threat to children and teenagers.

This is not a group that exists only on the dark web; it is a network operating internationally across platforms such as Discord, Roblox, Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, and Telegram.

The 764 movement is responsible for sextortion, blackmail, degradation, humiliation, and the glorification of violence.

We will be hypervigilant in school and contact any parent/carer directly if we are worried about your child but we strongly urge you to speak to your child about their online accounts and check them with them. No child has a phone contract- their phone contract belongs to the person who pays for it and therefore we recommend that you check your child's phone use regularly so you know what they are involved in and ensure that they have breaks from online activity.

The BBC have reported on this danger and you can read the article here. Warning: the article contains distressing content.

If you are worried about your child please contact our designated safeguarding leads, Mrs Ball or Ms Hall who can help and advise you further. You should also report any communication with this group to the police and report it via the CEOP website (you can access this by clicking the logo).

Confirming Lumiere tickets

Less than a week to go now to see your child's art installed in Shildon.

If you would like tickets and have not yet requested them please fill in the form below.

Orders will close on Monday so tickets can be issued.

In order to receive these free tickets, please complete this request form.

LUMIERE SHILDON INVITE.pdf

Visiting Newcastle University

What an incredible day for our Year 7 students as they took on the world of higher education and engineering at Newcastle University. They truly made us proud with their enthusiasm, ambition and critical thinking throughout the day.

Our students started the day by unlocking the potential of algae by attending an engaging lecture on the diverse uses of algae. Following this year 7 entrepreneurs stepped up to showcase their ambition by pitching their innovative business ideas on how to use algae. Next they undertook a civil engineering challenge to save the treasure.

The day concluded with a spectacular chemistry demonstration bringing theoretical concepts they've learned in class to life in a memorable way.

A huge well done to all the year 7 students who went on the trip to represent our school so brilliantly.

Thank you to Dr Atwal for organising this.

Preparing for Year 10 exams

Year 10 students will soon be given their exam timetable.

All students will need to revise and complete independent study in the lead up to their exams.

Please support them by discussing their preparation and planning a mixture of revision and relaxation to get the best out of them.

If you have any questions about the exams please contact Mrs Willis or Mrs Anderson.

Celebrating Year 11 progress

Year 11 students have recieved their trial exam results today which not only indicate their currently working at grade, but very specific targets for improvement.

Each student has been allocated a mentor who will meet with them on a weekly basis to keep them on track and a personalised timetable for revision and study support to ensure they are focused on the things that will make the biggest difference.

Year 11 are a fabulous year group and they are destined for greatness. With the right support from home and the focused intervention at school, they are sure to succeed. Please discuss the results with your child.

If you have any questions about this please contact Mrs Willis or Mrs Anderson. Your child's mentor may also make contact with you.

Noticing flares

ABBA may have loved them but they are not part of our school uniform and we have noticed a small number of students arriving in flared leggings.

Please not that these are not allowed and students should wear school trousers or kilt as directed in our school uniform policy.

Celebrating a win!

Congratulations to our Year 11 Football team who beat Wolsingham School on Thursday night.

We may be in the same Trust but the competition was high and both schools were determined to succeed. It was a great game and our students were victorious.

Well done Year 11!

Planning Children in Need

The theme for Children in Need 25 is 'Challenge Yourself' and so each faculty will be offering a lunchtime of fun challenges to complete.

The cost to participate in the challenges will be 25p so if you are able, please allow your child to bring loose change to school on Friday- all donations will go to Children in Need. Thank you