Dear Parents/Carers

As we come to the end of 2021 and the Autumn term I wanted to say a huge thank you for all of your support, not only this term but throughout the year. We really are a strong team at Durrington and with your support, the dedication, passion and expertise of our staff and the determination and excellence of our students, we have achieved so much. 

KAPP continues to grow and we have seen many more students earn badges in kindness, aspiration, perseverance and pride.  We are delighted to have now awarded 93 bronze and 10 silver seahorses, and a total of 2519 badges in just 5 terms – what wonderful students we have! Remember, you can nominate your child for a badge, we love to hear what they have been achieving outside of school. 

A huge well done to our year 11 students who have been brilliant over the past few weeks as they undertook their GCSE mock exams. Their conduct has been exemplary and we are incredibly proud of how hard they have worked. We look forward to sharing their progress with them in January. 

It has been super to have clubs and enrichment activities back and we are delighted so many students are enjoying them. Opportunities this term have included visits from Albion in the Community for a ‘Girls in Tech’ and ‘Young Women in Enterprise’ conference which was enjoyed by students in years 8 and 9. We also celebrated Computer Science Education Week with all KS3 students taking part in ‘An Hour of Code’ and the year 7 coding club students taking home a micro:bit. Please do encourage your child/children to join a club in the new year. 

There has been much sporting success. Year 7s got off to a winning start with the girls and boys basketball and football teams topping the district competitions and Mylie placing first in cross country. The U14 girls basketball team were unbeaten all season, winning the district league and the U16 girls football team and year 9 boys football team were close runners up in the district league. 

We have focused on kindness this term and were awed by the entries to the tutor kindness competition in which all tutor groups came up with their own definition of kindness. We were so impressed by the considered, deep and thoughtful responses. 11CGr’s definition of ‘To be kind is to care, give and help others without expecting anything back’ was chosen as the winner but you can view more here. Thank you for all your generous donations to the hamper and stocking appeals initiated by our Senior Student Leadership Team.Tutor groups have been working hard to decorate their sustainable hampers and stockings, but most importantly, fill them with donations for local primary schools and The Trussell Trust.  

Earlier this week you were sent information about return to school testing. You can also find it here. Please do take the time to read this thoroughly as each year group has a specific return to school/testing schedule. As you are aware, things may change and so we ask that you make sure to check your email for communication from us before returning to school. 

Thank you for your on-going support. We hope you have a lovely Christmas break, wish you all the best for 2022 and look forward to continuing to work with you.