Friday 10th March
Dear Parents and Carers,
As our Year 11 students continue to prepare diligently for their forthcoming summer exams, we begin to turn our attention to celebrating their time at Durrington High school by hosting the Summer Ball. This year the Summer Ball is being held at the Avisford Park Hilton Hotel, Arundel on Thursday 29th June 2023 from 6:30pm-10pm. The ball will be hosted in the Grand Hall at the far end of the hotel building, this fantastic venue being a very fitting place to hold a formal celebration for the students and staff.
The tickets for this event are £36 which includes a buffet style meal, DJ, the hire of a photographer and various student and staff awards that will be presented during the evening. Students can now secure their ticket for the ball by paying on Arbor. Details will be available on Arbor in the ‘School Shop’ from Friday 10th March. The deadline for all payments will be Friday 5th May 2023. Tickets will be handed to the students following the Leavers Assembly on Thursday 29th June and will only be issued once students have been formally signed off, having sat their exams appropriately, returned all textbooks and school resources including their Library books. We would like to make the Summer Ball accessible to as many students who wish to attend. Therefore, if you are experiencing any financial hardship but wish to attend the ball, please contact Mrs Poole via email lpoole@durring.com to discuss what support may be available.
On the evening of the event, students should arrive at the venue through the main hotel entrance from 6:30pm. Parents and carers are welcome to be present at the hotel for their arrival and should park in the main hotel car park and walk around to the link way lawn, down towards the Grand Hall Area. Please be aware that parking will be limited and that the venue has requested that parents ‘car share’ where this may be appropriate. The formal start of the Summer Ball is at 7pm and it will finish at 10pm. All students will need to ensure that they have transport from the venue booked appropriately at 10pm.
Please be aware that the Summer Ball is a voluntary event and in line with requests from both parents/carers and students, I have clarified our expectations below. In order for a student to be eligible for the event, students must meet the following individual criteria:
- Students should attend school every day, only having time off for genuine illness or extenuating circumstances.
- Students must attend all lessons up until 16th June. If a student has completed all of the exams for that subject they must still attend all lessons but bring with them appropriate revision materials for other subject areas.
- Repeated truancy from lessons will mean they are no longer eligible for a ticket to the Summer Ball.
- Repeated lateness to school and lessons will mean they are no longer eligible for a ticket to the summer ball.
· There must be no serious breaches of the school behaviour policy or sustained pattern of non-compliance with the behaviour policy
· A student must not have been placed in Internal Exclusion on more than 1 occasion or have been issued with an external suspension after the Monday 10th April 2023.
· Students must complete all internal and external examinations fully; specifically, this will include attending all examinations on time, sitting each and every part of the examination and completing the examination within all of the published rules and guidelines set down by the exam boards.
· A student has returned all Library books to the LRA and any that remain outstanding, lost or damaged, must be paid for in advance of the date of the Summer Ball
Please note:
Places can be withdrawn at the discretion of the headteachers up to and including the day of the Summer Ball. There is no appeal for any such decision. Should a student’s behaviour or conduct prohibit them from attending the event, the school will not be eligible for any of the costs incurred for any financial outlay relating to the Summer Ball, be this clothing, transport etc. The expectations set out above will remain active until the evening of the Summer Ball on the 29thJune 2023.
We know how much the students are looking forward to the event but I would stress that our expectation of the students’ behaviour remains as high as ever. The Summer Ball is the highlight of our school calendar every year and by hosting the event at such a wonderful venue it promises to be a truly fitting celebration of our students’ hard work and contribution to Durrington High School.
Should you have questions relating to the event, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Yours sincerely
Mrs L Poole
Coubertin Company Leader
