At Durrington we are proud of all the achievements and successes of students whether this is in performing arts, in sports or their academic endeavours.
The Durrington Super-Curriculum programme aims to take our students beyond the boundaries of their normal curriculum, exposing them to knowledge beyond their normal lessons and encouraging them to aspire to achieve the highest levels of academic success.
Our Super-Curriculum provision has multiple pathways that students can openly take part in and/or be invited to be a part of. Engaging in these pathways will help develop students’ love for their favourite subjects, gain greater insights into how our world works and show them the rewards that can come with hard work and perseverance.
Year 9-11 St John’s College Oxford Scholar’s Programme
We are very proud that Durrington is one of only approximately 30 schools in the southeast to have developed a strong working partnership with St John’s College Oxford as part of their Inspire Scholars Programme. Joining the Inspire Scholars Programme marks the beginning of a 3-year partnership with the University of Oxford which we hope will support our students in their academic endeavours, provide them with a wealth of extra-curricular opportunities and prepare them for life beyond Durrington.
Membership to the program group is by invite only, with approximately 30 of our highest attaining students in year 9, 10 and 11 having the opportunity to attend after school workshops designed by Oxford staff and led by Durrington teachers on a wealth of subjects. In addition, members of the program have the opportunity to attend virtual and face to face summer schools at the University of Oxford, take part in national critical thinking workshops, and have priority visits to the St John’s College to speak to current undergraduate students about university life.
To find out more about the activities and opportunities available to our Oxford Scholar’s please see the links below or visit the Inspire Scholars Programme webpage.
What our students have to say:
“We cover some really interesting topics that don’t relate to things we learn at school and it’s great to be given so many new opportunities and to be part of something wider.” Natalia
“The programme has been good at letting me have more opportunities to better myself and also improve overall at school.”
“The programme has been very interesting and is a nice thing to be a part of. It is an amazing opportunity.” Daisy
“In this programme we have learnt about Norse mythology and language, distribution of pollution, computing (game making) and PE and recovery (fitness tests). We also have had lectures on the human brain, psychology, space and the cosmos, and the slave trade.” Tom
“I have been exposed to more opportunities and have been made to think more in depth about things I wouldn’t in a normal lesson. My favourite session was Esperanto.” Amber
“You explore topics in further detail and it’s good to learn about more interesting things that aren’t in the curriculum, and the people are nice too.”
“I have enjoyed being a part of the programme and exploring deeper into different subjects.”
“I like learning stuff you wouldn’t originally learn in the school curriculum, and there is no pressure.”
“I have learnt about Norse mythology, carbon emissions, game making, fitness tests, as well as science and history lectures. They were all great and interesting to learn.” Luke
Year 7 Scholars Academy
The Scholars Academy Project is aimed at providing our highest achieving students in year 7 a series of enrichment sessions, activities and workshops across multiple subject areas allowing them to explore topics and develop skills beyond those in their normal curriculum. Membership of the project is by invite only and is based on student entry data and their start to their Durrington Journey that they make during the Autumn term.
Year 7 scholars will attend half termly subject enrichment sessions, as well have specific careers guidance, opportunities to meet the school leadership and student leadership teams and additional support on how best to prepare/revise for secondary school assessments.
To find out more about the activities and opportunities available to our Year 7 Scholars Academy members please see the link below:
What our students have to say:
“The academy has been such a great experience, I’ve enjoyed finding new interests, a lot of my friends believe it is just extra lessons but it is so much more, it’s extra opportunities. Thank you for allowing me to be part of the experience.” Elsa
“In the art session we got to express ourselves in every way imaginable.” Isaac in year 7
“I like the year 7 Scholars Academy because it lets us have more opportunities to find a job we want to do. I particularly liked doing the first topic which was creative writing.” Sophie
“The Scholars Academy is a great way to extend your education after school.” Jayden
“I like the Academy because it provides me with opportunities that I wouldn’t have had if I wasn’t a part of it. I like the fact that Scholars range through different subjects, and that all the teachers who lead the sessions are all very kind.” Ava
“I love being in the Scholars Academy. It’s nice being at school but having fun in the extra lessons is great. It’s something I look forward to.” Amber
“I find it very fun to do the extra lessons and I also like having the badge to wear.” Lucy
“The Scholars Academy is a good place to make new friends and have opportunities that you don’t normally have.” Olly
“The Academy gives us lots of great opportunities to expand our knowledge whilst having fun and doing things we don’t usually get to do.” Aliya
“Scholar’s is great because it gives us activities that we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise, it’s just great fun.” Adrian
“It’s always fun to learn new things.” Max
KS4 Platinum Academies
In years 10 and 11 between 40 and 60 of our highest performing students are invited to be part of our Platinum Academies. The Platinum Academies meet frequently during the year and are intended to support our KS4 students with the challenges of GCSE assessments, while also helping them to explore potential further education and career pathways. Many of the Platinum Academy sessions are run by former Durrington students, who come back to share their stories and provide advice on how best to prepare for life post Durrington. To see some examples of the kind of support and sessions on offer for our Platinum Academy students please see link below:
What our students have to say:
“I believe the Platinum Academy is very good. They inform us on important life necessities and bring in lovely people to help us and lecture us. Also, another bonus is they give us breakfast sometimes at the morning meetings.” Freya
“I think the Platinum Academy meetings are very interesting and help to push us beyond our best.” Reuben
“I love the Platinum Academy as it gives you an insight into how to prepare for mocks, exams and even tells you about your Post-16 options.” Ashton
“I have really enjoyed the talks from former students.” Pavel
“I think the Platinum Academy is very interesting since we get a lot of speakers and help with revision.” Kristian
“It is informative and helps me with revision tips and opportunities. It also regularly meets so we are always being informed and helped. Also, the food is very good!”
One of our most recent guest speakers was ex DHS student James Barnard. James was among the first cohort of our Platinum Academy, and after finishing his GCSEs last year he went on to Worthing College where he is now studying A Level Maths, Further Maths, Physics and Geography, as well as an EPQH. James said he was happy to be invited back to talk to our current Platinum Academy students and he gave an extremely insightful presentation on revision techniques and how to prepare for exams.
Other ex-students who have returned to talk about their own journey since leaving DHS include Flying Officer Morton Woodburn, Head Boy at Durrington in 2016/2017. Morton is now a Fighter Co-ordinator based at the National Air and Space Operations Centre at RAF High Wycombe where he oversees the work of around 100 RAF staff.
Oxford Summer School
Last summer a number of our Platinum Academy students were invited to attend Oxford University’s Summer School. This was a once in a lifetime opportunity, inspiring our students with a taste of University life, as well as making new friendships and incredible memories.
“One thing that I will take away from my summer school is the experience of being at a university and to enjoy all the things it had to offer. It was also great to meet with lots of students from other schools and have fun together.” Reuben in year 10
“The one thing that I have taken away from this experience is that St John’s College Oxford is a great place to stay and study at, with fun activities and lessons, but also positive and caring staff.” Riley in year 10
More of our students will be attending this summer, including Pavel, who said: “The thing I am looking forward to is experiencing what is the life like of a university student in one of the most famous places in the world. Specifically, I want to explore the resources available especially for science, maths and computer science.”
Winter and Summer Lecture Series
This academic year we launched our Winter and Summer Lecture Series. The Lecture Series is open to all staff and students in years 9 -11 and is run by leading academics from local and national universities, talking on a range of specialisms from world peace to the cosmos. The Summer Lecture Series will have a greater vocational focus and will be led by leaders from different employment sectors discussing how our students can best set themselves up to enter the careers they want in the future. For a taste of the kind of talks on offer as part of our Lecture Series please see the link below.
