Dear Parents, Carers and Families,

Our Year 10 students have been taking their mock exams this week. Those of you with children in Year 11 or 13 will know that their ‘real’ exams start imminently. Prior to sitting down in the exam hall, many of these students will have already completed some form of formal assessment that counts towards their final results, be that a speaking exam for a Modern Foreign Language, a performance in Drama, NEA work in a large range of A Levels, exams for the various BTEC qualifications we offer, or a range of other forms of assessment. These are all very valid ways of assessing students, and indeed perhaps more like the way in the adult world we work and are judged, but when we talk about exams most of us will have memories of entering a large room, sitting at a single desk and using a pen to answer questions for several hours. While this process has changed around the margins in the last few years – for example, there will be more students with access arrangements in place, with the most common form being additional time, some 26% in state schools and 42% in private schools in 2024, and there are more of these types of formal exams at the end of Year 11 than at other points in educational history - overall the experience for students hasn’t changed fundamentally since the advent of mass schooling.

Having worked in education all my adult life, it's very hard for me to imagine a system that doesn’t end in this process. Exams are important as a rite of passage, an opportunity for students to show their learning and for other organisations to make judgements about people’s suitability for additional educational courses or employment opportunities. I do think the charge that in this country we over examine our children is correct, especially at primary school age, and that GCSEs are awarded on a bell curve so that only a certain proportion of students can get a certain proportion of grades in any one year seems at times unnecessarily restrictive. Any reforms that allowed students to show a basic level of competency in key skills, like a driving test but for English, Maths and other elements, would be ones that I would welcome, with additional opportunities for students to then show their excellence in these areas. However, I would always say that part of the point of school is to prepare students for exams, that exams are needed and that a system that did away with exams and relied instead on, for example, just teacher assessment, would be one open to bias and lead to students from more disadvantaged backgrounds being under-rewarded for their efforts. We saw this in the pandemic, and it’s also seen in the evidence base from other countries that currently rely on less formal exams.

All of this is to say that I think exams are important but also recognise that they are not just a source of stress to students, but to families. What it doesn’t mean is that in this school how students do in their exams is how we judge them as people; none of you as parents would make a judgement about your love for your son or daughter based on an exam grade and we as a school don’t make judgements about someone's moral character for good or bad based on their academic performance. Every student here should know excellence and experience success while they are with us, but that excellence can take many forms and be found in many areas. In the update below you’ll find evidence of the two sides of this coin; information about our assessments for students in Year 7 to 9 so they can demonstrate their learning and begin to get ready for the exams they’ll face later in their academic career, the chance to know success in terms of their learning, and a fund-raising effort in school this week in memory of a former student, a chance for students to not only support a good cause but also reflect on a person who demonstrated excellence on so many levels in their time here. The students who revise hard for their assessments and exams and try their best to succeed I’ll regard as good students, the students who take the time to raise funds for good causes and remember those less fortunate than themselves I’ll regard as good people; we're fortunate that so many people here are both.

Many thanks for your continued support of the school; I hope you all have a good weekend.

Michael Wright

Headteacher

Training Update

Teaching departments met to revisit the work around learners with speech, language and communication needs that we had looked at a whole staff body prior to the Easter holidays.

Parental Focus Groups

An invitation for people to sign up to be involved with some parental focus groups later this half term was issued earlier this week. Many thanks to everyone who signed up. The deadline to express interest is today, Friday 2nd May at 6.00pm. If you’d like to do so, please click on this link: Framwellgate School Durham - Parental Focus Groups 2025

Year 11 Hoodies

Year 11 will soon be issued with their leavers’ hoodies. Students can wear them in school provided they follow these conditions:

  • The hoodie will replace the blazer (except for exam days).
  • School shirts and ties are to be worn underneath the hoodie (no alternative T-shirts are allowed).
  • Hoods must be down at all times in school.
  • Blazers must be worn for exams.

Key Stage 3 Assessment Week

The annual KS3 assessment week is the week beginning 2nd June, the first week back after May half term.

Therefore, we will be using this half term to get the students prepared! Students will be introduced to this concept via an assembly:

Year 7 assembly - Friday 2nd May

Year 8 assembly - Wednesday 7th May

Year 9 assembly - Tuesday 6th May

8th May – all students will have received their revision booklets, which will include topic checklists so they know exactly what to revise and staff will let students know when their in-class assessment will be. Students should record this on their exam timetable in their booklet and the class teacher will also put the date of the assessment on ClassCharts.

Weeks beginning 12th and 19th May - Students will receive 'How to Revise' tutorials on Fram’s 6 revision strategies during tutor time.

How can I support my child?

  • Talk to your child about their assessments after they have had their assessment assembly.
  • Help your child to be organised by looking at the dates of the assessments on ClassCharts and getting them to record it on their exam timetable.
  • Encourage your child to make a revision plan following the steps in their revision booklet to alleviate stress.
  • Actively help your child to revise by engaging in the ‘How to Revise’ tutorials which will be made available to you via ClassCharts.

Raising money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign in memory of Oliver Marshall Clark (28.07.1992−01.05.2012)

Former student Oliver Clark sadly died from heart failure caused by Emery-Dreifuss Muscular Dystrophy in 2012; he was just 19.

He was diagnosed with the condition at 16 but didn’t let it stop him from living life to the full. He had just completed his first year of a History and Politics degree at Newcastle University, he was training to be a basketball referee and had taken up rock climbing.

Oliver was an incredibly bright, funny and engaging young man who is remembered fondly by all who knew him, including those at FSD who were lucky enough to teach him in the lower school and when he was in the Sixth Form.

Ollie gave his time generously to charity and always took part in International Bow Tie Thursday. We now dedicate this day to him and below is a photo of some of the participants this year.