Dear Parents, Carers and Families,
Since I began working here in September 2024, I’ve shared these updates on a weekly basis to provide a sense of what’s happening in school, but also of who I am as a man and a headteacher, so that in turn you, as parents and carers, can know what my values are and what the ethos is here in school that we promote. However, this is a school community, and rarely am I the person your child interacts with most on a daily basis. I’d like, therefore, this week to highlight the work of other individuals in the school, people who represent many others, and are likely to be known by many of our students.
The first of these people is Miss Dearlove. Miss Dearlove is a Learning Support Assistant here, working in classrooms or in our Achievement Centre, helping some of our most vulnerable learners. Working with students with a range of very complex needs requires training and support, but first and foremost, it requires a level of empathy and understanding that really needs to be innate and just who that person is. If you meet Miss Dearlove, you pick up on this empathy immediately, evident in her cheery smile that she unfailingly greets everyone with. It’s a privilege to work alongside her and all the other Learning Support Assistants who are just like her.
Mrs Moore works in the main school office, or rather, in theory, she does. If your child has had a vaccination, they probably did so while having the process overseen by Mrs Moore. If they required first aid or a sick bag while sitting waiting to be collected, there’s a good chance Mrs Moore was the person who sorted this out for them. Your child might then have been slightly surprised to find Mrs Moore serving them their lunch when she stepped in to cover in the canteen. Mrs Moore is one of those people who it’s impossible to work out how they achieve so much in one day, or what they might be doing at any given moment. Without people like Mrs Moore, schools very quickly fall apart.
I would imagine your child doesn’t know Mr Jackson by name, but I would suggest they would recognise him, as most days he is the member of the site team who joins me at the front gate each morning to lock up. He greets me with a cheery wave most mornings and offers the same level of kindness and consideration to everyone he meets, staff and students. Sometimes all you need is for someone to smile and say good morning to you for your day to be instantly improved and set on the right path, and watching Mr Jackson greet so many children in this way always makes me feel a sense of joy. He is one of life's true gentlemen.
These people are of course not teachers, at least not formally, here in school, although they do all educate your children. I could have written about Miss Walker and her obsessive passion for Art, Mr Rosher and the way he commands the drama studio and allows some students to reveal another side of themselves that might be hidden in an ordinary classroom, Mr Everitt and his unfailing calmness as he unpicks the most complex of mathematical issues, Dr Mallet-Pont and the sound of children chanting in French, Miss Hutchieson preparing the girls’ football team for another tournament, Mrs Sumega appearing to be genuinely excited about dissecting another heart, Mrs Hodges engaging a group of Year 8 students with a really complex book and getting students to talk about feelings and emotions in a way I suspect they often don’t at home. I could have written about many, many other people, all of whom are the people your children spend their days with. I will certainly have missed out on this brief list someone who to your child has, at times, been everything they needed in that moment. There is one overriding characteristic that all the people who work here share – they want the best for your child, just like you.
Many thanks as always to you all for your continued support of the school; I hope you all have a good weekend.
Michael Wright
Headteacher
Please find this week's key messages below.
Year 11 Summer Study Leave
All Year 11 students will be expected to attend school and all timetabled lessons until Friday 22nd May. A leavers’ assembly will be held for students on this final day. Further details and information will follow from the year team. A quick-tips and grade booster timetable that will support students while completing exams in school will follow.
Year 11 Leavers’ Prom
The prom will take place on Monday 29th June at Ramside Hall. Invitations will be sent at a later date. Students are required to have 2000 positive achievement points to receive their invitation. Students’ behaviour and attendance will also be taken into account by the year team and SLT. Any further queries about the prom will be addressed by the year team.
Summer 2026 Exams – Contingency Day
All students taking GCSE, AS, or A‑Level examinations in summer 2026 must be available up to and including Wednesday 24th June 2026.
This date is known as the contingency day. It is set nationally by the exam boards and the Department for Education as a safeguard.
The contingency day is only used if there is a major disruption that prevents an examination from taking place as scheduled. This could include events such as:
- severe weather
- widespread transport disruption
- a national emergency
If such a disruption occurs, affected examinations may be rescheduled to this contingency date.
Students should therefore avoid making travel or other commitments that would prevent them from being available on this date.
Mrs Mersh-Roberts, Deputy Headteacher
Raising Achievement Sessions (RAS)
RAS started on Monday 12th January and will run through until February half term, in preparation for the March mock series beginning on Monday 2nd March. These are targeted sessions designed to intervene where students struggle with key concepts and/or have knowledge gaps. If students have been selected by their teachers to attend a session, it will appear on their Class Charts timetable and you will be able to see if they have attended or not. Students may be selected to attend up to 3/4 sessions a week and the majority of the sessions take place at lunchtime, after your child has had a break and time to eat. Some sessions occur after school. 90% of students attended RAS sessions last term, with 54% of students attending extra sessions of their own accord. Your support in getting your child to these sessions and maintaining these high attendance figures is paramount and much appreciated, thank you; last year there was a correlation between attendance of RAS and GCSE success.
There will be one final RAS block in April, including an Easter holiday study programme in the run up to the GCSE exam period. If your child doesn't have a session appear on their timetable for this block, it is likely they will be selected for one in the final RAS block. Students have had an assembly reminding them of this information and the process.
Miss Lutynski, Assistant Headteacher
What is my child learning?
A reminder that you can find curriculum details about what your child is studying here on our website: Curriculum Overview | Framwellgate School Durham
How to help support your child at home?
Students can use the link below to access resources that will help them study independently at home, such as:
- Knowledge organisers
- Revision checklists
- Past exam papers
- ‘How to Revise’ instructional videos
Students have been shown how to access this SharePoint site and a 'how to' sheet has been sent to you via ClassCharts. As parents and carers, you won’t be able to access this, but the link will work for all students. Students learning how to use this excellent resource early in their time here will be very beneficial to them later as they approach their GCSE studies. All GCSE students should be making regular use of it as a matter of course.
For information about different A-Level and GCSE exam boards and programmes of study, please follow this link: Exams | Framwellgate School Durham