Premier League Inspires…

20th February 2023Fran Davison

Very proud to share that a group of Duke’s Secondary Students have won the club heat of the PL Inspires Challenge.

The PL Inspires Challenge is a National Competition that football club’s engaging in PL Inspires around England enter, having a designated team to represent them. The competition see’s teams set a challenge around a specific topic and teams have to design, implement and put a social action project in place to tackle the issue. This years topic that students have to create their social action project around is ‘Protect the Planet’

Alongside other local secondary schools, two groups of Duke’s Students participated in the heat. They completed a session to design their social action project idea and then presented to a panel of judges.

One of the groups from Duke’s Secondary were selected as winners to represent Newcastle United Foundation at the regional and national finals later in the year.

Well Done Girls, now the hard work starts as we bring the project to life!

Y9 Parents’ Evening – Online appointment booking only – Wednesday 1st March 2023

16th February 2023Louise Gatti

Dear Parent / Carer

Y9 Parents’ Evening – Online appointment booking only – Wednesday 1st March 2023

I would like to invite you to attend our Parents’ and Options Evening on Wednesday 1st March. This evening is an important opportunity for you to discuss your child’s performance in the recent Progress Assessments, progress in their lessons and also to find out more about the subjects that your child may be interested in taking at GCSE. If you wish to discuss information about a particular subject as an option then please do so with the relevant teacher as part of the parents’ evening appointment. There will be a further opportunity on the night to discuss the full GCSE options process and ask any questions that you might have about either subject choice combinations or career pathways with a member of either the Options Team or the Careers Team.

Booking for this parents’ evening will be using the on-line system called School Cloud. It has its own online booking system which allows you to choose your own appointment times with teachers and receive an email confirming your appointments. Once you have followed the guides below and logged in, the appointment booking times will appear for each member of staff. Staff will be available between 4 – 6.30 pm. The appointment booking system will be open from and will close on .You do not have to book online to speak to a member of the Options Team or Careers Team on the night. They will be operating a drop in system.

The school prospectus and electronic options form, along with other information and advice, are available on the school website through the following link: Year 9 Options | Duke’s School (ncea.org.uk)

To understand how to use the booking system

Secondly this link will

Once you have watched

If you do not have access to the internet and / or are unable to access the booking system and resources, please contact the school office.

Yours sincerely,

Mr Line
Deputy Principal

Tips for Encouraging Open Discussions about Digital Lives

15th February 2023Louise Gatti


Tips for Encouraging Open Discussions about Digital Lives

Most parents frequently chat with their child about how things are going at school or what’s happening in their friendship groups – but those discussions often don’t extend to youngsters’ online activities. In fact, National Online Safety conducted a recent survey which found that only slightly more than half (54%) of parents regularly talk to their children about staying safe online.

It can be an awkward topic to broach and, of course, it needs not to feel intrusive. However, just checking in with your child about their digital life can get them thinking about online safety and alert you to any issues they might be having. In support of Safer Internet Day 2023, our #WakeUpWednesday guide has some useful tips on potential ways to start those conversations.

In the guide you’ll find a number of useful tips such as being as honest as possible, discussing how misleading the online world can be and creating a ‘family agreement’.