This month’s edition covers:
Year 9 Options
Key dates & guidance to help students make informed choices
Replying to University Offers
Next steps & important deadlines
Future Skills Survey
Giving students a voice in their career planning
Take a look and support your child in exploring their next steps!
On Wednesday 17th December, Duke’s Secondary School held our first ever Proud Reward Ceremony.
PROUD
We were delighted to have hosted our first ever end-of-term Proud Celebration Ceremony, which is a new special way we as a school have been recognising the achievements, character and values of our wonderful students. Thank you to the staff who worked hard to organise the event and thank you to the families who joined us to celebrate their children.
Throughout the term, our Proud sessions have taken place every Friday lunchtime, alternating fortnightly between Years 7 & 8, and Years 9 & 10. These sessions provide students with the opportunity to share work they are most proud of, reflect on their progress and celebrate success in a supportive and encouraging environment. Students are also rewarded with ‘LIGHT Points’ – part of our existing school rewards system, recognising positive behaviour and effort, which contributes towards receiving prizes.
To mark the end of the term and the year, we brought these celebrations together in a whole-school ceremony, where students from each year group were nominated for special awards in recognition of their achievements and the way they live out our school’s LIGHT values: Love, Inclusivity, Goodness, Hope and Truth.
Thank you to our amazing staff for putting together such a lovely event and a big thanks to Mrs Chima who has taken the lead on the new Proud initiative. Mr Atkinson reflected on the evening “We are very proud of all of our students at Duke’s. However, it is lovely to be able to reward those students that have consistently displayed the characteristics that will lead to successful outcomes for them during their time in school”.
Mr Blight said “Thank you to everyone involved with the ‘Proud’ event. It was brilliant to see students, parents/carers and staff coming together in partnership to celebrate achievement”.
Mrs Barker described the event as “A delightful way to end the term, seeing so many of our students being congratulated in such a lovely way. They continue to make us all proud and, are an absolute joy to teach”.
Awards presented included the Head of Year Award, the LIGHT Award and the Principal’s Award. Each recipient was chosen not only for their achievements, but also for the positive contribution they make to our school community.
Many students were recognised for being consistently polite, helpful, courteous and for being true assets to our school through the way they treat others. These everyday acts of kindness and integrity are what help make our school such a welcoming and inclusive place to learn.
We celebrated students for their exceptional work, drive and ambition. Our Year 13 students Sofiat has been recognised for her extreme devotion to success, taking 5 A Levels and embracing every learning opportunity that is available for her.
Our Year 8 student Feisal has been recognised for how well he’s fit in and positively contributed to the school community. Popular with his peers and teachers, he’s a real positive presence in school. He’s also been recognised for his incredible football talent, capturing the attention of Newcastle United and his teachers alike.
One of our Year 7 students Oliver has taken it upon himself to raise money and donations for the local charity Wansbeck Valley Foodbank, creating a musical virtual advent calendar where he plays the cornet, connected to the GoFundMe page which has exceeded it’s target! He also spent his own pocket money on a huge food hamper for a family in need. We’re incredibly proud of his compassion, empathy and drive to help others. If you would like to help Oliver raise more money for local families, click this link.
Many other students were recognised for being consistently polite, helpful and courteous, and for being true assets to our school through the way they treat others. These everyday acts of kindness and integrity are what help make our school such a welcoming and inclusive place to learn.
We would like to extend our sincere thanks to all the families who joined us for the ceremony. It was wonderful to see you all and to celebrate these achievements together. Your continued support plays a vital role in our students’ success, and we are grateful for the strong partnership between home and school.
Congratulations to all of our award recipients and those who were nominated. Thank you to every student who continues to show pride in their work, their character and their community. We look forward to many more moments of celebration in the future.
Remembrance Sunday
On Sunday 9th November, Duke’s Secondary School’s Combined Cadet Force proudly took part in the Ashington Remembrance Parade, standing shoulder to shoulder with local community members to honour those who have served and sacrificed.
Our cadets showed true courage and composure as they marched through the town, representing Duke’s with pride and respect. A particularly special moment came when CDT CPL Isla Blake laid a wreath on behalf of Duke’s Secondary School – a touching tribute to those who gave their lives in service.
Colour Sergeant John Langan acted as Parade Commander, leading the contingent with discipline and professionalism, while Second Lieutenant Kirsten Osman provided vital support in coordinating the march. A huge thanks to John and Kirsten!
This year’s parade was the first attended by Duke’s CCF as a full contingent under the new leadership of Mrs Georgia Goodfellow, marking the start of an important tradition that will see our cadets continue to take part in future Remembrance events.
We are incredibly proud of all our cadets for their commitment, bravery, and sense of duty. Their efforts embody the light values we strive towards every day at Duke’s. Well done to each and everyone involved, we couldn’t be prouder of you!
Lest we forget.
Welcome to the next chapter – Where student curiosity and growth meet…
We are thrilled to officially announce the fantastic news regarding the improvements and developments made to Duke’s Library… We’ve had a major refresh!
With over 7,500 physical books and over 3,000 eBooks that can be translated into any language on our Dukes E Platform – making it an easily accessible and fantastic resource for multilingual students. We’re bringing in a scannable QR code which takes you straight to the login so it’s easily accessible on mobile phones and can be translated by the click of a button; ‘edit’. There’s also 500 loan books from the School’s Library Service that will go hand-in-hand with our new suggestion box, ensuring our collection continues to reflect students’ interests. Students can anonymously request books they’d like to see added to our shelves.
Meet our new Librarian
Our wonderful new school Librarian Mrs Bonham has been at the heart of these new developments – bringing passion, expertise and a fresh vision to the role. Going above and beyond, Mrs Bonham has carefully curated a diverse, up-to-date and engaging collection by keeping a close eye on popular trends through trusted sources like Waterstones, The Times and even ‘BookTok’, a large community on Tiktok popular with teens. The library is now a vibrant and welcoming hub for student discovery and growth. Whether you’re into fantasy, non-fiction, graphic novels or the latest viral reads – there’s bound to be something you’ll love!
Thanks to the hard work of Mrs Bonham and numerous donations from members of the community, including local groups Reduce Waste and Get Creative Community Hub, Ashington’s Everything Must Go and various people from Facebook – the library is fully stocked and raring to go.
Library Lessons
All Key Stage 3 students have a fortnightly library lesson and within these, Mrs Bonham will be leading small group reading sessions of up to 15 students at a time. The sessions are designed to give every child the opportunity to explore their interests, ask questions, discuss what they’re reading and receive personalised book recommendations tailored to their unique tastes and skill levels. Students don’t need to wait until their next scheduled session to return books or seek advice, Mrs Bonham is always happy to speak with them outside of lessons. The goal is to give every student time and space to connect with reading in a way that feels personal, exciting and most importantly enjoyable. The library is open over break and lunchtime as well for those students wishing to access the space outside of lessons.
Accelerated Reader Programme:
Year 7 students will be continuing with the Accelerated Reader programme that they are familiar with from Primary School. In support of the accelerated reader programme – a computer-based reading management system that helps schools encourage independent reading – the library books are now colour coded to represent different reading levels. Inside there will be a code, which will lead to a quiz about that particular book. There will be competitions, incentives for points gained and an awards programme to reward students for their developing reading skills. Accelerated Reader aims to foster a love of reading and to improve students literacy skills through a structured reading programme.
Thank you to all of the lovely parents who came to the opening of the Library.
We hope you enjoyed visiting the new and improved space for our students and enjoyed chatting with us about how we can best support your children together. For those who couldn’t make it and wish to visit us, you are invited to the Library on the 25th November between 3pm – 4pm to browse the book selection of our Scholastic Book Fair, which will also give you the opportunity to buy books, journals and stationary if you wish.
Save the date…
Scholastic Book Fair – Monday 24th November 2025 – Friday 28th November 2025.
Christmas display in the Library – 1st December until the Winter Break.
World Book Day – Thursday 5th March 2026.
Welcome to our Year 7 Special Edition of Duke’s Journal!
Find out what Year 7 have been up to during their first 6 weeks of Duke’s Secondary School…
Duke’s CCF Summer Camp
Duke’s Combined Cadet Force (CCF) let their light shine at Otterburn Summer Camp.
A huge well done to our Duke’s CCF! Each and every one of you were a credit to our school and we couldn’t be prouder of how you all articulated yourselves throughout the summer camp. We had countless comments from other schools and organisations in regards to the way our pupils carried themselves throughout a rather physically challenging camp. The cadets were well mannered, appreciative and gave 110% effort into everything they completed.
Taking part in various activities such as;
- Competitive shooting on Cadet GP & air rifle.
- Intense Fieldcraft Exercise involving fire & manoeuvre
- Competition Day (Duke’s won a total of 3 competitions)
- North Yorkshire Waterpark
A special shoutout to Kaiden Wright, Morgan Lamb and Isla Blake for winning awards throughout camp. As well Grace Simpson – who shot on a live firing range for the first time at summer camp and managed to out-shoot all other cadets and contingents, winning 1st prize for her impeccable shot. We are extremely proud! It takes great skill to fire such weapons, so a massive well done to Grace!
More Great News!
Duke’s Combined Cadet Force were subject to the bi-annual inspection in October, which is similar to an Ofsted inspection but for the CCF. Colonel Jeremy Dodd from the RRF came to inspect the running and effectiveness of Duke’s contingent. After a long wait, we finally have the report back!
We are absolutely delighted to announce that Duke’s CCF received 4/5 Above Standards thanks to the hard work from the CCF, Cadet Force Adult Volunteer’s (CFVA), SLT and our wonderful cadets. Our last standard was based on adult recruitment which we came out as ‘Standard’ on this one. Colonel Jeremy Dodd stated in the report “Overall a very successful Contingent who is on an upward trend” and “most of the cadets were aiming to achieve their 1-star qualification, with a healthy group aiming to achieve their 2-star award. Training was conducted at the right level with good resources”.
Help us to inspire the next generation…
Despite all of the praise received from the reviewing officer and other organisations – one thing which was made apparent was the lack of adult volunteers on the team. We have a wonderful team of dedicated and professional CFAV’s here at Duke’s, but we’re very quickly becoming outnumbered!
Do you want to inspire the next generation and make a real difference? We’re looking for enthusiastic adults who are seeking an adventure to join the Duke’s Combined Cadet Force as Volunteer Instructors. The contingent requires more volunteers to continue offering a range of activities and maintain growth to avoid stagnation in opportunities and learning, which could cause progression to become slower.
As a volunteer, you’ll help students develop important life skills like leadership, teamwork and discipline through various activities such as fieldcraft, adventurous training and drill. Working alongside our experienced team, you’ll receive training and gain valuable skills that will benefit you in both your personal and professional life. No military experience is necessary – just a passion for helping young people reach their full potential.
Learn how you can get involved by contacting our AUO Georgia Goodfellow via her email – georgia.hughes@dukes.ncea.org.uk
We look forward to welcoming you on the team!
