PROUD Ceremony December 2025

6th January 2026Rebecca Shaw

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.

DUKE’S CADETS: Summer Camp and Glowing Inspection…

4th September 2025Rebecca Shaw

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!