International award success for local secondary school

A secondary school in South East Northumberland has been recognised for a second time by the British Council for its outstanding work to integrate international teaching and learning into the curriculum. Duke’s Secondary School in Ashington has been reaccredited with the International School Award having demonstrated how elements of international education have been embedded into …

Ofsted to inspect Tutoring, while North East schools remain cautious about NTP

Ofsted to inspect Tutoring in schools while North East schools remain cautious about NTP The Department for Education has requested Ofsted inspect tutoring within schools, as part of the government’s catch-up plan. Ofsted has been instructed to examine “the overall quality of tutoring offered by schools and 16 to 19 providers”.  Of particular interest is …

New buildings for Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Middle School

Staff and pupils at Queen Elizabeth High School and Hexham Middle School were delighted to move into their brand new, purpose-built facilities this week, after a short delay to the start of term. Feeding off their iconic, grade two listed Hydro building, which has been fully refurbished, are the new middle school and high school …

New Build, Uniform and Ethos for Simonside Primary School

Simonside Primary School have built an impressive new site for their pupils which has opened for the new school term as well as introducing a new uniform and logo to reflect their ethos and growth. Head Teacher Louise Thompson called the new building “a fabulous, spacious  learning environment in which our pupils and community can …

Medical experts questioned over 12-15 vaccinations

With the roll out of vaccinations for 12 to 15-year-olds beginning this week, medical experts appeared before the House of Commons Education Select Committee to explain the decision to vaccinate this group.  Among the medical experts were Chief Medical Officer for England, Professor Chris Whitty, his deputy Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, and Chair of the Joint …

Chair of Ofsted questioned on governance of the inspectorate

Dame Christine Ryan, Chair of Ofsted’s board, attended an accountability hearing of the House of Commons’ Education Select Committee this week, answering questions about the governance of the inspectorate. Robert Halfon MP, Chair of the committee, asked about the ways in which the board was able to hold Ofsted to account. He noted that while …

New Education Secretary, but Schools North East’s message remains the same.

After a dramatic week, a Government reshuffle has seen Nadhim Zahawi replace Gavin Williamson as the Secretary of State for Education. Nick Gibb has also been removed as Schools Minister. In office since July 2019, calls for Williamson to be removed have been growing ever louder during two covid-hit and controversial exam years, with a …

Family-friendly Covid-19 exhibition to go on display at Newcastle Cathedral

Following its successful launch in Northumberland, a family-friendly interactive exhibition based on the North East’s experience of coronavirus is heading to St Nicholas’ Cathedral in Newcastle. Created by students at Duke’s Secondary School in Ashington (Part of Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust), the ‘Pan@NCEA’ project combines elements of the STEM curriculum (Science, Technology, Engineering …

Multi Academy Trust celebrates launch of four new schools

Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust (NCEAT) has celebrated the start of the new academic year with the launch of four new primary schools. The multi academy trust, which operates across South East Northumberland, has successfully demerged its 1,500 pupil primary academy to create five separate primary schools in their own right, ready for the …

Bishop of Berwick impressed by children’s ‘resilience’ on visit to Northumberland schools

Pupils at Grace Darling C of E Primary School in Newbiggin-by-the-Sea and Duke’s Secondary School in Ashington have welcomed a very special visitor, The Right Reverend Mark Wroe, Bishop of Berwick. Formerly the Archdeacon of Northumberland,the Right Reverend Mark Wroe was installed as the Suffragan Bishop of Berwick in January this year - only the …