This week

• Students and staff from Nanya School in China arrived on Tuesday. After a short opening ceremony and introductions, the students were paired with Darrick Wood students and attended their lessons all week. On Tuesday evening they were introduced to cricket and on Wednesday after school interesting discussions were had between Darrick Wood students and their Chinese counterparts, comparing their educational experiences and lives in their different countries. A farewell ceremony was held on Thursday afternoon when gifts were exchanged and speeches given by student and staff representatives from both schools. Everyone agreed that it was a very worthwhile opportunity to learn from each other. Any Darrick Wood student still wishing to join the group travelling to Nanya next Easter should speak to Mrs Hobson or Mr Cozens as soon as possible for more information.
• We held our termly achievement assemblies for all year groups this week including subject awards, awards for House Points and for our five pillars of learning. Head Teacher’s Awards were presented for two students in each year group also.
• The work of three Year 12 students was selected for display in the Mall Galleries in London. Of the 25,000 entries submitted to the art and photography competition, four of the final 340 pieces selected for display belonged to Gabrielle, Samuel and Isabelle. We extend our congratulations to them for this fabulous achievement.

Building programme update

• The new Movement and Performing Arts Block is nearing completion and will be in use from September. The final phase is the extension to the Dining Hall. Demolition of the area currently housing the Theatre and music rooms will begin early during the holidays to ensure the most disruptive part of the project is completed before we return. The Dining Hall extension is due to open later in the autumn term.

New

• We have been working hard on the timetable and curriculum for next year and are pleased to confirm that we have been able to allocate the majority of pupils in Years 8 and 9 to their first choice preferences. A small number of pupils have been allocated to their reserve choice subjects – parents/carers have been informed.
• Our STEPS KS3 assessment system was developed by Darrick Wood staff and then published by Scholastic. We are proud to announce that the system recently won an Educational Resources Award particularly recognising the collaboration between the School and the publisher.
• After meeting with representatives from staff and students forming a new ‘Environmental Green Group’ (EGG for short) the Head Teacher has agreed to a number of improvements to ensure our students and the School generally become more environmentally friendly. We request that from September, any disposable plastic bottles are taken home for recycling and will be encouraging their replacement by reusable bottles. We are in the process of increasing the frequency of our recycling collections and also installing more water fountains (to enable easier filling of reusable bottles). EGG will be raising awareness in form groups and assemblies next term and we will be working with our caterers to reduce waste from food produced on site.

Reminders

• Friday, 20th July is the last day of the summer term. Year 12 will be dismissed from 12.15pm and Years 7 to 10 will be dismissed from 1.00pm after an earlier lunch.
• The autumn term starts on Monday, 3rd September but the first day back is for staff only. Year 7 and the Sixth Form return on Tuesday, 4th September. The rest of the School start on Wednesday, 5th September.
• Parents are reminded of the email sent from Dr Airey regarding uniform expectations from September including the rule on which skirt must be worn. This must be purchased from our uniform shops in the style shown here. Those not currently wearing this skirt are expected to purchase the correct one ready for September.