11+ Entrance Examinations
Year 6 pupils from Junior House completed their 11+ Entrance Examinations for entry into Year 7 today. We were also delighted to welcome a number of external entrants into school as well. Well done to everyone who took part for their wonderful attitude and effort. We look forward to welcoming you into Senior House in September.
Gender Balance in Computing
Pupils in Year 8 are taking part in a Gender Balance in Computing study this term, which is a collaboration between, among others, the Raspberry Pi Foundation,
STEM Learning and The Chartered Institute for IT.
As specialists in the teaching of girls, we are excited to be involved in this research, which aims to explore the best ways to encourage more women to study Computer Science. Further details will follow shortly.
Sport Update
Well done to Millie in Year 7, who has qualified for the Inter-County Cross Country Championships next month. She will represent County Durham in the next stages of the competition.
It has also been a fantastic season for our U12 Netball team, as they finished as Durham City and District League and Tournament winners. Congratulations also to our U14 National Schools Netball Squad, who finished 3rd in the Jesmond invitational Tournament on Monday. A fantastic achievement for all involved. Well done.
A huge congratulations to Miss Moss, who is a DHS Old Girl and current member of the PE Department, who is now the Northern Athletics Senior 200m Champion. In Junior House, Year 5 and 6 also took part in a brilliant afternoon of Netball on Wednesday. They displayed some excellent skills and progress in a fantastic set of games against RGS.
Old Girl Becomes Author
Recent Year 13 leaver Ria, who is currently studying Medicine at Imperial College, London, has written and published a book about her admission to university called Medical School Admissions: All You Need to Know.
The book is a complete step-by-step guide through the medical school application process, all the way from deciding to pursue medicine to medical school interviews. It is available to order on Amazon by clicking here.
Celebrating the Arts
Last term, we revealed that we started on our Artsmark journey, which is the only creative quality standard for schools and education settings, accredited by Arts Council England. Its aim is to help us to celebrate and continue to embed arts, culture and creativity across the school. As part of this work, we are beginning to develop a programme of activities to celebrate and promote the arts to our pupils.
On Saturday 25 June, we will be hosting DHS Live!, our inaugural summer music event to celebrate the talents of our pupils, alumnae and the wider school community. In addition, on Wednesday 29 June, Durham High School will host the National Council of Women ‘In the Spotlight’ conference for girls in Year 10 and Year 12. The event, which was originally scheduled to take place in July 2020 before pandemic struck, aims to encourage more young women across County Durham to consider a career in the creative industries.
Songwriting Competition
In its 12th year, The Young Songwriter 2022 competition is the world’s leading songwriting competition for young aspiring songwriters aged 8-18. It costs just
£10 to enter, and young people are invited to submit song lyrics and an mp3 file of their song. The judges are looking for pure songwriting talent and, as such, professional recordings are not required. All songs will be judged on their originality, lyrics, melody, composition and hit-making potential. Prizes include a recording studio session and Yamaha equipment worth £1,000. For more information, and to find out how to enter, visit songacademy.co.uk.
