It was a very busy end to the spring term with lots of success for our students and the School overall. A few highlights are shared below along with updates from the first week of the summer term.

Darrick Wood School awarded Artsmark Gold

We were delighted to receive recently the prestigious Artsmark Gold Award in a momentous year for the programme as it celebrates 20 years of arts, culture and creativity in schools.

The Artsmark Award is the only creative quality standard for schools, accredited by Arts Council England. It supports schools to develop and celebrate arts and cultural education, putting creativity and wellbeing at the heart of the curriculum. Artsmark ensures every young person can be creative and access a diverse, high-quality cultural education.

In order to achieve the Artsmark Award we had to demonstrate how we have developed our arts and culture provision to further embed a broad and ambitious curriculum. This was achieved by creating an overall plan that was committed to and delivered across the whole school. The Artsmark assessor commended the School on many aspects of what we do, including the following:

“Your extra-curricular arts offer is strengthening: three music concerts are produced each year (Christmas, Spring and Summer), plus a Year 7 ‘Everybody Sings’ inter-Form music competition and a wide range of instrumental and choral opportunities. You also host two dance productions per year. In addition, you work creatively with technology and your podcast service, DWS Audio, is developing well.”

Resistant Materials Junior Designer of the Month

Congratulations to pupils in Year 7, 8, and 9 who have received Junior Designer of the Month awards in Resistant Materials for February.  March winners will receive their certificates and pin badges before the end of term.  Well done to all award winners so far this year on their excellent effort and progress in Resistant Materials. There is still a chance to be awarded in the summer term, we will be picking winners for April, May and June.  In July all winners will have their names entered into a prize draw and an overall winner from Year 7, 8, and 9 will be selected to win a prize.

Jack Petchey Speak Out Challenge

Over the past few weeks, students at Darrick Wood have been honing their public speaking skills. Sixty Year 10 students took part in public speaking workshops run by the Speakers’ Trust and the Jack Petchey Charitable Foundation in school. Students learned to speak with confidence including how to ‘own the room’ using the 5Ss -Stride with confidence, Stand strong, Smile to engage, Speak with clarity and Stay for applause.  Five students then made it through to an assembly final – giving their speeches during assembly to Year 8. It was clear by their enthusiastic clapping and rapt attention that Year 8 were deeply impressed! Two students, Poppy and Indira, then took part in the Bromley Regional Final at Bishop Justus School, competing against 19 students from schools across Bromley in front of the Mayor of Bromley, a panel of judges and a large audience. They did not make it through to the National event but their poise, personality and eloquence was a credit to themselves and the school.

TfL STARS – DWS are regional winners

We recently learnt that Darrick Wood School is the regional winner of the TfL STARS Sustainable Travel STARS Award for South London. This recognises all of our efforts to increase active travel and decrease the number of cars on the school run, helping to improve air quality, road safety and children’s health in the local area. This is a whole school community award so well done everyone! A group of our students has now been invited to receive the award at the Kennington Oval later in May. The day will include two creative interactive sessions that include STARS and curriculum outcomes and will recognise and inspire students to become the green leaders of the future.

High levels of sport participation and success

It has been an extremely busy two terms of extra-curricular sport with sports clubs attended every week by over 300 students. Some nights we have had every facility in use – gymnastics in the gymnasium, basketball in the Sports Hall, football on the 3G pitch, netball on the courts, rugby on the field and dance in the Studio. We are so proud of everyone’s achievements and very much look forward to the start of (hopefully) a very sunny and successful summer term of Athletics, Cricket and rounders!

In football, there have been over 80 fixtures against local schools in Friendlies, Bromley leagues, Bromley Cup, Kent Cup and national cups! As we move into the summer term we already have plans to build on our success into next winter. There is even talk of a football academy to nurture our young footballers and push them on to win trophies and achieve greater success.

New Senior Prefects appointed

Congratulations to the following who have been selected as Senior Prefects after a rigorous process including speeches, voting and panel interview. Our Head Prefects for the next hear are Abdullah Aslam and Madeleine Lawrence. Our Deputy Head Prefects are Brandon Adeleke, Hope Coulstock, Susannah Hammond, James Monaghan and George Norris.

The prefect system is something we really value at Darrick Wood. It is an opportunity for all involved to develop their leadership skills and to make a difference to the wider school during their final year.

Reading / literature

Fifty five Year 11 students attended a performance of J B Priestley’s ‘An Inspector Calls’ at the Churchill Theatre Bromley on Wednesday evening. As well as being an enjoyable opportunity to watch an acclaimed show, the evening provided students with a timely opportunity to consolidate their understanding of this GCSE English Literature text. The Darrick Wood students conducted themselves in an exemplary manner and were excellent ambassadors for the school.

In the last week of the spring term over thirty avid readers from Years 7, 8 and 9 signed up to participate in the Darrick Wood School Carnegie Shadowing Group.  Over the course of the next two months each participant will be endeavouring to read all seven of the shortlisted books. They will meet regularly to discuss which book they think should be awarded the librarians’ prize for the best new book for young people as well as publish reviews and strive to attain the bronze or silver reading award.  They have managed to complete quite a few books already!

Key Stage 3 Poetry By Heart 

The Poetry By Heart performances have been delivered and filmed, the voting has been moderated, and our Darrick Wood Poetry Champions have been selected and entered for the National Competition.  Judges had very difficult decisions: all competitors had interesting, thoughtful, and perfect recitations. Unfortunately we could choose only one entry per year for the National Competition. Every entry was fantastic and if a student was not successful this year, happily they can perform next year!

Our champions and their poems are:

• Year 7: Ryan H (Fire and Ice by Robert Frost)
• Year 8: Chloe R/Annabelle W (Thumbprint by Eve Merriam)
• Year 9: Harry W/Riley E/Teddy L/Finley P (Lucifer in Starlight by George Meredith).

Thanks to the English Department for their support in and out of lessons, and congratulations to each of the competitors.

Black Forest trip report – Mr Wright, Head of German

Sunday, 2^nd April was spent feverishly checking news reports to see if ferry crossings from Dover had come to a grinding halt. We need not have worried, however, as our morning crossing from Dover to Calais on Monday, 3^rd April went without hitch. Balmy spring temperatures in our destination of Freiburg in the Black Forest were, sadly, not on the menu but as we arrived at DJH Freiburg just after 11pm on Monday, we soon readied ourselves for bed – which included solving the eternal conundrum of how to put a duvet cover on. We were eager for the adventure ahead.

The next day our party was up bright and early, negotiating the buffet breakfast and constructing packed lunch for the day. We were soon on the road, pounding the cobbles of the beautiful medieval city of Freiburg, drinking in the fresh spring air and crystal-clear skies. Our students in Years 8 and 9 learnt a little of the history and put some of their language skills into practice at the daily market at the foot of Freiburg’s beautiful red sandstone cathedral. That day’s afternoon activity was to take a trip on Germany’s oldest and longest cable car to the top of the Schauinsland mountain. Once deposited there, our students and staff were once again able to savour the views of spring in the Black Forest as they completed their trek.

Wednesday’s excursion was a trip to Germany’s number one theme park; Europapark. Again, blessed by beautiful sunshine, the Darrick Wood contingent was able to enjoy every experience that the park had to throw at them in its picturesque, themed grounds.

Thursday’s planned trip was to the nearby town of Gutach im Breisgau which, nestled wholly in the Black Forest, is home to a number of cultural and leisure activities. The morning was spent at the Freilichtsmuseum which was a fantastic opportunity to see the history of how families have made their lives in the Black Forest over the centuries; how they coped with the often rugged and challenging conditions and the traditions that date from that time.

Thursday’s afternoon activity was possibly less culturally edifying, but no less enjoyable. The Sommerrodelbahn is a gravity powered downhill luge ride which, by all accounts, was thoroughly enjoyed (if the number of laps that some pupils made is anything to go by).

Friday was the journey home and I think that students and staff had had a wonderful introduction to Germany and what it has to offer. As a brief addendum, this particular trip was marked by one member of staff (namely me) injuring themselves and so not being able to take part in most of the above activities. The wonderful Darrick Wood staff (names withheld to spare blushes) made sure that our Darrick Wood students had as fantastic a time as had been planned. They in turn behaved immaculately and were fantastic representatives of our school abroad.

BYMT Prom

Our “Little Big Band” performed very professionally at the BYMT prom event in front of a packed auditorium at Fairfield Halls.  Congratulations and well done to all involved.

On Wednesday, The Darrick Wood Little Big Band performed at Fairfield Halls in Bromley School Proms. Bromley School Proms provides schools with the opportunity to perform at a professional music venue to a large audience. The students performed a varied repertoire of popular music and were very well received, performing brilliantly on the night. The students had been working towards this performance since Christmas and it was fantastic to see all their hard work pay off. Well done to all involved! Special thanks to staff in the Music Department who prepared the students so well and also those who attended on the night.

High Street Fest 2023 – Brining a fresh festival vibe to Bromley High Street – Sunday 30^th April

High Street Fest, is a London Borough of Bromley initiative, funded by the Greater London Authority programme, ‘High Streets for All Challenge’.  The events have been designed to make Bromley High Street a more attractive destination for young people.

High Street Fest will run from 12pm until 7pm on Sunday 30th April, serving up delicious Urban Food Festival street food, smoothie bikes, live performances on stage, Chillout Tent with DJs to hang out with friends, a Customisation Station to upcycle your old t-shirts and jeans, Gaming Bus, Bromley FC, Nike Bromley, Mytime Active – and much more!

To find out more follow on Instagram @lbbromley or check out the webpage at www.bromley.gov.uk/highstreetsforall

Reminders

• All Darrick Wood students are expected to have with them in school daily their reading book, planners and a pencil case full of the equipment required for success in lessons. Can parents/carers please raise the profile of this at home.
• Absence – when your child is absent from school please provide as much information as possible about why they are absent (i.e. more detail than just “unwell”).
• There has been an increase the local neighbourhood of theft of mobile phones. Parents/carers are asked to discuss with their children risks of having their mobiles phones out on display when travelling to and from school.
• We have noted an increase in parents coming onto the School site with a dog. Please be reminded that dogs should not be brought onto the School site with the exception of assistance dogs.
• Those students taking part in Bikeability next week are reminded to bring all the equipment into school as outlined in the letter they will have received. They must dismount their bikes they come onto the School site, bring a bike lock and secure their bikes in the bike shed provided when not in use. 
• There will be a PSFA second hand uniform sale on Saturday, 22^nd April 10.00am to 11.00am.

Dates for the diary

Saturday, 22nd April, 10-11am	PSFA second hand uniform sale
Week beginning 24th April	Year 10 examinations
Week beginning 15th May	Public examinations start
Monday, 29th May to Friday, 2nd June	Half-term break