The Christmas spirit was in full swing on Friday 7th December as our Year 6 students visited St Bartholomew’s Church for a day of festive fun. We sang carols and read prayers joined by parents in a full church, who joined in lighting the advent candle whilst our Head Boy’s cornet added a magical touch to the singing. What a beautiful turnout! Our students loved it and had so much fun. Here are some photographs from the day.
We were thrilled to welcome local author Chris Elliott to school to share his first book from his New Beginning Wood series, Henny the Hedgehog with us. Chris, who lives in Newbiggin has written a series of childrenâs books where animals are the main characters. Each book has a moral, Hennyâs moral was all about not judging people based on their appearance. Chris delivered workshops about animals to the children before sharing his lovely story. The children were engrossed and they cannot wait for his next book about Snowy the White Rabbit. Every child was given a free bookmark and poster to take home and some children, who were Chrisâ special assistants also received a Henny notebook. We are looking forward to welcoming Chris back to school in the new year.
When talking about his day spent with our pupils, Chris said:
âI was honoured to be allowed to give my first-ever reading of Henny Hedgehog at Grace Darling. All the children I met were friendly and enthusiastic, curious and kind. They are a testament to a village I now call home and the teachers in the school. If you are a parent of a Reception, Year One or Year Two child that I met, you should be proud of not only how they behaved but also the sheer joy they brought to my day. I hope to see them all again soon.â
If you child missed out on a pre-order of the book, they can be found here. https://newbeginningwood.com/
Our school community worked tirelessly to raise money for local charity Brighter Storey For All and thanks to our pupils, parents, staff and wider-community, we managed to raise ÂŁ352. Brighter Storey For All is dedicated to raising awareness of mental health and neurodiversity, facilitating opportunities for people to connect, engage in fun local activities and improve overall mental health and wellbeing. Both our school and the charity share the same passion and aim to provide a lasting impact for all individuals in our local community facing mental health and neurodiversity challenges.
“The wellbeing of our children and staff is always a priority for us and we are delighted to link with Brighter Storey For All so that, together, we can also support people in the community” – Mrs. S. Cole
If you would like to support Brighter Storey For All by providing a donation, just click on Just Giving where it will redirect you to the official donation page. Want to learn how you can support Brighter Storey For All and get involved with the events they offer? You can keep up with them on their website and social media.
You can read all about our charity fundraising on the Northumberland Gazette’s website via this link
Grace Darling Primary School, part of the Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, is celebrating the outcome of their recent OFSTED inspection, which judged the school to be âGoodâ in all aspects.
In the inspection carried out on the 2nd and 3rd of July 2024, Inspectors noted pupils behave well and know to be ready, respectful and safe. Pupils look after one another and classrooms are calm and orderly. Bullying is extremely rare and pupils trust adults to sort out any problems. Pupils say they enjoy school and âbeamed with pride and self-beliefâ. This is reflected through âthe outcomes in national assessments in reading, writing and mathematics [which] demonstrate the good progress that pupils make over time in these subjects.âÂ
âThere are numerous opportunities for pupils to experience learning outside the classroom, such as âBeach Schoolâ, which features water safety lessons and care for the environment. Every child is encouraged to take part in numerous school clubs.â
Leaders are ambitious and have created âa curriculum that will ensure that pupils have the knowledge and aspirations to lead a âlife without limitsââ, the curriculum is inclusive of everybody which is demonstrated throughout the school, including through the use of the SEND provision, described by Ofsted as âholistic and highly effectiveâ. The curriculum âmeets the needs of all pupils, including those with special education needs/disabilitiesâ with staff making appropriate adaptations to the curriculum so that individuals are supported to be successful in accessing the entire curriculum.
âThe curriculum is precisely sequenced and the most important knowledge for pupils to learn is clearly identified. As a result, pupils can remember what they have been taught over timeâ.Â
âThe schoolâs curriculum and provision for early years, including for two-year-olds, is well planned. Adults focus on developing childrenâs communication and language. This is effective. The learning environments are stimulating and children enjoy their play. Children make strong progress from their starting points.â
Sharon Cole, Headteacher at Grace Darling, said:
“We are absolutely delighted that our school has been recognised as a Good school by Ofsted. At Grace Darling, our priority is to nurture and support children so that they are safe, happy and successful and our report recognises our efforts. The children here will tell you that we are like a family and we all look after each other. Newbiggin by the Sea is a very special place and we are proud of everyone who is a part of our school community.”  Â
Alan Hardie, Northumberland Church of England Academy Trustâs CEO commented:
“I am delighted that OFSTED recognise the high aspirations that Grace Darling’s staff have for their pupils, the school’s key role in the local community in Newbiggin and the hard work the staff put into delivering this. There is praise for the school environment, which ensures that pupils feel safe, happy and can learn effectively in the nurturing atmosphere. This is a great report that the whole school community can feel very proud of”.
Photo caption: Pupils from Grace Darling celebrate their latest Ofsted result with Headteacher Sharon Cole.
Is your child in Year 6? Duke’s Secondary is holding an Open Evening on the 25th September between 4-6pm.This is a great opportunity for you to meet your child’s prospective teachers, allowing you to make an informed decision on your child’s future. Staff at Duke’s will address any queries or concerns you may have regarding the application process and your child transitioning to Year 7.
Itâs a beautiful day at Barhaugh Hall, Robinwood. All well fed and looking forward to an action-packed day. First up for Mr Macâs group? The zippy zipwire!
After a fantastic day of all sorts of activities we are settling down to games night. The children have been amazing & are loving every second – building their skills, resilience & confidence. We are very proud of them! PS: they all say a big night night to everyone at home 🥱
Weâre almost at the end of a brilliant day of activities. Every child has risen to – or exceeded – what they thought they could achieve and have done so well. Go TeamGD!
Weâve been making memories that will last a lifetime. Only one more sleep till home. We miss you all but will be home soon! See you tomorrow.
Weâre so full of stories about our adventure to Robinwood. Incredible trip – the children have been so happy to have shared this time with their friends (old & new) & canât wait share memories tomorrow. Souveniers and other items will be given out at school tomorrow.
At Grace Darling this half term we have had a series of events raising much-needed money for national and local charities. We have been overwhelmed by the generosity of our community. In November, we were visited by a real-life Paralympian! Local hero, Stephen Miller, who is a 3-time gold winning Paralympian, visited our school and delivered an assembly for all children. Supported by Mr Norris and Mr Johnson, he then set up a circuit training session for each year group to take part in.
Over ÂŁ2000 was raised in support of the Paralympian fund and school PE resources! Many of our children received Gold Awards for raising over ÂŁ35 and were invited to have individual pictures taken with the local superstar. We are incredibly proud of how generous our school community has been this term and thank everyone for their much-needed support.
Grace Darling children also raised a fantastic ÂŁ275 for Children in Need. The children were so excited when Mr Macfarlane brought a special guest into the classes to meet them. Can you guess who it was? Children enjoyed a range of Children In Need themed activities such as Teddy bear biscuit decorating, PSHE sessions around Positive Relationships, Mindfulness and PE with Joe Wicks. It is on these sorts of days that we remember the difference that we can make to othersâ lives and at Grace Darling we are always remembering to âLet all that we do be done in Love.â
We are extremely proud of our Year 5 children who had the wonderful opportunity to be invited to the Brass Band in Aspire event at The Glasshouse. Our children proudly took the stage and played in a special concert in Newcastle. The children were expectation in every way!
Our children took part in a range of activities to explore what bullying is and how they can deal with it and deal a range of situations. The children discussed what they could do to help each other and they were able to link this to our school vision. We were very impressed with their mature discussions around these sensitive issues.
Supporting our childrenâs emotional wellbeing and developing their positive mental health is very important to us at Grace Darling. Being happy and comfortable helps us to be in the right mindset to learn. World Mental Health Day was on October 12th and we decided to have a drop-down week where the children would be able to work on strategies to support their wellbeing.
We had a range of activities such as Yoga, mindfulness, walks, writing worry leaves (which the children loved âblowing awayâ) and creating our own positive affirmations. We also had some special guests from the If you care, share Foundation who worked across the school with all children in Y1-6. They discussed feelings and identifying different emotions in ourselves and others. The children recognised that we donât all share the same feelings and spent a lot of time working on how we can make ourselves and others happy when we may feel down. The children wrote down their happy thoughts which are now stored in a treasure chest in each classroom and any time they need to reflect on these, they are given time to do so. The children were also delighted to receive a positive mental health goody bag at the end of the week.
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