The Darrick Wood Way
Parent Bulletin
“Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself”
– John Dewey –
Message from the Head Teacher
I wrote to parents and carers last Friday to bring two important news items (our approaching 50th anniversary and our merger with Impact Multi Academy Trust). In the meantime the spring term continues at a pace and there is lots to report on in this latest edition of the Darrick Wood Way. I was struck by the quote at the top of this bulletin and what this means to us all. For our students it means being actively engaged in the experience of learning and maximising the many opportunities available through their time at Darrick Wood School. It also highlights the importance of valuing life long learning, that there are opportunities in all that we do to learn, grow and improve whatever our age. For us, as school, I very much see the next year as one of those opportunities, whether that is through the collaboration with other schools within the wider Trust, or through those that come about as a result of the connections we make through celebrating our 50th anniversary in 2025/26.
From Monday, 20th January many of you will start to notice additional positive points being awarded and will see notifications in the MyChildAtSchool (MCAS) app. We will be awarding a positive point, daily, to every student that does not receive any negative points. This is one of many ways we can recognise those students who go through each day, keeping to the rules, supporting our core values, and helping the smooth running of the School. Staff will of course continue to issue positive points from lessons and around school alongside this new approach.
Finally from me, having introduced Reflection Time last term, I continue to believe this is an effective way to achieve consistent approaches towards relatively minor and easy to put right misdemeanours in school (e.g. uniform issues, chewing gum etc). I wanted to ensure everyone understands that these sit outside our usual behaviour logging system and are easily resolved quickly. As long as students report to Dining Hall 2 at 1.35pm for 15 minutes and complete their Reflection Time, there are no further repercussions. They are given three chances to complete this. It is only when they have had their three chances and still not completed it, it is escalated to an after school detention and logged in Bromcom for parents to note. We have a minority of students who then are being escalated even further to longer after school detentions for missing these lower level sanctions. This is unnecessary and I would ask all parents/carers to remind students of how this works and to give their support to our procedures which are there to raise standards and achieve consistency. Thank you for your support.
I hope you enjoy this edition of our parent bulletin and have an enjoyable weekend.
Attendance Focus
94.03%
Form Attendance
Congratulations to 7XL, 9XS and 10 XL for fantastic attendance in the first week of term.
Reading Recommendations
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Previous Bulletins
Upcoming Events
Thursday 23rd January – Year 13 Parents’ Evening (Online)
The Creative Writing Club has re-started on Tuesdays in En6 from 1:30. All students with an interest in writing are welcome. Mentored by Year 12 Shubhan and hosted by Ms Vos.
Useful Links
Ski Trip Easter 2025 – Click here for more information
Please remember to sign up for Bikeability if you are a parent of Year 7 or Year 8 – Click here for more information
Highlights of the fortnight
Young Chef Competition
On the 8th January we held the annual Young Chef Competition. This year we had almost twenty students fighting for the title of the Young Chef of 2025 and the judges, consisting of members of the Rotary Club, have agreed that Marcus L, Year 10 has won. The judges also nominated two runners up:
Amelie S (Year 10) and Sophia V ( Year 7)
All students demonstrated excellent skills and presentation. Congratulations to them all.
Christmas Fun Run
A huge number of students have raised significant amounts of money to support the provision of extra-curricular PE and sport here at Darrick Wood, and we are very grateful! The fun runs were fantastic occasions with all students completing some exercise (some in fancy dress) to classic Christmas songs! They all ran with huge smiles on their faces which was so pleasing to see!
We will now carefully consider how to best invest these donations in an effort to further improve the provision we offer. Whether it be equipment, kit or coaches for new clubs, we will be sure to share with you these improvements throughout the year.
Many thanks again and hope you had a wonderful Christmas from the PE Department!
Main Assemblies
In the first week of term in Main Assembly we had an excellent student led item from some of the Rough Science Club members. They told us about what they had been taking part in within the club and what they liked most about going. Thank you so much to Catherine, Abigail, Vihann and Aviral for their hard work and presentation and to Dr Love for all her support with this.
This week’s Main Assembly started with a piano performance from Aurelia in Year 8 on Monday and Tuesday and Keira in Year 12 on Wednesday and Thursday. Both have previously performed their pieces at the Christmas Music Concert, and we were all very lucky to hear them play again. Thank you to both for showing their life learning skills in such a mature manner.
Parent Partnership
As a school are committed to developing the way we all work together. As part of this we are setting up a working group to discuss positive changes we can make within the School around how we communicate with students, parents and carers. Some parents will be randomly selected and invited to take part in this group. We will write to you separately inviting you to take part if you are selected. We always welcome feedback and suggestions from parents/carers at any time via our surveys, pastoral contact form (available on the website) and by contacting the School office and this is one further way we will be seeking support to develop how we work together.
Curriculum Showcase
In Geography our Year 10 students have been studying ‘Development Dynamics’ as part of their GCSE course, looking at the case study of India. Students considered the environmental impacts of rapid economic growth, but also some of the positives to arise for the environment, such as investment in green energy.
In the same topic, Year 10 have also been looking at the case study of Malawi, and they key factors that need to be overcome to support more effective development.
Students in Year 8 recently finished their Population topic. They were learning about the contrasting population growth theories from Malthus and Boserup.
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion
Holocaust Memorial Day
27th January is Holocaust Memorial Day. The purpose of this day is ‘to remember the six million Jews murdered during the Holocaust, and millions more people murdered through the Nazi persecution of other groups and in the more recent genocides recognised by the UK government’.
The 27th of January is significant as on this day in 1945, soldiers of the Soviet Union liberated Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in Nazi-occupied Poland.
The Holocaust is studied several times within our curriculum including in History in Year 9 and Year 11.
If you want to find out more about this day and the history and impact of genocide across the globe, visit the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust website.
Sports and PE News
Our new Darrick Wood leotards have arrived for our Gymnasts. These will be worn during training, ready for our Gymnastics show in the last week of this term.
Congratulations to our U13 girls who have reached the Kent Cup Semi-Final beating Bromley Hugh School 4-0! They will play Bullers Wood in the Semi-final on Saturday, 1st February. They will also be playing Bexleyheath Academy in the last 16 of the National Cup. Well done to the whole team.
Safety & Awareness
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Wellbeing
Panic Attacks
All year groups will complete either external or internal examinations over the next two terms. Kooth have produced a useful booklet containing helpful strategies for parents around how to manage panic attacks.
Bromley Y Parent/Carer Survey
Bromley Y want to improve their service for the young people of Bromley. To enable us them improve their offer, it is important that they get valuable feedback from as many parents and carers as possible, to develop the service they want.
If parents and carers complete the survey by the end of 31st January, they will be entered into a prize draw for a £30 Amazon voucher, and the lucky winner will be notified shortly afterwards.
Please complete the survey by clicking on the link below
Student Leadership
Mental Health Ambassadors
Students have been busy applying to become the school Mental Health Ambassadors and it was lovely to see how many students wanted to take on this leadership role and develop their life learning skills in this role. They will now work on improving students’ mental health through various clubs, events and strategies whilst being the voice for all the students in this area. Congratulations to Maxwell, Lizze and Scarlett in Year 7, Rosie and Isla in Year 8, Wesley and Ellie in Year 9, Khloe, Mackenzie and Lina in Year 10, and Domonic and Emily in Year 12.
Work Related Learning
Monthly Parent and Carer Guide to Apprenticeships
As a school, we work closely with Amazing Apprenticeships who are a leading organisation in the education sector, working with schools, colleges and employers, tackling misconceptions and promoting the benefits of apprenticeships. Please find attached the January edition of the parent and carer guide to apprenticeships with lots of useful content to support your child with post-16 and post-18 pathway options.