The Academy at Shotton Hall

Our students have had so much fun taking part in a range of activities to celebrate the end of the school year. ⭐

Students enjoyed a bake off, bike ride, boardgames, bowling, climbing, darts, fishing, ice skating, skiing, tubing and table tennis, as well as visits to Roker Waterfront, Planet Leisure, Chester Zoo and Inflatanation.

We received lots of positive feedback from staff at the venues about our students' excellent behaviour - they were so impressed! It was lovely to see so many memories made.🤩

Our annual staff and student BBQ has raised an incredible £518 for the Peterlee Food Bank.
This is a fantastic achievement and a real reflection of the generosity, community spirit, and teamwork shown by everyone involved. A huge thank you goes to the amazing volunteers who gave up their time to organise, prepare, serve, and support the event. Their hard work and dedication have made a genuine difference and will help support people in our local community.

Well done to everyone who contributed and helped make the BBQ such a successful and worthwhile event. It is something we can all be incredibly proud of. 👏🍔🌭

A big round of applause for our final Open Mic performers of the school year!👏

🎤 Isabelle - https://loom.ly/5HUP8cU
🎤 Jessica - https://loom.ly/Ur1WBcY
🎤 Mr Tiplady - https://loom.ly/H76vZbY
🎤 Mya - https://loom.ly/q1sDe7Y

Last week we hosted Come Craft With Me, our annual parent/student event. It was a brilliant day and everyone had lots of fun!⭐

Year 7 were fantastic in our Spelling Bee competition and were 'buzzing' from start to finish! Every participant was rewarded for their effort, and our champions took home medals, sweets, and the coveted Spelling Bee Mascot for their SEPT.

The results were as follows...
🥉 3rd place: 7T3 and 7E2
🥈 2nd place: 7T1 and 7P2
🥇 1st place: 7P1

Well done, Year 7!👏

We're looking for a part time minibus driver to join our team!
Find out more and apply here: www.nelt.co.uk/careers by 31st August 2026.

A group of stargazing students enjoyed a visit to Kielder Observatory recently, where they had the chance to use the telescopes, speak to astronomers and take part in a meteorite workshop. They even got to touch some rock samples from the moon!⭐

An update from Cambodia!✈️

"Our students recently finished their projects at Camp Bakong, where they made floor tiles for the local health centre in the village. The next stop after this was Sihanouk, after a 10 hour journey! Then via boat to Koh Rong Sanleom Island, where they enjoyed diving, doing a beach clean, taking cookery lessons and learning to be emergency medical first aid responders. Everyone had a fabulous time on Koh Rong Island, even of it did mean doing a one hour jungle treck daily to get to camp - worth it!"

Kelly Ogden, our Actor in Residence, has been working with a group of students on a fresh adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. These sessions have helped students to build communication and interaction skills while having plenty of fun along the way!⭐

We’re on the TV!🤩
A number of our students were featured on an episode of Our Lives on the BBC. The episode followed our Head of Music, Mr Robson, and the Easington Colliery Brass Band in the lead up to their Durham Cathederal concert, where a number of our students and students from Easington Academy also performed.

Watch the full episode here: https://loom.ly/ug3xcZ4

Our Lives - Series 10: The Last Miner in the Band Former miner Peter is the heart of Durham’s Easington Colliery Band. Seventy-five years ago, the band united the community after a pit disaster. But now there are concerns for its future.