The Oaks Secondary School - Spennymoor, Co Durham

10s sounds and vibrations

Stephanie Dove June 28, 2023

Continuing our unit on scientific enquiry, this week we focussed our attention on the topic of sound. We explored how sounds are made through vibrations and how they travel so we can hear them. We then created some paper cup and string telephone to test this out. We looked at how altering materials used, affected the sounds and whether this could travel around corners. We were all able to make excellent predictions and justify our choices using correct terminology and scientific explanations. Great work by all!

7T The Normans

Ashley Tierney June 26, 2023

This term, in History, we are learning about The Normans.

We all learnt that the Battle of Hastings began at 9am on the 14th of October 1066. We all had turns drawing 9am on a clock, finding 14 on a number line and identifying the month of October on a calendar.

After the short video, all students were able to recall important facts about the event. Identifying Normandy and England on maps and identifying that William the Conqueror won the battle.

We then watched a short video showing us the History around the Battle of Hastings.

Prom!

h.davis June 24, 2023

Pupils from 11D had an incredible time at their prom last night. There was eating, singing, dancing and some awards.

You all looked stunning, and we are so proud of the amazing young adults you have become during your time at The Oaks!

OFSTED Final Report

Steven Dean June 23, 2023

10255922 The Oaks Secondary School 134662 Final Report

Time

h.davis June 20, 2023

Pupils in 11D have been studying the topic of Time in maths lessons recently. We have worked on understanding and using language associated with time, before sequencing the days of the week and the months of the year. Today we began looking at clocks. We were all very confident at reading and showing “o’ clock”, so tomorrow we are going to progress to “half past”.

Year 10 Options Group- Gardening for Pleasure

Stephanie Dove June 20, 2023

Continuing our accreditation work on the importance of hobbies, the year 10 Independent Living group took part in a ‘ gardening for pleasure’ session. John Courtley joined us and showed us how to clear and weed areas, plant smaller plants in our raised planters and large shrubs along the boarders of our sensory garden. The pupils all got well involved and learnt how to distinguish between weeds and flowers. Thanks go to John and Sara Courtley for providing the new plants and giving up their own time to support us with this. Our pupils had a great time whilst learning some new skill sets.

Duke of Edinburghs Award students receive Social Value Certificate for their Volunteering

clare.irvine June 19, 2023

We are delighted to share the Social Value Certificate that our Y10, Y11 and 6th form Duke of Edinburghs Award students have received in recognition of the hours they put in during their volunteering section of their awards.

The hours put in are then equated to a financial value that would have been earned if the work undertaken was paid. You can see this year we have put in another fantastic effort!

The students worked very hard over the winter months undertaking beach cleans along the Durham coast and various environmental tasks with a project called Earthworks such as tree planting, river fly studies, land surveys, plug planting, visitor research, maintenance of historical gardens, leaky dam building and litter picking!

We are very proud of all the students efforts. Well done all!

North of England - The Oaks Secondary School -Social Value Cert 2023

10s Maths- Directional language

Stephanie Dove June 13, 2023

Some of 10s made the most of the fabulous weather this week, and took their maths lesson outside, where they worked on their use of directional and positional language, to play an engaging and interactive game (Who doesn’t love a game of Twister?!) We of course put our own spin on the traditional game, by altering the board to include a range of additional directional language, including compass points. Pupils could clearly and confidently state directions for their peers, whilst also following those offered by their peers. Such a fun lesson!

Family Group Eco School Projects

David Frew June 13, 2023

Over the last few weeks of last term, our students and staff have been developing projects based around the topic of Eco Schools. This was part of the Rights Respecting Schools curriculum delivered in Family Groups, which is one lesson a week when the students are split across the school into mixed groups containing Y7 to Vi Form students. I had the job of awarding a prize to the best project, but the standard across the school has been fantastic, along with the fact that the breadth of areas, styles and creativity have been so diverse and brilliant, that prizes are being awarded to the top 3 projects. There were 3D models, comic books, presentations (with dances), poster displays, booklets and insect hotels! Have a look at some of the photos below and see if you can decided which ones may be in the top 3…

Mr Frew

Year 10 Options Group- Independent Living-Hobbies

Stephanie Dove June 12, 2023

This week within our Independent Living group we continued our work on hobbies. After having Catherine Batty in school to talk to us about Scouting, we decided as a group we would like to try outdoor survival techniques. We chose to focus on outdoor shelters. We worked in two teams and were provided with only rope and tarpaulin. Pupils had to solve the issue of how to keep the tarpaulin off the ground but low enough to provide shelter. Both teams were successful by the end of the session!

Family Fun Day

Steven Dean June 9, 2023

9H – Scientific Enquiry

Karina Hyams June 7, 2023

Our new science topic is all about scientific enquiry. This week we explored the world of air travel! We listened to the story of how aeroplanes were created before fashioning our own out of paper.