Dear Families,
I hope this update finds you and those closest to you in the very best of health. The highlight of this week for me was Derby Moor’s Got Talent, which was a fantastic event, but I’ve also been inspired by a number of our Year 11 students during their Sixth Form Interviews. These are always a pleasure to take part in as it is a privilege to spend dedicated time talking about future plans and supporting our young people into the next stage of their educational career. I have been really impressed with their preparation, confidence and the range of experiences that they are able to draw upon to talk about their personal qualities. Whilst this is partly a testament to our employability program, it is also down to their commitment to grab those opportunities and to make the most of them.
Derby Moor’s Got Talent
Wednesday Evening saw some of the best talents at Derby Moor perform at our Derby Moor’s Got Talent event. 10 amazingly talented musicians/comedians/singers/dancers and gymnasts battled it out to be crowned winner of DMGT 2025. Hosted by students HR and LJ, the show was a great success with performances wowing the audience throughout. Following voting after all 10 acts had performed, Triple Fusion (Dance Group), Phoebe Coles (Gymnast) and Lily Gardner (Singer) were put through to the final 3 and asked to perform again, with Lily Gardner putting on a sensational vocal performance to win in what was a final of immense talent. Thank you to everyone who attended to event, and we look forward to seeing you at our Expressive Arts Events in 2025/6.
Derby Scholars Program Launch
We are excited to announce the launch of this year’s Derby Scholars Program, aimed at supporting high-achieving students in their journey towards Oxbridge and other top-tier universities. This initiative, now in its fifth year, continues our collaboration with Oxford University and we are delighted to welcome Murray Edwards College, Cambridge as a new partner. The program provides targeted support, including university visits, online workshops, and skill-building activities, to help students navigate admissions processes and gain confidence in their academic abilities. Selected Year 9 students have already been invited to participate, with a number of registrations already confirmed.
Ethical Architects and Innovators of the Future
Last Tuesday a group of 35 Year 8 students, selected because of their conscientious approach to Teen Tech Awards and their innovative ideas, were chosen to take part in a 2-hour virtual workshop to design the perfect City of Tomorrow with Teen Tech. There were various interactive tasks to help them to explore the range of problems in cities and to identify potential improvements. Prior to the event, students had been asked to consult with parents to bring questions and suggestions from different generations. They listened to a range of developments from leading architects at home and abroad, then were invited to submit their questions and suggestions, to be answered/commented on live for all participating schools to hear. The workshop is in preparation for our visit to De Montford University in March, to work with experts in the architectural, engineering, aesthetics, safety and business sectors to try out their theories and get help to develop them further.
The students were able to self-manage their groups through the various tasks, whilst providing a steady stream of thought-provoking questions to send through the link, some which really challenged the experts. Once the design stage began, their teamwork, productivity, time-management and thinking outside the box were impressive, with many of their initial ideas being selected to be shared further afield. They reflected our school ethos admirably.
Sixth Form Update
The start of the week marked an important milestone for our Year 13 students as they had their revision launch with the Sixth Form Team. With only 94 days (and just 52 school days) until the A-Level exam series begins, it’s crucial for students to make the most of their revision time. They have been provided with a comprehensive booklet filled with valuable revision tips and strategies. The support of families in encouraging their child is hugely appreciated and vital during this critical period. Your involvement can make a significant difference in their motivation and success. If you have any questions or need additional support from the Sixth Form team, please do not hesitate to reach out.
In addition, our Year 12 students enjoyed their Work Experience launch this week. They now have an exciting opportunity to gain 5 days of real-life experience in a work setting of their choice. This hands-on experience is invaluable as they explore potential career paths and develop essential skills.
Sixth Form Interviews
As mentioned earlier, our Sixth Form interviews for internal candidates began this week. Students were informed of their appointment times and have come well-prepared to discuss their post-16 choices, mock exam performance, and their plans for making the most of their time in Sixth Form. Interviews for external candidates will take place later this term.
Duke of Edinburgh
The DofE team wanted to notify families that they have had to change the DofE dates due to Eid Ul Adha likely falling on our original assessed weekend. Please see below the new dates – this is for both Bronze and Silver (with only Silver doing the evening of 2nd May on the practice weekend and Monday 19th May on assessed weekend). There will no longer be a DofE weekend in June.
Practice Expedition – Evening of 2nd May, to Sunday 4th May
Qualifying Expedition – Saturday 17th May to Monday 19th May
Parents of the Silver group will be contacted over the next week regarding attendance to Thursday sessions.
Extra curricular timetable
A reminder that you can find the latest Extra-curricular timetable on our website here.
Sports Update
Year 8 Boys Basketball Tournament Summary: Wednesday 30th January 2025 at Allestree Woodlands School. It was with great excitement and anticipation that the Derby Moor Year 8 Boys all made their debut representing the school in basketball, during a round robin tournament held at Allestree Woodlands School this week. Looking very professional in their bespoke Derby Moor basketball kit, the team of eight pupils played three back-to-back games with a 12-minute running clock. With on-going and frequent substitutions, age-appropriate adapted rules and the emphasis on giving these pupils the chance to play rather than focus on the score or winning and losing, this would be a great environment to improve their confidence and develop their in-game skills.
Despite losing to John Point in the opening game, this did not dampen the enthusiasm of any of the team. No heads dropped and through great resilience, they comfortably prevailed in the second game against St Benedicts. Derby Moor were competitive in a close final game against Woodlands. The lead changed hands several times throughout the twelve minutes and despite being in the lead in the final thirty seconds, Derby Moor were just pipped to the finish will a last second basket by their opponents. The boys were professional and showed great sportsmanship throughout all three games, shaking hands with opponents and referees at the end of each game, regardless of the result.
PEEA Extra Curricular Clubs: We have a number of exciting Expressive Arts extra-curricular clubs being added to the program in PEEA starting next week:
Music Production Club – Thursday after school – 3.10pm-4pm –– Ho7
Choir Club – Lunch time – TBC – Ho7
Drama Club – Tuesday after school – 3.10pm-4pm –– Drama Studio
Sports Clubs: Y7 and Y8 football Boys football club has started again following the winter break. Thursday afterschool – 3.10pm-4.10pm – ATP
Careers Update
This week’s job of the week is a Financial Advisor.
DHL/Outward Bond Residential Selection Day: On Tuesday, nearly 30 Year 10 students who applied for the opportunity to participate in the Outward-Bound Residential Program to North Wales, took part in a selection process. The program is offered by the DHL Foundation, in partnership with The Outward-Bound Trust with the residential taking place in May. Students were put through a variety of challenges, some of which were in teams whilst others were done individually. They had the opportunity to showcase their 4Rs employability skills and impress our visitors from DHL. At the end of the day, 12 students were selected to attend the trip to Aberdovey, although our visitors were very impressed with the quality of all of the students who applied.
Year 9 Apprenticeships Assembly: We were delighted to welcome two staff from Huws Gray to Derby Moor on Friday. They delivered an assembly to all Year 9 students about apprenticeships, explaining what they are and the different levels. This is timely as next week is National Apprenticeship Week and on Tuesday, we will be welcoming JCB apprentices to deliver an assembly to our Year 10 students.
Rolls Royce Advanced Level 3 Apprenticeships: Applications for these are now live. Rolls Royce Level 3 apprenticeships require a minimum of 4 GCSEs (or equivalent) at Grade 4, including Maths, English Language, Science (excluding Biology) and one other subject. Rolls-Royce are committed to supporting interested students through the application process as much as possible. You can find their guide to applying online here, advice about preparing your application here and a guide to their assessment centre here. Applications close on March 28th, however, Rolls Royce reserve the right to close applications early, so it is wise to apply early.
Derby Moor Dispatch: The Derby Moor Dispatch goes out weekly to all students in Year 11, 12 and 13. The Dispatch contains a wide range of opportunities for work experience, summer schools, careers related webinars and so on. Please do have a look at the latest edition. The Dispatch is emailed to the students’ school email address, so it is important that they check this regularly on a Monday. You can also view the Dispatch via the Careers page of the Derby Moor website. Please take a look at the website as there is a wealth of useful information including a specific page for parents.
Luminate Careers: Our independent and impartial Careers Advisers from Luminate Careers have an excellent website with a wealth of useful information Please have a look at these links designed for parents/carers about careers conversation starters and Post 16 Options.
Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Scott Doyle
Principal
