Professor John Killkoyne

Christmas Poem by Carl Slatter

Santa, Santa on his sleigh,

Santa, Santa flying away,

With Rudolf’s nose glowing bright

Guiding Santa through the night

Santa, Santa on his sleigh,

His elves have come to stay

Morning’s come, Santa is the best,

Now tired Santa can rest

Mr Tucker Interview

How important do you think it is that young people respect people who have given their lives for our country?

"I feel that it is vital in our society. Young people often get a 'bad press' from the way they behave but I was delighted by the attitude shown by our pupils during the remembrance day assembly. The two minuets silence to honour the servicemen who have given their lives was impeccably observed which says a lot for our children. Doing this assembly just reinforces my thinking that DSMS pupils are brilliant group of young people."

Goodbye Branksome, hello DSMS

In September 2011,we said goodbye to our beloved name and school, Branksome. Branksome has been in this area’s history for hundreds of years and originates from Branksome Hall. Years after Branksome hall closed it was converted into a school. That school was also named with a name which remained for many years after as Branksome Comprehension School. After that it got changed again but still remained what we know as it as Branksome Science College in the year of 2009. From there though it held a lot of change. We had many new teachers including Mrs Coleman. Also we had some very sad departures from the likes of Mrs Simms and Mr Clark. Then the main shock to us all was the resignation From Ms P Armstrong. From that we received our current head Mr C Kipling. Then sadly Mr Coyne our deputy retired after many years of working at Branksome. He was replaced by Mr N Johnson who had previously worked at Longfield Sports Academy. Well from that we broke up for a well deserved summer holiday. Then When we came back it was Hello DSMS! DSMS brought much change among the school including the updating of the school. The whole school was painted and we also got new chairs and flooring in the main hall and the gym. Our changing rooms were also refurbished. They also got some new equipment. The major change though is to the student. We got some new uniform. The uniforms contained blazers and candy striped clip-on ties The biggest worry of all though was what us students would think of it all. Some liked the uniform but others weren’t so keen. We asked some students what they liked and disliked about the changes “The uniform is good but would be better with normal ties.” Alisha Mascall and Robert Archer said this “ It’s good but in a way also fails” This shows Many mixed views on the changes but the majority all agree that the changes are good but some need still a little encouragement. However this shows yeah we may change our name but the good nature of our students will never change and that were always open to it By Katie Jayne Appleyard

Open Evening

On Thursday 22nd September 2011 DSMS opened it's doors to the Year Six's. They started off the night with an assembally where a video was played of the school. This video has been worked on for a few months and when it was revealed it went down a hit. Mr Kipling then did a speech which was throughly enjoyed by everyone, he welcoming parents and children to the evening.

After that the Prefects had begun to take the tours around the school. For many tours first stop was English. The department had a Shakespearian themed room along with food to fit the theme. Rebecca and I also dressed up, I was Juliet from Romeo and Juliet and Rebecca as a humble peasant. Many other subjects did food as well including cooking which did cakes and biscuits which you could decorate. Humanities did displays and French did a spread of french cuisine. Music did an open mike where anyone could sing. Science did experiments and the dinning hall did a buffet. There was also quizzes, one was by Mr Tucker which was farley hard but also very fun.

The evening went splendidly and everyone had a great time. Hopefully we will be seeing some of them again next September at DSMS!

BBC School Report

DSMS has applied for BBC School report for the Wyvern. It means that we can get advice on media related topics and we also get to be a part of the 2012 BBC reporting team on the 15th of March.

2011 Best ever school results

The DSMS UK website have released some of the GCSE results. DSMS says 95% of pupils recived 5A*- C grades. Out of them English & Maths was 50.4%. This is the best ever GCSE results DSMS have ever seen. Despite this though, DSMS did not get a mention in the detailed GCSE Results article in Herald & Post. The Herald & Post article on GCSE results is displayed on the left.
Read the full H&P article here: Page 19

Vibe Awards

It seems like ages ago now, but we have just found the Northern Echo article about the Vibe Awards earlier this year. It mentions the Branksome Bugle. Click here!

Railway Housing Association

In spring 2 members of the 'Branksome Bugle' were picked to represent the school when 2 people from the Railway Housing Association came into school to donate some PSHCE books to us.
Here is an extract from their article on us:



"The books were presented to Liam Pape, 12, and James Allison, 13, who are both involved in the school newsletter, the Branksome Bugle. After the presentation Liam and James interviewed Karen about Railway Housing Association for an article they are going to write in the Bugle."

To read the full article please click here.

Wow!!

Wow, what a great web page this is! Everyone will miss the Bugle but so far the Wyvern is great. I can't wait until the first edition is published. If you have any comments about the blog or how it can be improved we are open to all suggestions. I am looking forward to what the Wyvern will get up to next at the Darlington School of Maths and Science. So Bye for now and please send in your suggestions. Thanks.

St. Teresa's Hospice charity concert

On Thursday 14th July at 1:30PM it was the trial run for the St. Teresa's Hospice concert. There were amazing performances from Mr Burford, Mrs Dunn, Brandon Holloway and many, many more. The real thing is tonight at 7 O'clock where there will be cakes and a performance from 'Push Chicago'.
Rebecca Parkinson, head reporter at the Wyvern, quotes "The best act was Mr Burfords and Mr Sayers's rendition of I've got a brand new combine harvester. It was such a weird concert!"

New logo

This is the new logo for the Wyvern. In the original 'Branksome Bugle' we did not have a logo but now we do we feel we have more of an identity. It will hopefully be on the front cover of every issue however because of the colour schemes we think it may be hard to see!

Full Mrs Hickerson Interwiew on the new school uniform!

Why did you choose to change the uniform?
We are becoming a new school and we will be known as Darlington School of Mathematics and Science, shortened to DSMS. We wanted a smart new uniform to go along with all of the exciting changes that are taking place.
What is your favourite part of the new uniform?
The blazers with the school badge on the pocket. They look extremely smart and have been well received by all of the pupils who have seen them.
Why did you choose to get clip-on ties?
We are a smart new school and we want to look the part. Clip-on ties do look very smart and everyone will look the same. The traditional ties are not always worn as they should be and can look very messy.
What gave you the inspiration for the new logo?
It is both modern and traditional. DSMS is clear and easy to remember and looks impressive on the shield in the new school colours.
Will the staff be wearing logo (e.g. Mrs Park the caretaker)?
The site staff, the catering staff and the PE staff will all be wearing work clothes that have the new logo on them.

Mr Stewart – English Teacher Extraordinaire

As Mr Stewart  is retiring we interviewed him about his memories of Branksome

His first memory of the school was in 1968 when his family moved to Darlington from Newton Aycliffe to take his ‘O’ levels (these are like our current GCSEs) – not many people remember ‘O’ levels now!

After 3 years of teacher training he came back to Branksome to teach. He then got an English degree and has had a career spanning 34 years.

Memories

Mr Stewart thought that taking the students to Wimbledon was the greatest memory as all the students on the trip enjoyed playing or watching tennis.

One of the most jaw-dropping experiences at Branksome was when an unexpected helicopter landed in the school yard. Every teacher and student watched in disbelief as Julie Park the Site manager was asked by former Headteacher John Meilroy, to go for a ride around the estate in  the helicopter – becoming Branksome’s first flying caretaker!

Another memory was when a Headteacher had the whole school painted completely and utterly pink – honest! Pink classrooms, pink corridors– everywhere pink to inspire the students. The chairs in the staffroom are a painful reminder of this time.

Once a brave but foolhardy pupil risked her life climbing up a drainpipe to get a 5 pence powerball.  All the teachers watched in terror as she got further and further up the drainpipe and then managed to get down safely with the ball.

Our intrepid English teacher also went on a lot of school holidays to France.  His most enjoyable memory of France was flying kites with Mr Parr – they were on a beach where the wind was very strong and had a fabulous time. ( Mr Stewart made a rude comment about Mr Parr at this point but the censors have removed it!)

Other memories include  the many successful school productions especially “Grease” which was brilliant everyone enjoyed it. (We are still waiting for the Romeo and Juliet production though Sir!)

We also asked about his retirement and his answer was “carpentry”  Apparently Mr Stewart is going back to college – Bishop Auckland Technical College, to learn how to make furniture. ( Could you make us some new shelves for the library please Mr Stewart?) Before all of this though he is going to take a well earned break in Greece in September.  We hope he will return sometimes to see us, but with 36 years of Branksome School behind him we acknowledge that he deserves a rest.

The last thing he said was “ This school is way better than its reputation – let it be known”

We agree Mr Stewart and wish you all the best in your retirement.

The Branksome Bugle Team.