Keep up to date with the latest news headlines at Downderry...

• National Leader of Education

  Wed 19 Jul 2017

  The headteacher and staff at Downderry School have been selected for top roles supporting schools in challenging circumstances and training new teachers.

   

  Mrs Tracey Lewis is one of more than 75 headteachers to be appointed to the role of national leader of education in the latest recruitment round.

   

  National leaders of education along with staff in their school – appointed as national support schools – use their knowledge and experience to provide additional leadership capability in other schools in need of support. 

   

  The type of support provided is flexible and tailored to meet the needs of each individual school. National leaders of education also have responsibility for developing the next generation of NLEs and national support schools.

   

  The National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL) has responsibility for the appointment of NLEs and the quality of the NLE programme. There are now over 1,250 NLEs across England.

   

  Roger Pope, Chair of the National College for Teaching and Leadership (NCTL), said:

   

  “I’d like to congratulate Tracey Lewis and Downderry School on being appointed as a national leader of education and national support school. They should be very proud of this achievement.

   

  “National leaders of education are at the heart of school improvement. They’re supporting other schools and developing the next generation of leaders. At NCTL, we want to do all we can to support their work. “

• Summer Fair

  Wed 19 Jul 2017

  Thank you to all parents, carers, children, friends and family who attended our summer fair. There was a fantastic atmosphere with everyone enjoying the activities and performances.

   

  We would like to thank all the businesses and parents who donated prizes for the raffle. We raised an impressive £1,200.

   

  A massive thank you to our PTA who dedicated their time and support to ensure that the fair was a great success. Also thank you to all performers who took part on the day.

• Mary Ryan Cup

  Tue 11 Jul 2017

  On Tuesday a team of girls from years 3, 4, 5 & 6 took part in the Mary Ryan Girls Cup competition at Good Shepherd Primary School against year 6 girls teams from St Winifred's and Good Shepherd primary schools.

   

  Our first match was a 3-1 victory over Good Shepherd “Black” and saw Alyssia Mundle score a brilliant hat-trick after going a goal down. Match two finished in a very close 0-0 draw with St Winifred's. St Winifred’s defended well and we just couldn't break them down. Our final group match was against Good Shepherd “White”. A moment of brilliance from Alyssia Mundle, to score the only goal of the game giving us a 1-0 win and taking us into the final again against Good Shepherd “White”.

   

  Another close game that ended with a 0-0 draw, so the tournament was to be decided with a penalty shoot out. After three penalties each it was tied at 1-1 and was now sudden death. The next two penalties were missed. Good Shepherd stepped up and missed their next penalty. So it was all down to Taija Myers, she approached the penalty spot nervously, but struck the ball and in it went, making us the Mary Ryan Cup winners for 2017.

   

  It was a brilliant team performance from all the girls and they deservedly came home with the trophy.

  

• Downderry’s 90th Anniversary

  Fri 07 Jul 2017

  This week Downderry celebrated its 90th Anniversary.

   

  On Monday children came to school dressed in a 1920’s theme. Throughout the week children have been learning about the history of Downderry from past pupils and staff. We have had a bus parked in the Key Stage 2 playground, which housed our Downderry Museum.

   

  On Friday we held our Street Party in Downderry Road and a special celebration assembly, which was attended by past pupils and staff and the Lewisham Mayor Sir Steve Bullock and MP Heidi Alexander.

   

  Thank you to Iridium Security for supporting our 90th Anniversary Celebration by providing their security services.

   

  Of course the event could not have happened without the help of many people. Thank you to Sue Wardell for contacting the London Metropolitan Archives and collecting a range of facts and information. Sue also gathered photographs and memories from members of St John's church which formed our Downderry bus museum. Thank you also to everyone who generously shared their memories, photographs and memorabilia. 
  
  Thank you also to Edna Santos for her fabulous photography, the Iridium security team and Colin Moran, Darren Toff, Gemma Toff and Wayne Phillips who helped with clearing away after the street party.
  
  Lastly, a huge thank you to all the staff who made this fantastic event possible.

   

  Visit the curriculum section of the website to see more photos and explore the Downderry Bus Museum.

  

• International Food Festival

  Fri 16 Jun 2017

  We would like to extend a massive thank you to all who came and supported our International Food Festival this week! It was another very successful year and we hope you enjoyed it.

   

  A special thank you to all pupils, staff and parents who kindly contributed food items. We would also like to give thanks to Pizza Hut, Favourite Chicken and Iceland in Downham who very generously donated food to the festival.

  

• London History Day

  Fri 09 Jun 2017

  London History Day was a huge success! The children made a huge effort to come dressed as a Historic Londoner, we had some amazing costumes including; Victorians, The Queen of England, Suffragettes, Del Boy and many more! Well done to everyone that took part!

   

  

• Dulwich Picture Gallery Visit

  Fri 26 May 2017

  On Tuesday, Year 5 visited Dulwich Picture Gallery for an art workshop based on comics and superheroes, and took part in a storytelling workshop in the gallery itself. The children had a wonderful day, and represented our school beautifully.

  

• Zen Garden

  Fri 21 Apr 2017

  On Friday 28th April the children will be celebrating the opening of our new Zen Garden. We hope that the children will enjoy this peaceful place of quiet thought and refection.

  

• Lewisham Mayor visit

  Mon 06 Feb 2017

  Following the success of the Young Mayor's programme, Downderry were invited to visit with the Mayor of Lewisham, Sir Steve Bullock. Some of our year 5 and 6 pupils, along with other local schools, met with the Mayor in his chambers and asked some challenging questions!

  

• Year 2 Skills Festival at Bonus Pastor

  Fri 20 Jan 2017

  Along with children from others schools, 12 of our children from year 2 attended a fun packed festival at Bonus Pastor on Thursday. They tried out agility, balancing and coordination skills. They all tried hard, supported each other and had a wonderful experience. Well done to all who attended.

   

  Full report is available here...