Welcome to The Duston School

It is a real privilege to welcome you to The Duston School.

A school is much more than a building. It is a community of children, families and staff, working together to create a place where young people feel safe, valued, supported and inspired to achieve their very best.

At The Duston School we believe that every child matters. Every young person who walks through our doors brings with them their own personality, experiences, strengths and aspirations. Our responsibility is to get to know them, believe in them and provide them with the opportunities, guidance and encouragement they need to thrive.

We place great importance on behaviour, belonging and character. We want our students to understand that their choices matter, that they have a responsibility to themselves and towards others, and that resilience, respect and aspiration are qualities that should underpin everything we do. At the same time, we want every student to feel that The Duston School is a place where they belong and we want the school to be a place where they are known, listened to and valued. We also recognise that education is a partnership. Our families play an incredibly important role in the success of our school and, when the time comes, the academic success of their child. When school and home work together, communicate openly and share high expectations, children are given the strongest possible foundations from which to succeed.

Our ambition is simple; we want the school to be a place where every child thrives and can be their best - be that in classrooms, the corridors of the school, on the sporting field, in school productions, serving as part of our army cadet troop, attending extra-curricular clubs or when pupils represent the school in the wider community. That means providing excellent teaching and learning, encouraging curiosity and ambition, developing character and resilience, celebrating individual achievements and ensuring that every young person has someone in school who knows them, cares about them and believes in them. There will, of course, be challenges along the way. Growing up is not always easy and education is not simply about getting everything right first time. It is about learning, reflecting, making mistakes, showing resilience and having the confidence to try again. Our role is to help our pupils navigate those experiences while developing the skills and character they will need for life beyond school.

I hope that when our pupils eventually leave The Duston School they take with them more than excellent qualifications. I hope they leave as confident, compassionate and responsible young adults who understand who they are, know what they are capable of and are ready to make a positive contribution to the world around them. We want all of our pupils to dream, believe and achieve.

Thank you for placing your trust in us.

We look forward to working with you and, importantly, to helping your child make the most of every opportunity that The Duston School has to offer.

Sam Strickland
CEO / Principal