On Wednesday the 21st of September and Thursday the 22nd of September 2022, our school was visited by Ofsted. They came to the the judgement that our Murray Park is now a Good school.
Staff and students at Murray Park School are celebrating another fantastic year of GCSE results, with some brilliant individual performances leaving students elated. The school recorded grade 4and above pass percentages of 75.4% and 66.3% in English and maths respectively, whilst also recording a 6% uplift on pre pandemic results in English and a 10% rise in maths for students who achieved a grade 5 or above.
Head teacher Nicola Caley said: “I am tremendously proud of all our students who have worked against the odds to beat pre-pandemic results. Big thanks to all of our staff who have adapted practice to ensure students could achieve at optimum levels. Though students were massively affected by the pandemic, they have managed the situation impressively and the results reflect their hard work and determination to be successful young adults.”
One student who exceeded her own expectations was sixteen-year-old Salwa Katmawi, of Littleover. Having moved to England in 2018 from Saudi Arabia and speaking limited English, Salwa was delighted to have achieved the top possible grade in nine of her 11 subjects.
It was a grade 8 in English Language that thrilled Salwa the most however. She said: “I struggled to understand even half of the lessons when I first arrived. Moving to a different country was mentally the hardest thing I ever have been through. The teachers here at Murray Park have been incredible. They made sure that I never felt left out or ignored. And by the end of Year 10 I started to believe I could achieve good grades.”
Salwa’s results means she can now study A-Levels at Littleover Community School and hopes to move into the field of nutrition or food science.
Head boy, Daniel Blurton also excelled, receiving four grade 9s and five grade 8s. He said: “I pushed myself and persevered throughout the pandemic. I now want to go to Derby College and hope to study micro-biology at university. I’m overjoyed with getting a 9 in English literature – I never expected that one.”
Muhammad Alam was overjoyed to receive the top grade in biology, chemistry and physics as he pursues his dream to become a doctor. He said: “I believe that consistency is always rewarded and although it was difficult during the pandemic you have to adapt to your own situation to achieve your potential.”
One step nearer to her dream of studying medicine, Hadeeqah Zarif, from Normanton, achieved top grades in eight of her 11 subjects, including top marks in all three science subjects and Carl Taroni was also in shock to discover he had received seven top grades from the ten subjects he studied and is now excited to continue his academic journey at sixth form to study maths.
Our Year 6 summer school programme here at Murray Park will commence after this weekend and we hope students are looking forward to an action-packed week. Below is a reminder of the important details.
Dates: The programme will run from Monday 22nd to Friday 26th of August (next week). Please notify us of any absences via email or telephone.
Times: The day will begin at 8:30am and run until 3:00pm each day. Early drop off at 8:00am is available for those students who stated a requirement of this service on the registration form.
Clothing/Equipment: Suitable non-uniform clothing for various activities, which include sports. Please ensure to pack sunscreen and a sunhat. A raincoat is also advised should we be unfortunate enough to encounter a downpour. Students should bring basic writing equipment, including a pen, pencil, and ruler.
Food: All students will receive a free breakfast and lunch each day as well as snacks and refreshments during the day. Please can we ask that any food products containing nuts are not brought to the summer school programme due to an allergy onsite.
In a case of any emergency during the Year 6 summer school programme, please contact the school phone number: 01332 515921.
If you have any further questions or queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us over the coming days using the following email address: summerschool@murraypark.derby.sch.uk
Please see the below link for information on the Murray Park Open Evening.
We are delighted to launch our 2023 Italy trip. Letters have been made available to next year’s GCSE cohort today. Click here to view our presentation for more information. Any questions please contact Mr Heaney.
The musical Matilda Jr The Musical took place on 31st March and 1st April.
Well done to all the students and staff who took part; it was a fantastic performance.
To support our students make a well informed decision and choice about their next steps at Post 16, we have put together some useful links and resources:
POST 16 INFORMATION & RESOURCES
POST 16 – TIME IS TICKING…….
Murray Park Careers Support: Click to see the Post 16 resources
- Post 16 Information events for Sixth Forms, Colleges and Training Provider:
- Information and resources to help with decisions and choices at Post 16:
https://fliphtml5.com/mxnlt/uzet/
- Careers Derby – ‘It’s Your Future’ Youtube Channel’ Click here
- Careers, Training & Mentoring – https://pathwayctm.com/student-register/
Amy has shown perseverance in English lessons and fantastic improvements in her work. She is always willing to contribute to class discussions and has a confident understanding of what life was life during the Victorian era
November 2022
The debate club debates a range of motions from School matters to moral questions to the political issues of the day. Each week, pupils get opportunities to chair or speak in the main debate, or to join in the floor debate. On occasion, the Society holds balloon debates and plays Just a Minute and other speaking games, helping pupils to practise a range of important skills. Pupils in debate club have the opportunity to work with law students and practicing lawyers to support the development of the key skills needed in debating. We regularly enter the university of Derby debating competition with 11 teams from 7 Derby City Schools taking part. This year we debated interesting and relevant topics including immigration, democracy and the importance of education.
Our students took part in a virtual Question Time session with Derby North MP Amanda Solloway.
Updated June 2022
