Over 80 of our new starters joined us at our Transition Summer School this year. Following two days in school, 61 students then enjoyed a free, three-day adventure holiday at Winmarleigh Hall Adventure Centre in Lancashire.

Guided by a team of Sixth Form Mentors, around 500 primary school pupils from 15 different schools in our local area have visited King James this week for our annual Year 5 Curriculum Week event.

In the coming weeks, pupils from four local primary schools will be participating in a literacy-based project called the "King James Book Awards'.

Last term, King James hosted the annual two-day Primary Shakespeare Festival as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Associate Schools Project. Here, Year 12 student Kyle Blood reports on the event.

This month, we were joined in school by around 80 local primary school pupils in Years 5 and 6 for an exciting three-part STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) Challenge.

Over 70 of our new starters joined us at our Transition Summer School this year, spending two days in school before heading off for a free, three-day adventure holiday to Weardale Adventure Centre in Ireshopeburn.

Last term, two of our Year 9 students, supported by two of our former Sixth Formers worked on an exciting primary outreach project called "Picnic in the Park' in partnership with the Auckland Project. The activity took place in the beautiful grounds of Auckland Castle.

Around 600 pupils from 12 local primary schools joined us for Year 5 Curriculum Week this year. Students attended King James to enjoy a full range of taster sessions and learning experiences, which were pre-selected by their own Head Teacher.

In September, over 180 new Year 7s will join us at King James. To make sure they settle in quickly, our Transition Programme starts early, with a wide variety of events that began for many whilst they were in Year 5.

At the beginning of the year, our Business Studies Department launched and exciting project which allowed primary school children to learn about building a successful business through a range of creative challenges.