Dr John Hind, Principal, is both exasperated and pleased with this year’s secondary school league tables.

 “I am pleased for our pupils and staff who worked with commitment and enthusiasm throughout the sixth form.  As a result the Sixth Form is second in the league table for A level results in the Newcastle, maintaining Dame Allan’s place in the top two schools for the last five years.”  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/education/school_tables/secondary/11/html/alevel_391.stm?compare=

 The latest league tables published in January 2012 demonstrate the difficulty in measuring the achievements - and possibly the need for a qualification in interpreting league tables.

 “Although I am pleased by this consistently good performance, I am exasperated by the lack of consistency in the metrics for the league tables, which reduces their value.  I think it is essential to remember the truth in the adage:

 Teaching pupils to count is good – teaching them what counts is better”

Students from China’s ‘clean energy city’ have visited one of the most sustainable schools in the country.

The eleven students from Baoding No 17 Middle School, aged between 11 and 14, were paired with pupils from the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools and shared in all lessons and activities taking place during the week.

Baoding is 90 miles south west of Beijing, in the Hebei province of China, and promotes itself as a manufacturing centre for environmental technology, including solar panels and wind turbines.

Dame Allan’s was awarded Green Flag status in March last year, when judges described it as one of the most sustainable schools in the country; their new Nursery and Junior School taking shape on Hunter’s Moor has been designed to the highest environmental standards.

The exchange between the two schools was arranged following a visit to the Chinese school by principal Dr John Hind and governor Brian Adcock last term. The visit was arranged by Li Chang, Project Officer for Hebei Provincial Education Department, whose son is in Year 10 at Dame Allan’s Boys’ School.

“This is a very exciting project,” declared Dr Hind. “There has been significant focus on China since the economic problems in Europe and indeed when Dame Allan’s student Mayank Bannerjee won the “Young Economist of the Year” his entry was an essay on the Chinese economy. We do have some existing links with Baoding and I hope this first visit will be the start of a relationship that will see developing language and educational exchanges.”

Brian Adcock said: “I was impressed by the Chinese students’ standard of English and the warm welcome we received. I hope it will be the start of a longer term relationship to benefit students at both schools.”

Pupils at Dame Allan’s Schools celebrated a construction landmark at their new school carrying out a ‘topping out’ ceremony with a ‘twist’.

Georgia Downs, Sophia Long and Joshua Yip from Year 4 switched on the lights on a six metres tall Christmas tree to celebrate the completion of the roof and glazing walls at Dame Allan’s new school at Hunter’s Moor in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Construction of the new school is being carried out by Esh Build, part of Esh Group, one of the largest independent construction companies in the North.

The tree was erected in celebration of meeting the construction landmark ahead of schedule and as a twist on the ages-old tradition of ‘topping out’.

Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools, Dr John Hind, explained:
“We are excited to reach this stage in the construction of our new building. The roof is completed, the majority of the glass has been fitted and the building is weatherproof. This means we are well on track in our plan to be ready in good time to move in before the pupils join us at the start of the new academic year in September 2012.

“This was a wonderful way to celebrate a significant landmark for the new school. The children thoroughly enjoyed their duties and learned about ‘topping out’ ceremonies. We understand that the roots of this ceremony go back many hundreds of years to Scandinavia when villagers believed ‘raising’ a live pine tree near a building under construction acted as a talisman to bring good luck and to ward off evil spirits.”

Steve Wilkie, Divisional Director of Esh Construction, said:
“We’re making excellent progress with the construction of Dame Allan’s new nursery and junior school. Becoming watertight is always an important step in the construction of a new building – and it was a great way that Dame Allan’s chose to mark the occasion.”

The new school will open in September 2012 and is being built on a six-acre site at Hunter’s Moor, close to the existing main school in Fenham.

Designed by Ian Belsham Associates, the new building is being constructed using recycled materials wherever possible and everything can be recycled or reused when the building reaches the end of its life.

Natural ventilation systems and solar shading devices together with ground source heat pumps for heating, solar panels for hot water and rainwater harvesting for flushing toilets are integrated.

Following the demolition of the existing building, as much material as possible was crushed and used in the foundations of the new school.

The heating system has been designed to have a minimal carbon footprint. The building will be heated by ground source heat pumps which extract the heat from below the ground, while the water will be heated from energy collected in solar panels on the roof. A gas boiler will supplement these energy sources if necessary, to ensure the pupils are always comfortable.

An intelligent building management system will monitor the temperature and carbon dioxide levels in each room, adjusting the temperature and ventilation in individual rooms as required.

Dame Allan’s is reusing particular parts of the old building in the grounds around the school as features; the decorative arched low garden wall will be built into new garden areas for example.

Ellis Saul has been selected for the Youth Dance England Young Creatives scheme, which is run in partnership with the Royal Ballet School and the Royal Opera House. 

She is the only person from the north of England to be selected against very tough competition that included students from the Royal Ballet School and the London School of Contemporary Dance.

One of the selectors was her hero Wayne McGregor, a leading choreographer in the world of modern dance.

This YDE programme is designed to help budding choreographers create a new work that will be performed on stage at the Royal Opera House.  It gives the students the opportunity to work with prestigious artists, through training weekends, a professional mentor and a week long residential course at The Royal Ballet School’s White Lodge.  It culminates in a performance of their work at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre. 

Ellis will meet her mentor, adventurous choreographer Wayne Sables, in January at a Skills Boosting Weekend.  She will then work with Wayne over the next fifteen weeks to produce her dance, before attending the residential course at White Lodge, when she will perfect her piece for the premiere performance at the Royal Opera House in May.

Claire Bowler, a former pupil of Dame Allan’s Girls’ School, has won a 2011 Women in the City, Woman of Achievement Award.

Claire, a partner at DWF LLP, won the Insurance category of the highly competitive award scheme for talented female executives from across London.  

On presenting the award, Martin Reid, Head of Membership of the Chartered Insurance Institute, commented; “Claire Bowler is a perfect role model for women working in the insurance sector. She is recognised by insurers and fellow professionals as one of the UK’s leading insurance lawyers. At just 31 she was made a Partner at a City law firm and by 35 was a full Equity Partner.

“Her ability to harness women’s talent and ambition is remarkable – with 4 out of 5 of her team being women. Claire spearheaded a campaign with the Dress for Success female community charity initiative and was also a founding member of the DWF Women in Business Network. The judges had no hesitation in deciding that Claire Bowler would be awarded the insurance category Women in the City award for 2011.”

Claire Bowler said: “I am honoured and proud to a winner in the 2011 Women in the City, Woman of Achievement Awards.  This means such a lot to me and reflects the immense support I have received throughout my career”.

That support and encouragement began at Dame Allan’s when she encountered teachers she describes as memorable.  “Mr McFall, my economics teacher, was a really inspiring individual, but what I learned from them all was the importance of self-discipline and an all round education – not focussing just on the exams.  I remember being one of the organisers of the first year we had a fashion show, taking part in school dance shows and in musical productions in my home town of South Shields.”

After taking four A levels at Dame Allan’s, Claire went on to study law at Durham University and then at the College of Law in London.

“I look forward to doing all I can to support women in business in the years to come,” said Claire “And to encouraging young women from this region to consider a career in the City of London".

The overarching aim of the Women in the City, Woman of Achievement Award is to highlight and formally recognise the outstanding contribution these women make to the City and in particular to identify those who are actively promoting and encouraging the progress of women above and beyond their everyday job.  The Award identifies excellence and celebrates the achievements of senior and partner-level professionals working in London’s business hubs. 

The Awards judging panel is chaired by Prof Susan Vinnicombe, OBE, Director, Centre for Developing Women Business Leaders at Cranfield School of Management.

Two talented students from Dame Allan’s have been shortlisted to take part in a countrywide Youth Dance England (YDE) initiative

Holly Nielsen, 17, and Ellis Saul, 17, travelled down to the Royal Opera House in London to take part in a rigorous selection process to choose young choreographers for the YDE Young Creatives programme.  Their work will be assessed by a panel of professionals.

 This YDE programme, run in partnership with The Royal Ballet School and The Royal Opera House, is designed to help budding choreographers create a new work that will be performed on stage at the Royal Opera House.  It gives the students the opportunity to work with prestigious artists, through training weekends, a professional mentor and a week long residential course at The Royal Ballet School’s White Lodge.  It culminates in a performance of their work at the Royal Opera House’s Linbury Studio Theatre.

Ellis performed one of her most recent works (For) Emma in Syntax, Dame Allan’s dance show held over two evenings at Dance City.  Dame Allan’s continues its links with the Centre for Advanced Training based at Dance City, where Ellis and three other dancers from the Girls’ School are studying.

Head of Dance Lynda Clough is keeping her fingers crossed: “This is a fabulous opportunity for Holly and Ellis.  We are extremely proud of them and wish them the very best of luck.”

Students from Dame Allan’s Schools Sixth Form have retained their title as winners of the North East regional final of Target 2.0, The Bank of England and The Times’ interest rate challenge.

The competition, held at the Centre for Life in Newcastle, drew teams of 16 to 18 year old students from across the north east.

Dame Allan’s team comprised Thomas Hudson, Becky Kilner, Nick Larvin and Alex Waugh.  Their challenge was to analyse UK and global economic data and their possible impact on inflation and the economic outlook for the UK– just as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee does each month.

The Dame Allan’s team started their data analysis in late September, culminating in some tough decision making once the real MPC set its interest rate on November 10^th.  Did they believe that the current monetary policy would meet the 2.0 per cent inflation target set by the government? 

Dame Allan’s recommended an interest rate of 0. 5 per cent compared with the Bank of England’s official rate of 0.5%, set by the Monetary Policy Committee on 4 November. They also recommended a total of £275bn of asset purchases under the Asset Purchase Facility, which matched the £275bn agreed by the MPC.

Dr John Hind, Principal of Dame Allan’s, applauded their achievement:  “This year’s team had the daunting task of following in the footsteps of last year’s very strong team who were the eventual runners up in the competition.  This is an outstanding achievement for them and exemplifies the talent and commitment of the economics department.”

Dame Allan’s will now go on to represent the region in the area finals in 2012.

The construction work on the new Nursery and Junior School on the six acre site at Hunter’s Moor is now well underway.   Durham based Esh Construction (part of the Esh Group) began work on the site in the summer, bringing the completion of the building one step nearer.

The new school is rapidly taking shape and is on target to open in September 2012.  Already pupils from the site at Forest Hall have begun visiting the site to see their new classrooms and play areas taking shape.

Esh Construction is using their experience in schools construction to undertake a range of projects with the pupils and staff of all the Schools giving them the opportunity to see the scheme unfold and gain an understanding of of the construction processes and the opportunities in the world of work.

Northumbria Chief Constable, Sue Sim, visited the Sixth Form to debate issues facing today’s police.

She met politics students and sixth formers who are interested in a career in law or the police.

The wide ranging, thought provoking discussions spanned this summer’s riots, the criminal justice system, the current budget cuts and priorities.  The enthusiastic students were well prepared and responded thoughtfully to the challenges posed by the Chief Constable.

Sue Sim began by outlining her career and rise to become the first female Chief Constable of a metropolitan force.  She encouraged the students to pursue their ambitions and not to be discouraged by people telling them their goals are impossible.

Pupils from schools across Europe attended the annual conference of Relais de la Memoire hosted by Dame Allan's Schools.

Relais de la Memoire is an international organisation founded to keep alive the memories of the Second World War in order to promote reconciliation and understanding in Europe and beyond.  

Founder members include Stephane Hessel, co-author of the Declaration of Human Rights, Abel Farnoux, government adviser to President Mitternand, Lucie and Raymond Aubrac, Simone Veil, Nobel prize winner Elie Wiesel and former French Prime Minister Edith Cresson.

Dame Allan's Schools is the UK representative on Relais de la Memoire.

The students heard guest speakers and took part in round table discussions around the conference's theme of 'Yesterday's commitments, today's commitments'.

Speakers on Yesterday's Commitments included Mr Mussa Hasan Ali, survivor of the Rwandan genocide, Mr Robert Chapman, WW2 veteran who saw action in Normandy  and Miss Tali Padan of the Anne Frank Trust UK, whose exhibition was on display at the Schools during the conference.

The following day the students were challenged to think about their own commitments in a broad ranging series of discussions.  Major General Mungo Melvin, CB OBE, formerly Director of Operational Capability in the Ministry of Defence, commander of the British Army's support command and Senior Direction Staff at the Royal College of Defence Studies debated the role of the military in the modern world.  Other debates included the role of the Courts in international protection and 'The challenge of being with others in the modern world'.

The final keynote speaker was David Ward, a former pupil of Dame Allan's and now Senior Strategy Adviser at the Foreign Office.  He articulated the challenge of remembering using illustrations from his time in South East Asia: 'The problems of remembering not wisely but too well."

Dame Allan’s pupil Sarah Richardson won a nationwide art competition and has now seen her work hung in a special exhibition in London.

16 year old Sarah won the Society for all Artists (SAA) Junior Artist of the Year 2011 with her stunning mixed media still life of a pomegranate, ‘Fruit’.

This is the first year the SAA have included a junior category in their annual competition which this year attracted over 6,000 entries from both professional and amateur artists.

LizzyMansfield’s entry was also on show at the exhibition, having finished in the top three in the junior category.

 Only 60 paintings, out of the total entry were hung at the SAA Show, ‘It’s all about art’, at the Business Design Centre in London.

The chairman of the SAA, John Hope-Hawking FRSA, praised Sarah’s painting explaining: “Sarah's picture 'Fruit' was chosen by the judges as an original idea representing well known fruit, her explanation of the selection and preparation of her subject added to this.

 “The use of colour demonstrated an interpretation of the subject that was exciting and the scale of the picture was brave and for one so young to tackle. Sarah should be congratulated on her achievement as should her teachers of both Art and English, she explained herself very well in her submission.”

Sarah said ‘It was a great summer! I didn’t expect to win the competition and was thrilled to see my artwork in the exhibition. The icing on the cake was hearing my GCSE results which were 9A* and an A. It was great to have my artwork recognised by artists and academics.”

Lizzy Mansfield, from Gosforth, has achieved the remarkable feat of achieving ten A* passes in her GCSE exams this year - following in the footsteps of elder sister Catherine two years ago.

Lizzy is among the 28 pupils from Dame Allan's Girls' and Boys' Schools who are celebrating the magnificent achievement of all A*A passes in their GCSE exams. Five pupils achieved the superlative result of all A* grades this year.

Meanwhile elder sister Catherine gained 3 x As and 2 x A*s at A level and is off to study Natural Sciences at Robinson College, Cambridge University.

"I've had a great year and been very busy," said Lizzy. "Obviously I'm proud of my academic achievements but I'm just as proud of some of the other things I have done this year."

She has enjoyed a successful year this year, including winning the regional round of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust's (WWT) Photo Competition 2010 and being a member of the Schools' World Challenge team who went to Thailand and Laos.

Principal Dr John Hind was delighted with the results. "Lizzy has worked extremely hard and thoroughly deserves her success - as have all the GCSE candidates this year. We are very proud of those who achieve the highest grades, but, as ever, many of our students exceeded our expectations at all levels. And it must be remembered that many of the pupils have also made significant contributions to the wider life of the school, too."

It's been a momentous week for Mayank Banerjee.

He has learned he is the winner of the Young Economist of the Year, run by the Royal Economic Society, and today he has been awarded an A* in Economics, an A* in Mathematics and an A in Politics.

But Mayank, a Sixth Former at Dame Allan's Schools in Newcastle, is bucking the trend and not taking up a place at University this year.

Despite being offered a place at the prestigious London School of Economics, he has chosen to take a year out - while many of his contemporaries are eschewing gap years.

Instead Mayank has been selected to take part in the sixth month 'GAP Programme' run by leading accountants KPMG, working in their Canary Wharf office in London. This programme is designed to give students hands-on commercial experience and to help them develop an understanding of the professional services industry.

Mayank has already demonstrated his flair for economics. Full details about his success in the Royal Economic Society competition are due to be announced later this month, but his winning essay was selected from over 500 entries by judges Professor Charles Bean, deputy governor of the Bank of England, Professor Richard Blundell from the Royal Economic Society and Stephanie Flanders, BBC Economics Editor.

He also impressed Professor Charles Bean and fellow judges at the Bank of England when he was a member of the Dame Allan's team who were the runners up in the national Bank of England and The Times' Target 2.0 Challenge earlier this year.

Mayank said: "It was a horrible decision to make, but I felt I could learn a lot in a year out, giving me an insight into worlds I would never have seen otherwise. The time at KPMG will not only let me see the reality of life in the financial sector, but also enable me to support myself for the year. I have already spent a month travelling and volunteering in India and hope to visit Africa with some of the money I save, too.

"My family have been very supportive and I'm grateful to all the economics teachers at Dame Allan's, particularly Mr McFall who not only managed to make bond yields understandable, but even interesting. I owe a lot to all the staff at school and it would be unfair to claim that any of this is a solo achievement."

"Mayank is an extremely talented economist and someone who has made a significant contribution to the Schools," said Dr John Hind, Principal of Dame Allan's Schools. "As Charities Officer he put his economic talents to good use including a spectacular charity fashion show which raised over £2,000 for St Oswald's hospice. I wish him every success in the future and look forward to hearing news about his progress."

Members of Dame Allan's Nursery had a special graduation ceremony at the end of last term.

Wearing red academic gowns and caps, the pupils received their certificates from Dame Allan's Principal, Dr John Hind.

Their proud parents watched as they received their scrolls and listened to the youngsters singing, "This is the day we graduate …We're going to Big School!" and "Big School, Big School, here we come, We hope you have lots of fun!"

At the end of the ceremony Mr Andrew Edge, Head of the Nursery and Juniors School, told parents: "The foundations of the school are in great hands with these students."

The governors at Dame Allan's have appointed the main contractor for their new Nursery and Junior School at Hunter's Moor.

Durham based Esh Construction (part of the Esh Group) have begun work on the site, bringing the completion of the building one step nearer.

The new school is due to open in September 2012 and will be built on the six acre Hunter's Moor site, close to the main school in Fenham.

The architects, Ian Belsham Associates, have designed everything in the new school around the needs of young children.

The very young children in nursery and reception will have their own self-contained classrooms at one end of the school, with their own separate entrance.

All the classrooms on the ground floor open out into the open spaces, so the children can work and play together in their own safe, breakout areas, moving inside and out depending on the weather and their activities. All the classrooms are paired, so pupils in each 'pair' will have their own cloakrooms and toilets.



The classrooms for the older children are on the upper floor. The modern, distinctive library is also on this floor, its red colour and prominent shape symbolising learning at the heart of the school.

At break times the children can play in one of three separate play areas, one for the nursery and early years pupils, one for Years 1 to 3 and a third for Years 4 to 6.

The pupils will be able to play on their own dedicated coaching areas for netball, rugby, cricket and athletics. They will also be able to play football, tennis and hockey on an all weather games area.

The new building is constructed using recycled materials wherever possible and everything can be recycled or reused when the building reaches the end of its life.

Principal Dr John Hind said: "This new building will bring all our nursery and Junior School boys and girls together on one site and will enable us to develop further our family ethos within our distinctive diamond structure. It will also mean that the separate Boys' and Girls' Schools will be able to make better use of our site in Fenham, along side the Sixth Form in its own dedicated Queen's Building."

Elliott Ward, chairman of the governors said: "This is an exciting milestone in the history of Dame Allan's. As a former pupil, parent and current grandparent of the Schools, I am proud we have taken this bold step and I am confident that our new Nursery and Junior School will see many more generations enjoying a first class education."

Steve Wilkie, Divisional Director of Esh Construction, said: "We're delighted to have been selected to build Dame Allan's new nursery and junior school. At Esh Construction we have significant experience in schools construction and we also do a great deal of work with young people helping them to understand the opportunities in the world of work.

"We're looking forward to welcoming Dame Allans' pupils and staff to the project and giving them the opportunity to see the scheme unfold and gain an understanding of our work."

Budding economists from Dame Allan's Schools impressed the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England to finish second in the nationwide Bank of England and The Times' Target 2.0 Challenge.

The competition began in September 2010 with nearly 300 teams from across the UK. Dame Allan's won the regional, then the area finals to reach the last six, who travelled to London to compete in the final at the Bank of England.

The team of Mayank Banerjee, Luke Adair, Emily Ramsey and Dale Lilford took on the role of the Monetary Policy Committee, presented their assessment of the economy and the outlook for inflation to justify their monetary policy decision to a panel of four judges. Professor Charles Bean, the Bank's Deputy Governor for monetary policy and member of the MPC chaired the panel and was joined by Spencer Dale, Chief Economist and member of the MPC, Andrew Sentance, an external member of the MPC, and Anatole Kaletsky, Editor-at-Large of The Times.

The Target 2.0 team spent weeks assiduously analysing three month's worth of UK and global economic real time data and their possible impact on inflation and the economic outlook for the UK - just as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee does each month. Their task was to recommend an interest rate and whether any asset purchases were necessary under the Asset Purchase Facility.

The format of the final culminated in a 20 minute presentation to the judges. After the presentation to the panel the team had to defend their thinking under forensic questioning from the panel - possibly challenging the views of the Monetary Policy Committee members asking the questions!

Head of Economics, Mr Colin McFall, said, "This was a tremendous achievement. The team was working at a very high level of economic analysis, equivalent to undergraduate work and in some cases postgraduate level.

"The pupils all have offers to study economics at university and this experience will stand them in very good stead and can open doors for work experience and internships in the future."

Dame Allan's Girls' School's squash teams reached two finals in this year's National Schools Squash Championships.

The Under 15 team were undefeated regional champions, and went on to represent the region in the quarter finals, which they won to go on to the national finals.

The team captained by Emma Haley, 14, comprised Charlotte Cooper, 14, Laura Neill, 10, Manon Walton-Williams, 13, Faye Groom, 11 and Laura Sim, 14.

In their semi-final match they convincingly beat a team from leading squash school Millfield by 5 - 0 to earn their place in the final.

The young squad then faced a strong team from Tewkesbury, whose strength and experience ultimately prevailed. The Dame Allan's girls were ecstatic about their second place and proud to be taking home their silver medals from the Under 15 National Championships.

The Dame Allan's squad played again, this time in the Under 19 category of the Trophy Finals. They came third in the regional round, so qualified to compete in the Trophy rather than the main championships at this higher age level.

This time the squad was Emma Haley, 14, Charlotte Cooper, 14, Laura Neill, 10, Manon Walton-Williams, 13, Laura Sim, 14 and Eilidh McDowall 17.

They won their semi-final match against Benenden 2 by 5 - 0 and then faced Gosforth High School in the final. This time they won 4 - 1 to take the Trophy and gold medals all round.

Jane Dennis, team coach, was elated by the girls' performances: "Our young team fought all the way. I was very, very proud of them."

Pupils from the Nursery Junior School visited a building site to see for themselves the work and range of skills that go into creating a house.

They are studying homes through the ages, so to bring the topic to life they have been making a series of outings this half term.

First stop was Woodhorn Colliery where they saw at first hand what it was like to live in a miner's cottage and how it compared with their own homes.

Then they took a huge step forward in time when they were invited to visit Cleadon Park in South Tyneside to see new houses taking shape.

The staff at Bellway Homes gave the youngsters a glimpse of the building industry and how homes are built today, including the importance of staying safe on a building site. The pupils were fascinated by the stories about the building process and were intrigued to learn that there is so much to learn about a humble brick.

Their next visit was a return to Cleadon Park to help with the painting; it's all a far cry from painting in their classrooms!

The Nursery and Junior School pupils will have more opportunities to don hard hats and high visibility jackets when they watch their own new home rise from the ground at Hunter's Moor, ready for the new School's opening in September 2012.

Four sixth formers have won their way through to the last six in the final of Target 2.0, The Bank of England and The Times' nationwide interest rate challenge.

They won the north east regional final and have now won the northern area final to win their day at the Bank of England.

Dame Allan's shadow Monetary Policy Committee consisted of Mayank Banerjee, Luke Adair, Emily Ramsey and Dale Lilford .

Their challenge is to analyse three month's worth of UK and global economic real time data and their possible impact on inflation and the economic outlook for the UK - just as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee does each month - and then recommend an interest rate and whether any asset purchases were necessary under the Asset Purchase Facility.

The format of the final culminates in a 20 minute presentation to two members of the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee: Professor Charles Bean, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Spencer Dale. The third judge will be Anatole Kaletsky, award winning economics columnist of The Times.

After the presentation to the panel the team will have to defend their thinking under forensic questioning from the panel - possibly challenging the views of the Monetary Policy Committee members asking the questions!

The team has already won a silver trophy, together with an HP Notebook and £1,000 for the team.

The format for the final is a formidable two days. On day one they will have an 'access all areas' tour of the Bank of England followed by lectures from the Banks' analysts and an opportunity to question them on how they approach the analysis. They will meet the Bank's Graduate Recruitment Team and then have an intensive hour in the Bank of England's Conference Centre to rehearse their final presentation using the banks of computers that will be in front of them and the judges.

Then on Friday 18 March there will be an intensive day of presentations when the ultimate winner will be chosen. The winner will receive their award from Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England.

Head of Economics, Mr Colin McFall, said, "This is a tremendous achievement to reach the last six. The team is working at a very high level of economic analysis, equivalent to undergraduate work and in some cases postgraduate level. The pupils all have offers to study economics at university and this experience will stand them in very good stead and can open doors for work experience and internships in the future."

As Mathew Bourne's spectacular, evocative re-telling of Cinderella moved from the Theatre Royal, the next generation of talented dancers was performing at Dance City.

Pupils from Dame Allan's Schools' dance companies, together with younger pupils in the Boys' and Girls' Schools, amazed a sell-out audience with their talents in dancing and choreography.

The pupils were joined by Adam Park who left Dame Allan's in 2009 to take up a place at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, one of the leading dance schools in the world.

Adam took up Dance in Year 9, when his talent was spotted by Lynda Clough, head of dance at Dame Allan's. She nurtured his talent through the Schools and directed him to the Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) at Dance City, where he received his pre-vocational training from nationally and internationally recognised teachers. Dame Allan's has strong links with the Dance Academy at Dance City, where Mrs Clough is an Associate of the CAT. Adam won his place at Rambert after a rigorous audition and selection process, beating off competition from as far afield as the USA and Japan.

The Dame Allan's students were encouraged and mentored in their choreography and performances by tutors at Dance City.

Adam Park said, "It's a great honour to be invited back to perform alongside Dame Allan's Schools and to present my own choreography. It is also a great pleasure to see the current roster of dancers at the Schools and to see the vast improvement in individual dancers since I left Dame Allan's. The standard of dance at Dame Allan's, as always is very high, and I and the rest of the Schools' dancers are hugely in debt to the dedication and love Mrs Clough and Miss Murray have for the art."

Mrs Clough said, "It is a privilege to see talent blossom from its embryonic form and to see how Adam has clearly found where his talent belongs. I do not think he realises how good he is.

"We have watched the start of the careers of some talented professional dancers at Dame Allan's. There continue to be many talented students here and I'm sure we will be following the careers of a number of pupils whom we saw dance on Sunday……"

Award-winning author Cliff McNish inspired Year 8 pupils in the Boys' and Girls' Schools to write ghost stories in three creative writing sessions held at Dame Allan's.

The pupils had all read his book, 'Breathe' as part of their studies. At the same time pupils in Year 9 had read 'Savannah Grey' as one of the six books they reviewed for the North East Teenage Book Award. They were mesmerised by the menacing horror story of the eponymous hero who discovers she has supernatural powers.

'Savannah Grey' is on the longlist for this year's coveted Carnegie Medal awarded annually to the writer of an outstanding book for children.

Cliff McNish began the sessions, surrounded by books in the Schools' library, by talking about his route to becoming a writer, urging the pupils to read voraciously if they wanted to develop their writing skills. He described how he began telling stories to his daughter and her insistence that he created a story about a 'truly nasty witch'. That led to his first book, 'The Doomspell'.

His enthusiasm was infectious, inspiring the pupils to start writing their own scary stories. They were undeterred by his frank descriptions of the ups and downs of writing, but proved his theory that writer's block does not exist!

This year's league tables place Dame Allan's Sixth Form second in the A level rankings for Newcastle, whilst the Girls' and Boys' Schools appear at the bottom of the GCSE ones! Principal Dr John Hind explains...

The Government's tables published in January rank Schools at A level by the average points scored per student, with A* scoring 300 points in a sliding scale down to E at 150 points. The tables for Newcastle show:

RGS 953

Dame Allan's Centre 948.1

Central High 889.1

Four sixth formers from Dame Allan's Schools are the winners of the North East final of Target 2.0, The Bank of England and The Times' interest rate challenge. Dame Allan's shadow Monetary Policy Committee consisted of Mayank Banerjee, Luke Adair, Emily Ramsey and Dale Lilford. Their challenge was to analyse UK and global economic data and their possible impact on inflation and the economic outlook for the UK - just as the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee does each month.

The Dame Allan's team started their data analysis in late September, culminating in some tough decision making once the real MPC set its interest rate on November 4^th. Did they believe that the current monetary policy would meet the 2.0 per cent inflation target set by the government?

Dame Allan's recommended an interest rate of 0.75% compared with the Bank of England's official rate of 0.5%, set by the Monetary Policy Committee on 4 November. They also recommended a total of £200bn of asset purchases under the Asset Purchase Facility, which matched the £200bn agreed by the MPC. The team had to justify their decision in a 15 minute presentation to a panel of three Bank of England economists and defend their thinking under forensic questioning from the panel.

Dame Allan's will now go on to represent the region in the next round.

Dame Allan's Girls' Under 15 squash players are the undefeated regional champions in the England Squash and Racketball National Schools Championships.

The team of Emma Haley, Charlotte Cooper, Laura Neill, Manon Walton-Williams and Faye Groom will now represent the region in the quarter finals in February.

The National Schools Championships is a season long competition that gives all schools a chance to compete against each other to become the National Schools Champion.

The Dame Allan's squash players have enjoyed a flying start to the season, dominating the Northumberland Junior County Closed Championships 2010, as well.

Laura Neill played in two events, the girls Under 11 and the Under 13's, winning both titles without dropping a game! She has recently been invited to join an Under 11 England squad which shows the level she is reaching at such a young age.

The Girls Under 15 title wasn't decided until the final match - between Emma Haley and Charlotte Cooper. After a close match between the fellow team mates Haley finally clinched the title this time.

Coach Jane Dennis set up the Squash coaching at Dame Allan's with Vice Principal, Mr Lomas, five years ago.

"We are now seeing the success of Jane's coaching with a very talented and dedicated squad of players. Two members of this squad have achieved national rankings and we are all looking forward to the quarter finals," said Mr Lomas.

Eight youngsters had a smashing start to their day.

The pupils from Dame Allan's Junior School sat at the controls of a demolition machine rather than their desks as they began the demolition of the former hospital at Hunter's Moor.

The buildings are being demolished to make way for a state of the art Nursery and Junior School on the six acre site, close to the main school in Fenham.

Everything in the new school has been designed around the needs of young children.

The very young children in nursery and reception will have their own self-contained classrooms at one end of the school, with their own separate entrance.

All the classrooms on the ground floor open out into the open spaces, so the children can work and play together in their own safe, breakout areas, moving inside and out depending on the weather and their activities. All the classrooms are paired, so pupils in each 'pair' will have their own cloakrooms and toilets.



The classrooms for the older children are on the upper floor. The modern, distinctive library is also on this floor, its red colour and prominent shape symbolising learning at the heart of the school.

At break times the children can play in one of three separate play areas, one for the nursery and early years pupils, one for Years 1 to 3 and a third for Years 4 to 6.



The pupils will be able to play on their own dedicated coaching areas for netball, rugby, cricket and athletics. They will also be able to play football, tennis and hockey on an all weather games area.

The boys and girls were watched today by one person with a particular interest in the project.

Dr Laura Graham has a son at Dame Allan's Junior School and is a Consultant in Neurorehabilitation at Walkergate Park.

She worked at Hunter's Moor Hospital before it closed in 2006 and is impressed by the plans for the new school: "Walkergate Park Centre for Neurorehabilitation is one of the most advanced centres of its kind in Europe and our move to the purpose built premises has been a fantastic boost for patients and staff alike. I am so pleased that this site will now be used for a state of the art Nursery and Junior School for Dame Allan's. I particularly like the plans to make the most of the large, mature site for play, for sport and for education. This does seem to fulfil the Schools' aim that learning should be fun!"

The new building is constructed using recycled materials wherever possible and everything can be recycled or reused when the building reaches the end of its life.

Principal Dr John Hind said: "It is fitting that such a significant stage in the Schools' history should coincide with the unveiling of a plaque to mark the site of Dame Allan's Schools in College Street before they moved to Fenham in 1935. I believe it is important that the Schools should be constantly improving and I know that the staff and pupils are looking forward to moving into their new buildings in 2012."



Elliott Ward, chairman of the governors said: "This is an exciting milestone in the history of Dame Allan's. As a former pupil, parent and current grandparent of the Schools, I am proud we have taken this bold step and I am confident that our new Nursery and Junior School will see many more generations enjoying a first class education."

Sir David Lumsden, former Principal of the Royal Academy of Music, returned to his old school to give a lunchtime recital and masterclass programme.

Sir David began his performance by recounting some of his memories of his life at Dame Allan's and paid special tribute to Bill Little, his music teacher, who had inspired his musical endeavours and laid the foundations for his future successes. He also described his exploits as an evacuee swimming in Lake Windermere watching the bouncing bombs skimming across the lake towards him while the Dambusters were making practice runs.

He performed pieces by two of his favourite composers: Mozart and J S Bach. He entertained the pupils in the audience with his explanations of their works, explaining why he could not imagine life without them. "The angels listen to Mozart," he told them, "but God listens to Bach!"

Pupils from the Schools performed during the recital, which concluded with an energetic piano duet - by JS Bach - played by Sir David Lumsden and Director of Music, Mike Dutton.

Afterwards seven pupils received an individual masterclass with Sir David, when he passed on not only the technical skills but also the encouragement and aspirations that had been instilled in him while a pupil at Dame Allan's.

Pupils in the Junior School have won a place in the final of a nationwide Design-A-Christmas card competition to find the UK's most artistic class.



The 27 pupils aged between four and seven, created their own Christmas cards and won the regional competition to secure a place in the national final and a chance to be crowned Most Artistic Class.

The competition is part of a series of activities to support children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent in partnership with Tesco . The partnership aims to raise £5 million to fund CLIC Sargent Specialist Children's Cancer Nurses so children with cancer can spend more time at home and less time in hospital.

Mrs Needham said: "The children are so excited to be regional finalists and can't wait to hear the result in November. The competition was a great opportunity for them to be creative, especially for such a good cause. I'm really proud of everyone's hard work and the real talent they displayed"

Rasool Taj Card Buying Manager at Tesco added: "The competition is in its third year and I was really impressed by the high standard of designs we received. I can't thank all the children who entered enough. Their work has made it a pleasure to be part of the judging team. It has been a really difficult process but we are delighted to announce Dame Allan's Junior School are the winners for the North East region and I'm looking forward to the next stage.

"We have seen a huge interest in the competition and as a result been able to raise awareness of CLIC Sargent and the support it provides to families affected by childhood cancer."

Dr Mary Stiasny urged pupils at Dame Allan's Schools to achieve the highest standards in their time at the Schools and in their future careers.



Dr Stiasny returned to her old School to present the prizes at the Annual Speech Day. She recalled her time at Dame Allan's, how it shaped her future, how she was encouraged to be ambitious and challenge assumptions about her life and career.

As someone who left school vowing she would never teach, she has certainly been open to the challenges and opportunities that lay before her and is enjoying a successful career in education! She worked as a Lecturer and a Dean in four universities before becoming Director of Education for the British Council, responsible for their educational programmes all over the world. She is now Associate Director of the Institute of Education, one of the colleges of the University of London, responsible for learning, teaching and international outreach.

Prizewinners included the recordbreaking Year 13 who left with the highest percent of A grades in the Schools' history: half of all the papers they sat were graded A* or A.

She encouraged all the students to "Be the best you can be; achieve your maximum and make use of the communication possibilities and the breaking down of barriers that technology has brought us."

Girls at Dame Allan's School are celebrating outstanding GCSE exam results this year.

"These pupils have worked extremely hard and thoroughly deserve their success - as have all the GCSE candidates this year. We are very proud of those who achieve the highest grades, but, as ever, many of our students exceeded our expectations at all levels. And it must be remembered that many of the pupils have also made significant contributions to the wider life of the school, too."

A Newcastle boy has won a place at Oxford University after a unique partnership between a state school and a leading independent school in Newcastle.

"I am thrilled with my results. I've been given fantastic support at Dame Allan's and I've worked hard to get this place at Oxford. I'm truly grateful to the Heppells for their support and encouragement and to David Scott, the previous head at All Saints for giving me this opportunity.

"I've been to more schools than most because my father is in the forces and we therefore had to move around. I thoroughly enjoyed my time at All Saints, but I have never felt more settled in a school than I have here at Dame Allan's. I hope I will settle in as well at Christ Church!"

"This is a wonderful achievement. Ashley has been a diligent and hard working student during his time with us and his evident talent has flourished.

"I am delighted that this first collaboration with All Saints College has been so successful and look forward to working with the Diocese, Michael Heppell and All Saints to develop this relationship in the future.

"The governors and I are confident that our founder Dame Eleanor Allan would approve of this initiative and we are working very hard to continue to increase further the bursary support we are able to offer to gifted pupils."

"This is a real demonstration of two schools with a Church Foundation working together to meet the needs of their pupils. Both Schools share a Christian foundation and this project has shown that there are significant benefits for individual pupils and the schools in purposeful collaboration of this kind."

It's been a momentous summer for Vee Sethu.

"Vee has worked hard for her achievements and we all wish her well in her future careers.

"All the pupils have done remarkably well this year, giving the Schools their best ever A level results. 28 pupils achieved all A or A* grades this year which is tremendous. We are very proud of those who achieve the highest grades, but, as ever, many of our students exceeded our expectations at all levels. And it must be remembered that many of the pupils have also made significant contributions to the wider life of the school, too.

"I'm looking forward to hearing about their continued success as they progress through their chosen universities."

Eight students achieved the remarkable feat of all A* passes. This is the first year A* grades have been introduced and students must achieve 90 per cent or over to gain an A*.

"All the pupils have done remarkably well this year, giving the Schools their best ever A level results. 28 pupils achieved all A or A* grades this year which is tremendous. We are very proud of those who achieve the highest grades, but, as ever, many of our students exceeded our expectations at all levels. And it must be remembered that many of the pupils have also made significant contributions to the wider life of the school, too.

"I'm looking forward to hearing about their continued success as they progress through their chosen universities."

In the early hours of a July Saturday morning 32 teenagers left Fenham for a once in a lifetime opportunity to sing in the iconic Parisian landmarks of Chartres Cathedral, Eglise de St. Eustache and Disneyland Paris.

The governors of Dame Allan's are delighted to announce that Newcastle City Council has approved their plans for the new Nursery and Junior School at Hunter's Moor.

Principal Dr John Hind said: "This is wonderful news and a significant milestone in the development of Dame Allan's. We can now press ahead with our plans to create a purpose built nursery and junior school that has been carefully designed around the needs of young children.

"The very young children in the nursery and reception will have self-contained classrooms at one end of the school, with their own entrance. All the ground floor classrooms will open out into their own breakout areas, while the classrooms for the older children will be on the upper floor. The modern, distinctive library is also on this floor, with its red colour and prominent shape symbolising learning at the heart of the School.

"The mature, six acre, wooded site is a wonderful learning opportunity in itself. The teachers and pupils will be able to explore the grounds, seeing the natural world at first hand and watching the seasons unfold."

First time voters at Dame Allan's had a unique opportunity to quiz parliamentary candidates.

"The 2010 Election sparked a wide interest across the whole country. With the introduction of televised debates and the prospect of a hung Parliament looking likely, it seemed politics was more popular than ever.

All eyes were on the web cam at the Nursery and Junior school last month. Pupils - and staff - were mesmerized by the camera watching new lives coming into the world.



The youngest pupils at Dame Allan's were able to watch the chickens hatch from their eggs in a special hatchery that was in school for two weeks. They were fascinated by the early stages of the life cycle taking place in a special brooder box.

And the rest of the Schools' community, pupils, parents and staff, were able to watch the growing chicks on the Schools' website via a webcam.

Quick thinking staff at Dame Allan's Schools made sure seventeen French pupils returned home to Lyon at the end of their annual French exchange despite the closure of Newcastle Airport.

The pupils had been due to say farewell to their hosts at 10.30 am on Thursday morning and board a coach to Newcastle Airport. Instead the coach headed south for the long drive to Lyon.

Tom Kingston, the French teacher organising the exchange, explained: "When we heard the news we looked at a number of options, including arranging for the pupils to stay another night. However the flights were still uncertain tomorrow, so we made arrangements with our regular coach company, who were able to step into the breach and provide a coach to take them all the way to Lyon. It will be a long journey for them, but they will get home tomorrow."

The pupils left Fenham at 11 am after a busy ten days in the region. As well as attending lessons at the Schools, the French pupils and their hosts enjoyed visits to York, the Sunderland Glass Centre, Sunderland Museum and Winter gardens - and an exciting afternoon paintballing at Slaley Hall.

It may come as a surprise, but the highlight of the Exchange for many of the pupils was the opportunity to spend time with their French counterparts, speaking their language and understanding their culture.

"The best thing about the exchange was just spending time together as a group. We all got on so well and just enjoyed being together," said 16 year old Alex Bythell from Wylam.

Marie Arnaud, also 16, was relieved to know that they would be able to get back to Lyon tomorrow. "It will be a long and boring journey but I'm glad we will be going home because I have planned to visit my grandmother in Bretagne on Saturday."

Catherine Lapierre, an English teacher at Lyceé Parc Chabrières, said, "This was the most eventful end to a French exchange! I have been to Dame Allan's six times on an exchange and we have never had anything like this. I'm so pleased everything has been resolved so smoothly."

Principal Dr John Hind, said: "These exchanges are an important part of the life of the Schools and I was impressed by the way the pupils mixed during their visit and how they supported each other this morning. The friendships formed during these exchanges can last a lifetime."

The governors of Dame Allan's have now submitted their plans to Newcastle City Council for the new Nursery and Junior School at Hunter's Moor.

Everything has been designed around the needs of young children.

The very young children in nursery and reception will have their own self-contained classrooms at one end of the school, with their own separate entrance.

All the classrooms on the ground floor open out into the open spaces, so the children can work and play together in their own safe, breakout areas, moving inside and out depending on the weather and their activities.

All the classrooms are paired, so pupils in each 'pair' will have their own cloakrooms and toilets.

The classrooms for the older children are on the upper floor. The modern, distinctive library is also on this floor, its red colour and prominent shape symbolising learning at the heart of the school.

There are two halls, which give the staff the flexibility to use them for assemblies, performing arts, indoor sports and lunches.

At break times the children can play in one of three separate play areas, one for the early years pupils, one for Years 1 to 3 and one for Years 4 to 6.

The pupils will be able to play on their own dedicated coaching areas for netball, rugby, cricket and athletics. They will also be able to play football, tennis and hockey on an all weather games area.

Principal Dr John Hind said: "The large, mature, six acre, wooded site is a wonderful learning opportunity in itself. The teachers and pupils will be able to explore the grounds, seeing the natural world at first hand and watching the seasons unfold.

"There is so much space on the site which can be used for learning, for sport and for pure enjoyment!"

The new building is constructed using recycled materials wherever possible and everything can be recycled or reused when the building reaches the end of its life.

When the existing building is demolished, as much as possible will be crushed for the builders to use in the foundations of the new school. Dame Allan's plans to reuse specific parts of the building in the grounds around the school where possible, for example the decorative arched low garden wall can be incorporated in the new garden areas.

The heating system has been designed to have a minimal carbon footprint. The building will be heated by ground source heat pumps which extract the heat from below the ground, while the water will be heated from energy collected in solar panels on the roof. There will be a gas boiler to supplement these energy sources if necessary, to ensure the children are always comfortable. A computer programme will monitor the temperature and CO² levels in each room, adjusting the temperature and ventilation when necessary in individual rooms.

Elliott Ward, chairman of the governors said: "This is an exciting milestone in the history of Dame Allan's. As a former pupil, parent and current grandparent of the Schools, I am proud we have taken this bold step and I am confident that our new nursery and junior school will see many more generations enjoying a first class education."

This novel character arrived at Dame Allan's Junior School yesterday.

He made his appearance on a chocolate Easter egg, creatively decorated by one of the pupils.

Every child from Year 1 to Year 3 decorated their own chocolate egg, thanks to the staff at Thorntons. Manager Elaine Daley and Nathalie Stamp demonstrated how to decorate the eggs using white icing in professional looking piping bags. They inspired the children to create personal designs, helping them to reproduce them on the eggs and adding their names in icing.

"The children were all enthusiastic and produced some wonderful designs," said Mrs Daley. "I saw a few diggers and boats, but I've never seen an Easter dragon before!"

The birds in Forest Hall will be moving in to highly desirable bird boxes this spring.

Pupils and visitors to the Activity Week at Dame Allan's Nursery and Junior School are putting the finishing touches to new bird boxes for their school garden in Forest Hall.

Their designs have been inspired by a visit from North Tyneside Council's Green Wardens who spent an afternoon with the pupils, showing them how birds build their nests in the boxes each spring.

The Wardens brought ingenious camera equipment with them, which gave the children a revealing view through the hole into the birdbox. The pupils were entranced by the close up views of last year's nests and are now enthusiastically creating new 'des res' homes designed specifically for robins and blue tits.

As well as showing the children the boxes for birds, bats and bees, Green Warden Richie Barnes showed them how he uses ropes and safety equipment to put up and inspect boxes throughout the year.

Mrs Pam Pollock, head of early years at Dame Allan's, shared her pupils' excitement: "We had a fantastic afternoon and the children can't wait to see the birds nesting in the boxes they are decorating this week. Once they are all finished they will be put up in the school garden and field so that the children can watch the birds in their new homes."

Dame Allan's Schools are top of the league for A Level results for the third successive year, according to the figures published by the DCSF last month.

The DCSF table ranks schools on the basis of their pupils' performance in A-level, AS level and equivalent exams. The top three schools for Newcastle are:

Dame Allan's Schools - 943.1
Royal Grammar School - 913.4
Central Newcastle High - 876

Swimmers from Dame Allan's Girls' School have won the silver medal in the English Schools Swimming Association's 52nd Senior School Team Championships.

The Girls' intermediate team, consisting of Charlotte Sim, Catherine Shafto Zoe Kirkwood, Kathryn Woolston-Thomas and reserve Catriona Wright, qualified for both the Freestyle relay and the Medley relay finals. Only 16 teams from schools across England qualify for a place in each of the finals.

The Freestyle semi-final was agonisingly close, with the eventual winners Plymouth College finishing in 1.55.31, and Dame Allan's a fingertip behind in 1.55.93. In the finals Plymouth College were able to maintain their lead, to take the gold medal, with Dame Allan's taking the silver.

The girls came up against Plymouth College in the Medley team as well, with the Devon school smashing the event record. Dame Allan's finished in tenth place in their second event.

This is the third successive year that teams from Dame Allan's have reached the last 16 in these national championships.
"This is a fantastic achievement," said Mrs Sandra Rickaby, head of games at Dame Allan's Girls' School. "They have all worked hard under the guidance of Sarah Whewell, who is a former international swimmer and their enthusiasm and commitment has been a characteristic of the team. We are very excited and proud of their outstanding successes."

We are delighted to report that Allanian Jane Hanna was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.

Jane began campaigning for the recognition of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP) following the death of her partner in 1990.

Jane was a law fellow at Keble College, Oxford University when her then partner, Alan, a barrister, died suddenly and unexpectedly aged 27. She brought a complaint following his death but the local health authority upheld the care provided because there were no recognised standards of care for people with epilepsy at that time. Choosing not to appeal, she worked with four other women to found Epilepsy Bereaved as a charity in 1995 and in 1997 Jane took up the role of part-time Director of the Charity. Today she is Director, Epilepsy Bereaved.

Jane Hanna said, "This award is a wonderful public recognition of the importance of the SUDEP cause. I am proud to accept it on behalf of the many people I have worked with over the years for whom the cause of awareness and prevention of SUDEP is paramount. At the core of our work are the bereaved families, many of whom are truly inspiring in their courage and support of the charity."

"We are absolutely delighted that Jane's unique combination of compassionand determination to raise awareness of SUDEP and give support to thefamilies has been recognised," said Mrs Middlebrook, Head of Dame Allan's Girls' School. "Jane has kept in touch with Dame Allan's since she left, attending Allanianevents whenever she can, most recently attending the annual Carol Service atthe Cathedral and the Allanians' Christmas lunch."

Six boys competed in three championships in one week from Cornwall to Tyne and Wear, winning two and finishing in the top 20 in the country.

The boys, who are in Years 7 and 8, began the week at the National School Cross Country Cup final in Newquay, where they finished 19th out of the 450 schools who enter. They ran the 2,900 metre long course in a time of 12 minutes.

The team, led by captain Joe Collins, with George Wilson, George Sanderson, Harry Slater, Matthew Denton and James Fagents, then returned to the north east to compete in the City Championships.

They won this in a time of 14 minutes and have qualified to represent Newcastle in the County Championships in the New Year at Kirkley Hall, Ponteland.

The next event in this trio of races was the Tyneside Championships which the team again won. Joe Collins completed his successful week by winning the individual championship.

"This is a fantastic achievement," said Mr Bill Hudson, head of games. "They are an exceptional group of runners and they have deserved their success. This was their first entry in the national championships and as they are all only 12 and 13 I am sure they will increase their ranking in the coming seasons. BBC Radio Cornwall interviewed the boys and were impressed with their commitment in making the 900 mile round trip and with their performance."

Musically-gifted pupils combined festive singing with raising money for north east cancer charity the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

A choir sang uplifting Christmas carols for patients, visitors and staff in the Northern Centre for Cancer Care at the Freeman Hospital, Newcastle.

Dr John Hind, Principal of Dame Allan's Schools, says: "I am delighted that the Dame Allan's community is able to support such a worthy cause. Since Sir Bobby's death I have been approached by pupils wishing to do something more to help the charity and this was an ideal opportunity to do so.

"Like any community, we also have members whose own lives have been touched directly or indirectly by the effects of cancer and I hope that our singing may help to raise spirits at the Freeman Hospital as well as money for the charity.

"Dame Allan's Schools will also be raising money for the charity through a collection at its annual carol service for pupils, staff and parents, which will be held on Friday 18th December at St Nicholas Cathedral in Newcastle."

The governors of Dame Allan's Schools have exchanged contracts, subject to planning consent, to buy the site and buildings of the former Hunter's Moor Hospital from Newcastle Primary Care Trust (PCT).

The Schools plan to use the approximately six acre site in Spital Tongues, to bring their Junior School and Nursery together on to one site, close to the main Schools in Fenham. The nursery and early years are currently at Forest Hall, while Years Four to Six are in Fenham.

The wooded, mature site is large enough to develop a purpose built Junior School designed to take full advantage of the latest technology with many environmentally sustainable features, yet still having ample space for formal and informal play areas.

"This is one of the most significant decisions taken by the governors since the move to Fenham in the 1930s," said Elliott Ward, chairman of the governors. "As a former pupil, parent and current grandparent of the Schools, I am proud we have taken this bold step. Dame Allan's has thrived for over 300 years and this move will help to secure the future of the Schools for the coming years."

Nick Sherwood, property and planning manager for Newcastle PCT said:

"We are pleased to have exchanged contracts, subject to planning consent, to sell the site and buildings at the former Hunter's Moor Hospital site to Dame Allan's Schools.

"Money from this sale will be invested in improvements to local health services. Hunters Moor, a former neurorehabilitation hospital, was decommissioned in May 2006 on the opening of a new state of the art hospital in Walkergate, Newcastle.

"In selling the building it has been important to make sure that we got best value from the sale of the property for the public purse. We have also been keen to work with planners from Newcastle City Council, and Your Homes Newcastle, to make sure that the final use of the building is appropriate and in keeping with the local community."

Four girls came back from their World Challenge expedition to all A*A grades in their GCSEs.

Katherine Mansfield, Grace Pearson, Emily Price and Lucie Stratton spent last year fundraising for the Challenge alongside studying for their GCSEs. They were part of the group of 72 pupils from Dame Allan's Schools who took part in the World Challenge programme, one of the largest in the north east.

The girls were among the 18 pupils from Dame Allan's Girls' School who are celebrating the magnificent achievement of all A*A passes in their GCSE exams this year.

The Boys' School enjoyed similar successes with eleven boys achieving all A*A grades.

Katherine and Lucie spent four weeks in Peru while Grace and Emily were in Argentina working in schools in poor communities followed by a week of hi- trekking and canoeing. This year 72 pupils from years 11 to 13 at Dame Allan's Schools took part in expeditions to Peru and Argentina, one of the largest World Challenge programmes in the north east.

During the trip Katherine celebrated her 16th birthday in Peru while Emily enjoyed her birthday cake in Argentina.

Katherine said: "It's been a fantastic year but it was a very busy one. I made so many cards for the fundraising and Emily took part in the Great North Swim!"

Principal Dr John Hind was delighted with the results. "These pupils have worked extremely hard and thoroughly deserve their success - as have all the GCSE candidates this year."

Patrick Dixon has achieved the remarkable feat of scoring full marks in his A Level English Literature exams this year.

Patrick achieved five straight A grades in Politics, Philosophy, Economics, English Literature and General Studies. He was also awarded a distinction in his Extended English paper.

Patrick is going on to study Politics and Philosophy at the London School of Economics.

He is among the 17 pupils from Dame Allan's Schools who are celebrating the magnificent achievement of straight A passes in their A level exams this year.

"The most striking feature of this year's results is the success of maths and modern languages," said Dr John Hind, Principal.

"While these subjects are declining across the country 11 students from Dame Allan's are going on to study modern languages at university here and in Europe."

Maths is the single biggest subject this year with 36 people taking A level maths or further maths and 28 per cent of the A level papers were in the STEM subjects of science, technology, engineering and maths.

Principal Dr John Hind was delighted with the results. "These pupils have worked extremely hard and thoroughly deserve their success - as have all the A level candidates this year. We are very proud of those who achieve the highest grades, but, as ever, many of our students exceeded our expectations at all levels."