Design and Technology: Year 12 Students Visit Nissan Plant – A Valuable Insight into Industry and Innovation

Earlier this term, Year 12 students studying A Level Product Design in Design and Technology had the exciting opportunity to visit the Nissan manufacturing plant in Sunderland. The trip offered an invaluable glimpse into one of the most advanced automotive production facilities in the UK, providing students with real-world insight into how design, engineering, and manufacturing come together on a large scale.

During the visit, students were taken on a guided tour of the production line, where they observed the various stages of car manufacturing – from the initial body panel pressing and robotic welding, to final assembly and quality control. It was a fascinating experience to see how automation, precision, and teamwork are all essential to ensuring high standards of production.

The trip not only helped students understand how the concepts they study in the classroom are applied in a real-world setting, but also highlighted the wide range of careers available in the design and manufacturing industries. From industrial design and CAD modelling to materials engineering and quality assurance, the visit opened students’ eyes to potential future career paths and the dynamic nature of the design and technology sector.

Educational visits like this are a vital part of learning. They bridge the gap between theory and practice, inspire future ambitions, and demonstrate the relevance of classroom knowledge in real-world contexts. For our Year 12 students, the Nissan plant visit was a truly memorable and valuable experience.

On Wednesday our Y7/8 Girls and Boys tennis teams took on Ponteland High School. The girls won 4-2 in games, whereas the boys narrowly lost 7-3 in a tie break decider after drawing the match 3-3 in games. Well done to both teams, who played some very competitive games. Next up the Girls play Westfield and the Boys are up against NSB. The tennis season is well underway!

On Wednesday 7th of May, JPA students from Year 10 competed in the first heat of the Newcastle Schools Debating Competition. Team 1 (Grace, Jeevan, Zahra and Dhalia) performed amazingly against challenging opponents from Dame Allen's and won the first debate with their excellent speeches about parental responsibility for their child's crimes. Team 2 (Sophie, Hannah, Esme and Ruby) also performed exceptionally well against opponents Newcastle School for Boys on the topic of police use of armed weaponry. Despite their skillful arguments and challenging counter questioning, unfortunately they narrowly lost this heat. We are so proud of all students involved and look forward to supporting Team 1 in the next round!

Dear Parent/Carer,

We have had a lovely ‘Culture Day’ at JPA today and I have just been waving goodbye to the students in the sunshine as they head off for their well earned Easter break.

I know that the Trust has written to all parents explaining the changes to leadership at Jesmond Park Academy, but I wanted to say something briefly to our school community.  This is not a ‘leaving speech’ as I am not leaving and students will still see me around the place each week!  However, I will be less involved in the day to day running of the school. Through my 28 years of education, my proudest times have come through these last years at JPA.  Obviously, being part of the team that secured a ‘Good’ from Ofsted and our recent excellent exam results is a significant part of this, but I am just as proud of all the improvements we have made in enrichment and leadership opportunities for students. Furthermore, I believe we are becoming one of the most inclusive schools in Newcastle and this is an exciting journey to be still part of.

I will be handing over the reins to Dave Merrifield, who many of you know well.  He lives in our community with both of his children attending Jesmond Park Academy.  I feel that this is an important point – he loves the school and our community and he is heavily invested in making sure it succeeds. Dave is an exceptional leader and I know that the school is in fantastic hands moving forward.

Finally, I wanted to regale you with something that absolutely inspired me yesterday.  After a day full of looking at budgets and forecasts, a group of Sixth Form students had booked in a slot to talk to me about a project that we were involved in.  Olivia, Bella, Rosie and Kenzhegul had put together a thoroughly inspiring and professional presentation which turned out to be the highlight of my half term.  “Girls Active” is a national organisation that promotes female sport and our girls successfully applied to be part of the organisation.  I now know that 43% of girls nationally feel like they no longer want to continue sport when they arrive at secondary school. There is a group of 10 students in total at our school who have worked to create a range of lunchtime and after school clubs, including volleyball, netball, rugby, basketball and dance.  Moreover, due to the huge numbers that are now participating, we are able to field competitive sides that can play against other schools.  Our recent U18 netball team recently won a tournament, beating a range of private schools, which did not go down well at all!  The students also talked about period education and how they are working with our students not to be embarrassed and to be confident in playing sports all through the month.  This is important to ensure equality in sports.

I’ll stop rambling now and let you enjoy Easter. Thanks to everyone for making it a great term!

Yours faithfully

STEVE CAMPBELL

PRINCIPAL

The Year 8 boys football team were crowned Newcastle School League Champions last week after beating Kenton School 2-1 in the semi-final, this was followed by a 1-0 win over St. Cuthbert’s in the final at Walker Riverside Academy. A great achievement & effort from the boys!