Last Friday our U16 boys travelled to Manchester to take on Didsbury High School in the last sixteen of the English Schools Basketball competition. As student athletes they didn’t waste the hours trapped on a mini bus, they took their study notes with them in preparation for the upcoming science assessments (Thank you Mrs Axon for the resources).

We knew that this was going to be tough before arriving but walking into the gym we were met by a team lead by a GB and England international and stacked with Premier and Conference National league players. However one thing we had in our favour was a great team, not lots of individuals, we had discussed this earlier in the week everyone knew their role in the team and they were ready to play it. The second thing that we have as a team is extreme positivity and confidence. As a great coach once said “ Where you see big – I see slow, where they see small – I see speed” that summed this game up as our speed and athleticism soon got their bigger more powerful players into foul trouble in what was a very tight competitive game of contrasting styles. We played fast team basketball, they played to the strength of their individuals.

I could not be more proud of the players, this is their best performance so far, and one of the best I have seen during the twenty plus years of taking basketball teams at the school. Nye was awesome on the boards again, Mathew played through the pain of an injured ankle to give us some valuable points in the paint, and of course a trademark three. Ali Yousif was awesome off the bench picking up an offensive rebound and put back that he really had no right to do, Ayan seeing out the final minutes of the game for us when others were flagging, Bruno, Ben L and Jakoby bringing energy from the bench when we needed it and Callum being his usual athletic self-playing great transition defence as well as finding the time to be an offensive threat going to the basket. The final pieces of the puzzle were our two guards who were simply unplayable, regardless how Didsbury came at them, big defenders, small quick ones or for a lot of the game double teaming them Ben B and Harry were offensively outstanding combining for 69 points (Ben 35, Harry 34). Those two may carry the “glory” but they will be the first to acknowledge that they could not have done what they did without the others and that sums up this TEAM.  All that effort resulted in a 87-101 victory - amazing.

That leaves us to play Northampton International Academy at home in the last eight. 3 games to go to our first National Championship.

March madness has hit at Jesmond Park Academy as the basketball season starts to come to a close with the final fixtures of the various competitions coming thick and fast.

The U19’s finished the season unbeaten winning their Newcastle Schools final against RGS on Friday night. In a relatively comfortable final JPA lead from Tip to buzzer with a composed performance. The boys move the ball well and shot particularly well under the pressure of playing on the show court at the Vertu Motors Arena directly before the Newcastle Eagles home fixture. Particularly impressive performances in this game from Riley and Will.

Our U16’s were made to work somewhat harder against a very competitive Dame Allen side who came back from a four point deficit to take the game into overtime. With only seconds to play a fantastic defensive stand by Ben allowed Harry to go coast to coast for a game winning basket. That final play meant that the U16s also completed their 2024/25 season in the Newcastle School league undefeated. There were great contributions all round in a very balanced team performance, some outstanding rebounding from Nye and excellent shooting from Ben were the highlights.

JPA U16s were selected to represent Newcastle in the Tyne and Wear games. This is a competition that brings together the best sides from Newcastle, Sunderland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside and Gateshead. Across a busy schedule the boys managed to win all of their group games before dispatching Whitley Bay in the semi-final and then their old adversaries Dame Allen in the final to be crowned Tyne and Wear champions on top of their Newcastle victory. Fantastic leadership from Ben and Harry to see the team through some tight situations throughout the day.

This week the team travels further afield to take on Didsbury High School in the last 32 of the National Schools Competition – best of luck!

YEAR 10 WORK EXPERIENCE - MONDAY 14th JULY 2025 TO THURSDAY 17th JULY 2025

Live TEAMS Parent/Carer Year 10 Work Experience Presentation, Wednesday 19th March 2025, 4:30pm- 5pm

We are inviting Parents/Carers to attend a live TEAMs Parent/Carer Year 10 Work Experience presentation on Wednesday 19th March 2025 from 4:30pm to 5pm.During this meeting we will be talking through the plans we have to support students finding placements and offering a live chat to Parents/Carers. This will allow us to offer any advice regarding student placements via your questions. If you are unable to attend this event, we will record it and email a link to the recording.

The Teams Event link will be emailed to all Year 10 Parents/Carers on Tuesday the 18th of March 2025.

Dear Parent/Carer,

A link has been emailed to all Year 11 Parent/Carers for the Year 11 How to Support your child in the lead up to the final GCSEs online Teams meeting, to be held on the 20^th of March at 5pm.

We look forward to seeing you.

Kind regards,

Mrs Hooker

Head of Key Stage 4

Jesmond Park Academy

Jesmond Park West

Newcastle upon Tyne

Tyne & Wear

NE7 7DP

JPA students Mayar, Abdulmumin and Mohamad were invited to a film screening at The Glasshouse Gateshead as part of their involvement in Action Foundation’s Young Lives - Youth Leadership Programme. Action Foundation is an award-winning charity based in Newcastle upon Tyne providing support to disadvantaged refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants across the North East.

Over the past year, our students have been young leaders — developing confidence, leadership skills, and the ability to advocate for themselves and their communities. As part of this work, they created a special film that highlights their experiences and aspirations, which was launched at The Glasshouse Gateshead on Friday, 7th March 2025. They also appeared on BBC Radio Newcastle to promote the film.

The screening event was a showcase for the powerful work of the young leaders but also provided insight into the support available across the city for refugee and asylum-seeking young people.

Mr Lovatt, EAL practitioner, also attended the screening. Mr Lovatt said, “This film drives home the fact that some of our students have faced real hardship in their young lives, escaping from some awful situations in their home countries. But it also shows that what they bring is their own cultural identity, aspirations and dreams for the future. We really value these things at Jesmond Park Academy, and as a School of Sanctuary, we are so proud that our students can share their stories with the wider community and beyond.”

The short film, starring Mumin, is available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPGxNwKsT1k