Wider Curriculum

At Neville’s Cross we recognise that the curriculum extends beyond the statutory requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage and the National Curriculum. We are proud to support the holistic development of our children through a wide range of additional opportunities.

Bucket Lists

At Neville’s Cross, we pledge to have a broad and balanced curriculum full of enriching activities. In consultation with our children through the school council, we have created a set of bucket lists for each phase in school of the experiences we believe should be part of all our children’s learning adventure during their time at Neville’s Cross.

Extra-curricular Clubs, Activities and Wraparound

We offer wraparound care for all of our children as required. Breakfast Club provides a welcoming start to the day where children can socialise before school, whilst having a full and healthy breakfast. Tea Time Club operates five days per week and is a very relaxed way to end the school day with a range of activities and a small teatime snack. For more information about our wraparound care, including how to book a place, please click here: Breakfast Club and Tea Time Club (nevillescross.durham.sch.uk)

Across the year, we also offer a wide range of after-school activity clubs. These include, but are not limited to, Art Club , French Club, Doodle Club, Karate, Archery, Chess, LEGO club, Fencing, football, multi-sports, cricket, cheerleading, dance, drama and choir.

For further information about our extra-curricular clubs, please click here: Extra Curricular Activity Clubs (nevillescross.durham.sch.uk)

Residential Experiences

We aim to provide residential experiences to our children from Year 3 onwards. In Year 3, our children are invited to attend an overnight camping experience on the school field where they experience Forest School activities and a short stay away from home within familiar surroundings.

In Year 4, we offer a residential visit to Dukeshouse Wood in Hexham, which is a one-night stay and where children have the opportunity to try new activities, including: climbing, orienteering, obstacle courses and singing around the campfire!

In Year 5, we offer a two-night residential visit to Robinwood in Alston, where children have the opportunity to step outside of their comfort zone, test their resilience and demonstrate their independence. Activities include: zipwire, 4G swing, crate stacking, caving, canoeing, Night Line and a short hike.

In Year 6, in these post-Covid times, we are looking to provide a longer residential, further afield in a city setting.

Sporting Achievements

We pride ourselves on the strong partnership working with the Durham & Chester-le-Street School Sports Partnership (SSP). We pledge to offer every year group and every class the opportunity to attend a sporting festival offsite and to represent our school. We are proud to field teams in a number of annual competitions, including: football, tag rugby, swimming galas, cricket, the Durham Dash, cross-country and athletics. In recent years, we have been very successful as is evident by our trophy cabinet and our children love to share their success in our Celebration Assembly on a Friday afternoon. Alongside these achievements, we are proud of how well our children conduct themselves and represent our school.

The Arts

Post-Covid, it has been a key priority to reinvigorate our musical offer. Alongside our core curriculum, we work closely with the Durham Music Service to offer individual children and small groups tuition in saxophone, clarinet, flute, violin, cello and guitar. Our musicians regularly perform at school events, including our Jubilee Celebration and summer picnic. It is wonderful to finally hear our children sing again! As well as weekly whole-school singing assemblies, we have a Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 choir and a very keen drama group. Our choir is looking forward to heading out into the community to share their joy of singing. This academic year, our Key Stage 2 choir are participating in the Durham Music Choir of the Year competition. We are thrilled to share they are through to the second round. Watch this space!

Each year, a number of classes represent our school at the Gala Theatre as part of a Dance Festival through the SSP. This provides the children the experience of choreographing a group routine and performing on the ‘big stage’ in a real theatre to a large audience.

All of our classes perform throughout the year for example, leading class assemblies, Nativity productions, Carol Service, Singalongs and other celebration events as appropriate.

Opportunities to develop children’s creativity through Art are offered alongside a core art curriculum. We were thrilled to have the chance to be involved with Illuminating Ushaw College project in December 2021, where a number of classes had their art work displayed as part of a community installation. The project was such a success, we have been invited again to create individual pieces of art for their ‘Catching Stars’ installation which will be exhibited in December 2022.

In the academic year, 2021-2022, we were delighted to have been awarded Artsmark Silver status and we hope to continue our journey to achieve the Gold status.