News

IB results 2021

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Published: Monday, 12 July 2021 19:24

Written by Mrs M Linton

Year 13 students at Dane Court are today celebrating an exceptional year of results in their International Baccalaureate courses, with an impressive IBDP average point score of 36.5 across the cohort and 61% of all grades at 7 or 6 (the very highest IB grades), and 33% of IBCP grades at 7 or 6.

Martin Jones, Headteacher, said “We are delighted for the students. These outstanding outcomes are the result of an enormous amount of hard work and determination. This group of students has faced the challenges of the past 18 months with perseverance and resilience and we are very proud of them. All of our IBCP students have received their award and 97% of our IBDP students have achieved the full Diploma, which is a remarkable achievement. Our IBCP students must wait until August for their vocational results, but their success in their IB subjects and their excellent Reflective Project grades have given them the very best chance to progress onto their chosen destination. Our IBDP students have attained an average of 36.5 points across the year group, the highest average point score in the school’s history. The vast majority of students have already secured their first choice university or employment-focused offer and they can look forward to an exciting future.”

• All students in the sixth form study one of three prestigious and demanding courses:
  The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme, which comprises 6 IB subjects including Maths, English, Science and a language. Students must also complete the ‘Core’ which consists of a 4000 word Extended Essay, Theory of Knowledge and CAS
• The International Baccalaureate Career-Related Programme where students study one Level 3 vocational course and 2 or more IB Diploma Programme courses, graded on a 7-1 scale. The students are also required to pass the IBCP core which comprises of: a personal and professional skills course, a service learning project, a 3000 word reflective essay and a language acquisition course.
• A bespoke course comprised of a range of IB subjects

Chris Pleasant, Head of Sixth Form said “It has been a wonderful experience to be able to share this set of results with the students after a difficult couple of years. They can say with pride and confidence that they have truly earned these grades, as they are the result of assessments and coursework completed over the course of two years. I am immensely proud of them all. I want to particularly congratulate the 17 IBDP students who have achieved 40 points or more, way above the national and world averages and Aliya Andrews, Nikos Kouthouri-Whittaker and Zara Ahmed who achieved the maximum 45 points, a truly remarkable achievement. Well done to you all and I hope the next stage of your life is a happy and successful one.”

Find out more about our sixth form.

Examples of work completed by this year's IB Visual Arts students

Collect your 2020 examination certificates

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Published: Wednesday, 19 May 2021 18:23

Written by Mrs C Sayer

2020 Exam Certificates

Calling all 2020 GCSE and IB students, your Summer 2020 exam certificates are now ready for collection. Certificates can be collected from the main reception between 2:00pm and 4:30pm Monday to Thursday and between 2:00pm and 4:00pm Friday.
Your certificates are important legal documents that you will need throughout the course of your career. Employers, colleges and universities often insist on seeing original qualification certificates. It is therefore vital that you collect your certificates and keep them safe. Regulations do not allow certificates to be put sent by normal post due to the risk of loss or damage. If you are unable to collect the certificates yourself, you can nominate someone else (this includes parents and other family members or friends) to collect your certificates by emailing Claire Sayer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Certificates will not be issued to anyone other than the person named on them without written permission and ID.

Exam Certificates - 2019 and before

We have many unclaimed exam certificates (believe it or not, we even have certificates dating as far back as the 1960s) that we are keen to get to their owners. If you took your exams prior to 2020 and you didn’t collect your certificates, please email Claire Sayer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to arrange collection. Please note that certificates will not be issued to anyone other than the person named on them without written permission and ID.

Chatter 17 - Easter 2021

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Published: Thursday, 01 April 2021 21:17

Written by The Chatter Team

Dane Court's student newspaper Chatter team have been working super hard both from home and back in school (hoorah!) over a couple of very unusual terms, to bring you this special bumper edition of Chatter.

Bursting with many fantastic articles to read from students across the school, such as how the students feel about the return to school and some of the amazing work they got up to from home. Our fantastic students have also been reporting on what they have been doing outside of school, reviewing music albums and their creative writing.
Also in this edition there are details of what is happening in the library, Easter recipes and lots of competitions you can enter. Not forgetting our own competition to win £20 to spend when the shops reopen!!
If anyone would like to join the chatter team just come along and see what we get up to, details on meetings can be given to you by your form mentor or by emailing Mrs Cronin. We meet on week B for years 7, 8 and 9 or week A for years 10 and above. Students from across the school are very welcome and if you aren't very good at writing we always need a hand at editing! It would be especially great to hear from you!
Chatter would like to wish all student's, staff, the PTA and their families a safe and happy Easter holiday. Look after yourselves and each other but most of all ensure you all have a good well earned rest over the holidays.

Read Chatter 17

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Japanese Pen Pal

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Published: Thursday, 18 March 2021 19:37

Written by Mrs M Myers

As same as every year, International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IBDP) students in Year 13 studying the Ab initio Japanese course have been enjoying exchanging letters with the students at Kitakyushu National College of Technology in Fukuoka in Japan.
The students write letters in both Japanese and English, so that our Ab initio students can practice writing and reading Japanese and the Japanese students can practice communicating in English.
Harley, one of our students, said “I think that writing to a Japanese penpal is interesting and fun! I learnt extra vocabulary and got to practice my writing and reading skills as well as have lots of fun making a new friend.”
Yasmin also said “I enjoyed writing pen pal letters because it gave me a way to become familiar with everyday language and learn about the culture from a personal view. It was fun making friends, too!”
Marli added “It was really fun to practise Japanese writing and reading whilst making a friend at the same time! It was an interesting way to learn about Japanese culture and share my own culture with my penpal too! It was also a great way to stay motivated to practise Japanese in the difficult time of COVID-19.”
Mr Shinichi Watanabe, the Japanese teacher in the Kitakyusyu National College of Technology mentioned "It is not an easy task for Japanese students to learn English. Sometimes they get tired of learning, but it is very encouraging for them to read the letters from the students who are learning Japanese at Dane Court Grammar School. It has been six years since the exchange started, and we hope that the exchange will continue for a long time to come".
Yuma Iwamoto, one of the Japanese pen pals mentioned "This correspondence activity has been a very important and interesting experience for me. I was very happy when my penpal asked me the meaning of my name. I would not have been able to communicate so much with foreigners without this activity. I would like to exchange letters more."
We have found it greatly beneficial to our studies because it gives us sufficient practice in reading and writing Japanese outside the classroom. It is also nice to keep contact with each other over the countries under the current difficult times due to Covid.