Happy Christmas from all of us at the Durham Dales Partnership! We hope you have a joyful and peaceful festive season. Take a look at our December Federation Newsletter! It's full of festive highlights, including our Christingle services, Christmas plays, and a sneak peek at some exciting plans for next term.

St John's Chapel & Wearhead Primaries Thank You for Joining Our Christingle Service A huge thank you to everyone who came along to our Christingle this afternoon. It was a truly wonderful service filled with light, joy, and community spirit. The children sang so beautifully, and we were treated to amazing performances from our violinists and recorder players – what a special moment to share together! We're so grateful for your support and hope you enjoyed this festive celebration as much as we did. Wishing you all peace and happiness this Christmas season.

Hamsterley Primary School Yesterday our children enjoyed a fun-filled Christmas party with a very special visit from Santa! Thank you to The Cross Keys for supplying the delicious party food! This afternoon, they took part in a beautiful carol service at Hamsterley Baptist Church. We hope everyone has a lovely Christmas!

Butterknowle Primary Thank you to everyone who came to our Christingle service this morning. A special mention to the Year 6 children who read out their poems - they were excellent with some beautiful Christmas messages.

Wearhead Primary School A Proper Festive Day! On Wednesday the children spent the morning wandering around the village delivering hand made Christmas cardsnothing like seeing all the decorations, bumping into friendly faces, and soaking up that community spirit. Then it was straight to school for Christmas lunch, complete with all the trimmings.

Woodland Primary School - Baubles! A huge thank you to all our parents and carers who came along to watch our Christmas performance. We're sure you'll agree – the children were absolutely brilliant!

Butterknowle Primary Year 5 and 6 children delivered Christmas cards to the community today. Throughout the school, we managed to make lots of beautiful cards to deliver to our closest neighbours in the village.

Hamsterley Primary School The children enjoyed a festive walk around the village delivering Christmas cards and spreading plenty of Christmas cheer along the way. A wonderful way to share kindness with our community!

Wearhead Primary School What a magical Christmas party! Our school hall was filled with festive fun yesterday afternoon as pupils came together to celebrate the most wonderful time of the year! We played games, danced and of course had some party food, it was an afternoon to remember!

St. John's Chapel and Wearhead Primary Super science in action! Key Stage 1 have been learning about their senses in science this term. They had fantastic fun investigating their sense of touch and discovering how easy or tricky it is to complete tasks using only their sense of touch. There were a few surprises along the way!

Christmas Dinner at Hamsterley Primary School Our pupils had a wonderful time enjoying a delicious Christmas dinner today and getting into the festive spirit together. A huge thank you to Debs, our cook, for preparing such a lovely meal – it was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

St John's Chapel Primary Science Club Sleigh Challenge! Today in Science Club, the children took on an exciting challenge: design and build a sleigh for Santa that could carry cargo! Every single sleigh was a success – and along the way, the children learned so much about forces, balance, and design. It was amazing to see their creativity and problem-solving skills in action! Well done to all our young engineers!

St John's Chapel Primary A Festive Feast! Today we enjoyed a delicious Christmas dinner together – what a wonderful way to celebrate the season! A huge thank you to Jennifer for preparing such an amazing meal.

Hamsterley Primary School In Forest School this afternoon, Class 1 finished decorating their festive baubles and created some magic reindeer dust, and toasted marshmallows.

St John's Chapel Primary Spreading Christmas Cheer! This morning, we've been out and about delivering cards in the community, sharing smiles and festive spirit with our wonderful neighbors. It's amazing how a simple card can brighten someone's day! Wishing everyone a joyful holiday season filled with warmth, kindness, and togetherness.