National Award for Exceptional GCSE results and Celebrations
“Exceptional results at GCSE” Award
Once again the incredible hard work of our students and staff has been recognised, this time by the SSAT. I was invited to London for the award ceremony where I was presented with the award by the Chief Executive of SSAT, Sue Williamson. She said “I am delighted that Torquay Academy has won an Educational Outcomes Award. This recognises an important aspect of the schools’ work, but, as we know, there is much more to recognise in a good school like Torquay Academy. SSAT is pleased to recognise the quality of leadership and the hard work of all staff to ensure the success of every child. A big thank you and well done to pupils, parents, staff and governors.”
Torbay Half Marathon
Well done to Mrs Nicol and Mr Christophers who braved the hot weather to compete in the Torbay Half Marathon last Sunday. They were running for the Brain Tumour Charity and between them raised over £700 which is a staggering amount and a fantastic achievement.
Year 8 Celebration Evening
On Wednesday night 43 students and their parents were invited to the annual Year 8 Celebration Evening. The evening is always a wonderful event which allows the Academy to recognise the achievement and dedication of our students. Throughout the night students were presented with awards for effort, subject excellence and citizenship. The audience was entertained by the Year 8 band comprising of : Millie Partridge, Rhyanna Lewis, Izzy Pollard, Luke Howard, Alfie Sams and Michael Brooker with dance from Izzy Pollard, Mya Edralin and Lottie Prowse. A glowing Review of the Year was performed by Archie Hodgson –Hunt, Azize Isufi and Brooke McCann.
All students deserve credit for their achievements – however a special mention must go to Ellis Knowles and Paige Godwin who received the Golden Mortar Board award for their combined efforts in English , Maths and Science.
Further pictures of the event can be found on our Facebook page
Sixth Form Celebration Evening
Last week we celebrated the achievements and successes of our wonderful Sixth Form students. Students from both Year 12 and Year 13 were voted for by their teachers to be awarded Subject Awards and by their tutors for a Form Superstar Award. In addition, ‘special’ awards were presented to some of our fabulous Year 13 students for their contributions to the school. These included our Student Leadership Team who have represented the school and acted as ambassadors and role models throughout their conduct on a daily basis and at whole school events. The evening was well attended by family and friends who shared in our delight in celebrating these truly exceptional young adults.
Women into Engineering Day
Last week a group of young ladies from years 8, 9 and 10 attended the Women into Engineering day at South Devon College. Throughout the day they turned their hands to television production, programmable logic control and coding amongst other things. They all completed every activity and gained inspiration for future career opportunities whilst representing the academy impeccably. Torbay really is a hot spot for high tech engineering careers at the moment, our brilliant girls are well placed to lead projects for some of these employers in the near future.
Greenpower Motorsport
The school’s Greenpower Motorsport team made their way down to the Lizard in Cornwall last week to gain experience and inspiration for their eco racer. They saw a huge variety of car designs and team set-ups to learn from and soon got into interrogating other teams to seek a winning formula. Upon returning to school the team swung into action on Friday evening, continuing with their build. They are making great progress now, with each member tasked with specific areas to build and develop. Not satisfied with the stock kit car, the pool of developmental ideas is growing rapidly. All being well the team home to compete in their first race at Castle Combe in September.
Amnesty International in Religious Studies
Year 7 have been learning about human rights in their religious studies lessons this cycle. Mrs Watteau arranged for all year 7 students to have the opportunity to listen to Brian Davidson from Totnes Amnesty Group. They found out about how Amnesty International began, what they do, what kind of things they campaign for and some examples of people who they have campaigned for.
Some year 7 comments and feedback
“He was friendly and very informative. I wasn’t expecting someone to have this much knowledge, so it shows how passionate he feels about Amnesty International. He bought laughter to us too which I thought was good. Everything he said related.”
“Interesting story about Margaret and how they took one of her teeth everyday without anaesthetic”
“It was a bit scary thinking about what people are going through”
“How unfair the world is!”
Students have been consolidating their learning in their religious studies lessons, by looking at some of the current Amnesty campaigns. Some students have even had the opportunity to write letters to Donald Trump with regards to the separation of children from their parents at America’s Southern border which violates the right to seek asylum from persecution:
Team TA Sports Roundup
Year 10 rounders
The Year 10 rounders team competed against Torquay Girls Grammar School and Newton Abbot College this week. After their win against TGGS at a recent tournament the girls were eager for a rematch and to maintain their winning streak over their rivals. TA were in to bat first and after losing some of our stronger batters on their first go to some excellent catches from TGGS we were only able to get 3 rounders overall. TA knew they were going to have to field strongly to get the win. The team’s fielding skills were amazing throughout the innings and managed to secure the win with TGGS only managing 1 1/2 rounders.
TA went into the 2nd match feeling confident. TA continued to field well only allowing Newton Abbot to score 3 rounders. Then the challenge was on. TA took every opportunity to score, taking advantage of no balls and putting pressure on the fielders as they moved round the pitch to score multiple 1/2 rounders. TA were rewarded with another win! 4-3.
Well done, girls!
Swimming
Angus Graham in Year 7 competed in the Devon ASA Development Gala last weekend and won Gold in the 1500m freestyle and 2 Bronze medals, in the 200m Individual Medley and the 100m backstroke. Well done Angus
Cricket
Year 7&8 Quick cricket competition
The year 7&8s enjoyed a quick cricket competition at Barton cricket club. This was an opportunity to get a feel for the game in its introductory format using plastic bats and wind balls. The lads started brightly but unfortunately lost their opening games. The last game against Cuthbert Mayne was a real nail biter with the game hanging in the balance with just a few balls remaining. The lads unfortunately on the wrong end of lady luck and just lost out in the final few balls. A great afternoon of cricket with the boys looking to develop their knowledge and understanding of the game and all its intricacies and complicated rules.
Year 10 girls quick cricket competition
The year 10 girls enjoyed a day of cricket at Shaldon cricket club recently. With a mixture of schools arriving the girls enjoyed a number of games throughout the day. With some of the girls never having experienced cricket before they used their rounders knowledge and expertise to adapt their skillset to the cricket field. There were some notable performances from Poppy Bell with the bat and ball and Ollie Mellitt with her bowling and Scarlett Williams making some excellent stops behind the stumps with cat like reflexes. The girls managed to field well and stop the boundaries and run rate of the opposition. It was a long day in the hot sun and all the girls can be proud of their performance. There was a mixture of results with the girls winning as many games as they lost. No mean feat considering the quality of some of the opposition. Well done girls. Team list…Poppy Bell, Liv Davies, Erica Garcia, Sam Gourlay, Ollie Mellitt, Ella Squibb, Ella Walker, Scarlett Williams.
Year 7 boys Stover Bowl cricket competition
The year 7 boys played in their first ever cricket matches this week at the Stover Bowl cricket tournament. This was an opportunity for the boys to experience cricket in its proper format with the red ball, on a full sized wicket. For some of the lads it was their first experience of competitive cricket and they did themselves and the school proud. The team was up against well established schools who train and play on a regular basis. The boys began well only losing their first game off the last ball of the innings against Plymouth College. They also managed to beat Churston Grammar convincingly setting up a final with the hosts Stover. After a long day in the field and the boys having to compete with the heat this was one game too many. A very experienced Stover team just managed to edge our boys out. There are huge positives to be taken from the day as there were many boys who have never set foot upon a cricket field before let alone faced some of the speedy deliveries they did. Outstanding batting performances from Finlay Last, Bobby Western and Will Bevan helped the side throughout the tournament. Excellent bowling from the above lads backed up by Harley Sneap, Dean Lynch and Will Hall ensured minimal runs were taken by the opposition. Some incredible fielding by all the boys was apparent throughout the day with some stunning catches and diving saves most notably from Ollie Laker. However, if the boys are to continue to be successful this is an area which they can become more consistent. It was a great day with some lovely cricket being played. This is a developmental side that is learning the ropes and could be very successful in the future. Team list… Bobby Western, Fin Last, Will Bevan, Harley Sneap, Ollie Laker, Dean Lynch, Charlie Nunn, Ollie Waring, Will Hall, Xander Tostevin.
Athletics League
The Year 7’s traveled to Churston on Thursday for the South Devon Athletics league. We have a strong squad this year with some great talent to select from. Well done to all athletes on selection and performances.
Gold
100m – Marcus Griffith
100m – Charlotte Bush
Hurdles – Katie Taylor
Long Jump – Long Jump
Boys 100m Relay- Marcus Griffith, Oliver Waring, Charlie Nunn, Harley Sneap
Silver
200m Marcus Griffith
1000m Harley Sneap
Long Jump- Charlie Nunn
Bronze
600m Angus Graham
200m Charlotte Bush
Girls 100m Relay Zoe Manley, Milla Schwarz, Mya Green, Charlotte Bush
Post 16 Football Development Programme
With pre-season just around the corner and many football stories to report on I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about a current student who has excelled off the pitch and the progress of two former students of our Football Programme.
RAREBOOTS4U
I want to start with Jake Self who has spent the last two years in our football programme and studying a BTEC level 3 National Extended Diploma in Sport and is just about to do a third year of football alongside a Level 3 Personal Trainer course. Jake has been working on a business idea with a friend of his since joining Torquay Academy sixth form and with hard work and determination he has made a great business that is now becoming known in the football community nationwide. I spoke to Jake the other day and asked how it all started:,
It’s all started in Year 11 about 3 years ago.
We needed some extra money and we were not keen on the idea of working in a shop etc as we both had other commitments (football) which meant we wouldn’t have the time. We wanted to be able to pay for our own things car/clothes shoes and travel places. We knew that classic football boots hold their value well and that so many people still wanted them but can’t get hold of them due to shops discontinuing them because the likes of Adidas and Nike are always bringing out new boots. We we thought we’d bring back the older boots which people do prefer and saw that there’s a big gap in the market for this.
We Started off making just one sale a day with small amounts of profit. Each day grew and grew with a lot of hard work. We started messaging footballers making good relationships over text and when meeting them and also with their agents even sometimes sacrificing our own money because we knew in the long run it would benefit, as they have many fans following them all liking football which meant more sales.
Now we supply players across the world at amateur/semi pro/ professional level.
We have supplied over 100 players within the English football league. League 2, 1, championship and Premier league. We also get whole team orders such as Wigan Athletic,Scunthorpe & Bristol city. Recently we have sold boots to Vincent Kompany Manchester City Captain. Michy Batshuyi. Chelsea striker and Danny Rose left back for Spurs. Our boots are now being worn at the World Cup in Russia 2018 which is amazing.
The company is called RAREBOOTS4U and they currently have over 22 thousand followers on Instagram which is amazing and shows the interest they are generating, please make sure you give them a follow and have a look at the boots they have for sale, you may just see a classic you can’t turn down.
I think everyone will agree with me that this is a great success story and I am very proud of what Jake has achieved and I am sure he will continue to grow the business and we wish him continued success and hopefully he will continue to do all that whilst also having success on the pitch this season for us.
Torquay Academy to West Brom
It was great to see our TA goal machine Callum Morton back at the school last week giving his time to present at our sports presentation evening, its special when former students come back and take the time to support what we are doing and Callum was great with all the winners and even stayed after for photos and to talk to some of the students. We always knew Callum had potential and with hard work and a desire to succeed he is now starting his career as a professional footballer for West Brom, This is what our players and students need to see so they too can see that it can be done from this area and Callum plus other players locally are proving that we have talent in Torquay.
Last season Callum was playing in the under 23’s and doing well and doing what he does best, scoring goals. Pre-Season started this week for him and I hope he gets off to a flyer and has a real push for the first team, keep your eyes peeled this season and hopefully we will see our goal machine banging them in playing in the Championship.
Birkenshaw Is Back
Louie Birkenshaw, a former student, will be joining us this coming season to support our Football Programme, Louie, who has just finished a BA in Sports Coaching and Physical Education at Marjons, will be joining the team working in the analysis department. Louie will be filming training and games and will then put together clips for the coaching staff and players to view to enhance their development and help with tactical work.
We are excited to have him on-board as he is great in this field and it’s even more rewarding as Louie was part of the very first group of sixth formers that started the Football Development Programme, so to see how far we have come from 4 years ago is a credit to everyone involved in the building and growth of the programme to where we are today.
I hope this is something we see more of over the years, to see students come through our programme and them come back to us a few years down the line, whether as a coach, physio, analyst or one of the many other jobs in sport will be great and a huge sense of pride from a coach/teachers point of view.
Here’s Louie when he joined us last month for his final filming session on coaching behaviours.
Cross Curricula Teamwork
The PE Department were grateful to Mr Waring and Mr Foulds from the Enterprise Department this week as they have designed and made a new podium for use at all sports events, the first outing for the podium will be at the forthcoming sports day. Make it your business to get yourself on the podium at this event!
