Breakfast Club, Influential Music Teacher & Police Visit

Breakfast Club – A great way to start the day!

Pictured: Mrs Lynch enjoying her breakfast whilst chatting to our students

This week has seen the introduction of our new Breakfast Club. Both students and staff have taken advantage of the opportunity to arrive at school early and enjoy a hearty breakfast, to prepare them for the school day. The club which is free until February half term and only £1.00 thereafter, has been very popular.

Running every day from 7.30 – 8.15am there is a choice of the following:

Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Pancakes with maple syrup	Porridge	Bacon & Tomato wraps	Bagels with cream cheese/butter or chocolate spread	Muffins with jam

Cereal:Rice Krispies
Coco Pops
Crunchy Nut Cornflakes

We look forward to seeing many more faces in the mornings to come.

Miss Pappin – Officially One of the 20 Most Influential Music Teachers in the Country!

Curriculum Team leader of Performing Arts, Miss Pappin, has been named as one of the 20 most influential music teachers in the country.

Miss Pappin attended a special exhibition and conference in London, for the 10th Anniversary of the Musical Futures movement where she received an award for her contributions to music education.

This is a great accolade for Miss Pappin and we are very proud of her. This is an example of the great work that is taking place at TA and the inspirational teachers we have.

Joe Tarrant – Devon Cornwall and Dorset Boxing Champion

Year 11 student, Joe Tarrant, competed in the Junior ABA Championships on Saturday morning in Poole, Dorset.

Boxing in the 60 – 64kg class, against a skilful and more experienced boxer from Poole, Joe was victorious, winning by a split decision after boxing 3 x 3 minute rounds. Joe was able to outwit and outwork his opponent showing a great deal of skill and bravery; not an easy feat whilst competing at this level.

Joe has now progressed to fight this year’s CYP Champion in the next round of the competition on 25th January. Head coach of Torrington Police Amateur Boxing Club, Gavin Lane, told me “Joe is always keen to test himself. He relishes a challenge. His performance at the weekend was impressive and he is a credit to Torquay Academy in the way he conducts himself; he is very polite and well mannered”.

Joe is a great role model for other students in the school and we hope to hear more of his successes.

Hairspray Rehearsals in Full Swing

Pictured: Hairspray rehearsals in the Drama performance area

Hairspray rehearsals are in full flow this week. Students have been rehearsing twice a week since we returned in January and already their high levels of commitment are paying great dividends.

Miss Pappin, Progress Leader of Performing Arts, said “it is shaping up to be a great show. The students are working really well together to make this a special performance”.

Shows are running on three nights in March: 26th, 27th and 28th. Tickets will be available closer to the date.

Police Visit Year 7

Pictured: Year 7 Students with PC Dan Gouldthorpe, PCSO Martin Rushworth, Myself and Year 7 Progress Leader – Mrs Gisburn

As part of their Opening Minds projects “Our local community” and “Crime in our local community” students were visited by PC Dan Gouldthorpe from Torquay Police Station assisted by our own PCSO Mr Martin Rushworth. Students were shown the equipment carried in a police response vehicle and discussed the role of a Police Officer in crime prevention.

Year 7 groups have had further advice on the law and how to report crime from PSCO Martin Rushworth when he visited individual classes.

Torquay Academy meets the X Factor

Pictured: Mr Penrice with the X-Factor boys

Assistant Principal Mr Penrice was one of the lucky people to be backstage at a recent concert at the ERC by X-Factor stars, Luke Friend and Nick McDonald (pictured).

Mr Penrice’s son, Owen Penrice, had been asked to be the support act on the night having been to school with Luke.

“Owen was thrilled to be asked” said Mr Penrice “It was probably the biggest crowd he’d sung in front of. What made it extra special for me was when he gave a shout out to all the fans from Torquay Academy who were in the crowd. The students also had a great time “Owen is a singer songwriter who is well known locally. He has recently released a video for his latest single “I’ll Never Beg” which can be seen by clicking the link below: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ypG_SPEPUM&sns=em

Mr Penrice has been surprised by the response of the students to Owen’s music and it is hoped that he will soon be leading a song writing workshop with the Performing Arts Department here at Torquay Academy.

Year 11 Product Design Controlled Assessment

Pictured: Year 11 students showing me their controlled assessment projects

Year 11 Students have been working hard after school this week on completing their Product Design controlled assessments, so I joined them in the technology department to see how they were progressing.

The design brief – to make a product for storage or a holiday need – has inspired some innovative and complex designs. As the project accounts for 60% of their overall grade, the students all know how important this piece of work is. Year 11 student Jessica Irwin, who is making (a huge!) rabbit hutch told me “I have chosen to take on a big project so am using the technology rooms after school as well as in lessons so that I can make it look amazing”.

Year 8 Students Community Award

Two students helped a member of the public who was seriously injured after slipping on the ice this week.

Year 8 students Louis McKinley-Smith and Ewan Northcott were on their way into school and came across the member of the public who had slipped on the ice.

The boys remained calm and ran to school finding their Progress Leader, Mrs Gisburn who was able to phone for an ambulance. The injury turned out to be quite serious and the actions of these two students were key in getting the necessary help to this person.

To thank the boys and to show our appreciation of their quick actions and thoughtfulness, I presented each of them with a certificate in their year assembly.

Exemplary Students

Mrs Heartford wanted to highlight two students this week for their fantastic work and effort.

Year 7 student, Ethan Jukes produced an amazing poster to advertise the Cirque du Freak, as part of a task in his English lesson. Ethan effectively used persuasive writing techniques to promote the legendary show.

Jeremiah Ovenden wrote a poignant sonnet reflecting on the misery of trench warfare. This forms part of Jeremiah’s A-Level study on World War One literature and deserved to be recognised for his commitment to his work.

Blake Harris Mini Stox Racing

Pictured: (left) Blake Harris leading the race and (right) sitting in his racing car

Year 8 student Blake Harris will be racing this weekend at Aldermaston raceway in Reading. Blake is a keen racer and usually races every fortnight. Here is what he had to say about it: “My car is a 1000cc mini, it is made for racing. I race my car in the mini stox where all of the cars have 1000cc engines. There is no contact during the races otherwise you get disqualified”.

Blake is happy to talk about his racing and encourages everyone to ask him more about it if you see him at school.

Sports Round Up

It has been a fantastic week of sport, particularly for our boys’ football teams. I would like to that all of our PE staff who give up so much time to coach and manage our teams.

Year 7 Football Team have progressed through to the next round of the South Devon Cup after a very open game against Teignmouth Community School that finished 9-3. It was a great team performance with Olaf Koszela scoring 5 goals and AJ Tehrani scoring a hatrick. Cody Monk also got on the score sheet.

Year 9 Football Team began the defence of their South Devon Title on Tuesday night against Torquay Boys’ Grammar School. After a slow start, going 1-0 down, the team quickly adapted to the poor weather conditions to show why they are unbeaten in this cup (they were year 7 Champions as well). We ran out 5-3 winners. The goal scorers were Shaun Johannesen, Callum Morton (2) and the help of an own goal. Our dependable central defender, Luke Lewis, also got on the score sheet with a 40 yard wonder strike! Well done Year 9 for a great effort!

Year 10 Football team played Paignton Community and Sports Academy resulting in a 9 – 1 win!

Year 9 Basketball team played in their fourth Central Venue Tournament on Wednesday with an exciting team of Niall Cabiong, Jordan Watkins, Harry Johnson, and Bailey Clarke.

Their first of three matches on the day, against a strong KEVICs team, the boys were down at half time. A quick change of tactics and some great teamwork resulted in a narrow 2 point win. The second and third matches against Churston Grammar School and Tower House School resulted in two losses, despite some great basketball from our boys.