Learning legends, house awards and Year 11 Prom video

Year 11 Prom video

We are delighted to share the video of our Year 11 Prom, which brings back so many happy memories from such a wonderful evening with our students as they celebrated the end of their GCSE exams.

Learning legends

Learning Legends are our exciting new way of celebrating students’ achievements every single day. At the end of each lesson, teachers award a Learning Legend certificate. The certificate comes in two parts: one to take home and share with parents and carers, and the other as a tear off slip. The slip gives students the privilege of jumping to the front of the lunch queue and is also entered into our weekly Learning Legend draw.

This week, we held our very first draws in year group assemblies, and in true TA style, we made sure it was a real celebration. Miss Pappin even created a Learning Legend theme tune, which now plays in assemblies, and you can see Mr Honey leading the Year 8 celebrations in the video below.

Students are loving this new award, and it has quickly become another fantastic way for us to recognise success and have positive conversations with our girls and boys in every year group.

House awards

We were delighted to receive our brand-new House badges this week. Each week, the Heads of House and their teams visit Years 7–9 Tutor Groups to present the House Star of the Week and the House Homework Star of the Week.

These visits are always lively and full of fun, with the Heads of House whipping up a frenzy of excitement before proudly awarding the new shiny badges. It’s a real highlight of the week and a brilliant way to celebrate our students’ achievements.

Keeping Our Students Safe

Over the past couple of years, the area around the school has become significantly safer with the addition of the zebra crossing at the Barton Road entrance and the introduction of a 20mph zone around the school. These changes make a real difference to the safety of our students as they travel to and from school.

However, being regularly on duty at both the front and back gates, I often see cars travelling well above the speed limit. This is intensely frustrating, as the difference in stopping distance between 20mph and 30mph is huge – and travelling at 20mph is so much safer for our girls and boys, as well as other road users.

In recent weeks, the police have been using their mobile speed camera van in the area to help enforce the 20mph limit. Unfortunately, they are finding what I suspected: too many drivers are still exceeding the limit. On each visit to Cricketfield Road, a significant number of drivers have been caught.

We will continue to do all we can to ensure the safety of our students, and I thank everyone in our community who plays their part by driving safely.

Fun Friday: Live Music Lunch

During break two on Friday, more than 300 Year 7 and 8 students crowded into the The Platform for an afternoon of music that combined fresh DJ talent with live performances from Sixth Form musicians.

The event began with a back-to-back DJ set from DJN (Dylan Nock) and Live Andrew’s. Dylan, who runs the KS3 DJ Club, has been mentoring Liv, and this was her very first time performing as a DJ on stage. Their seamless set immediately lifted the atmosphere and set the tone for what followed.

Next came the live acts. Each Sixth Form group had been given only a week to prepare a song chosen entirely at random, yet their performances were impressively polished. Bart Mitula, Zach Evans, Charlie Porter and Aliyah Smith opened with a lively version of Valerie, inspired by Amy Winehouse, and soon had the audience clapping along. They were followed by Kirah Clee and Summer Faulkes, whose upbeat Rude brought a summery feel to the room.

The afternoon closed with a burst of energy as Austin Howell, Oliver Jones and Bart Mitula performed Arctic Monkeys’ When the Sun Goes Down. For Ollie and Austin it was a debut as lead vocalists, and their shared vocals brought a confident, infectious energy that kept the crowd engaged until the final note.

From Liv’s first DJ appearance to the bold, one-week challenges of the Sixth Form bands, the first Live Music Lunch of the year proved to be a fun-filled Friday, with an incredible community atmosphere and an amazing start to a season of live music in The Platform.

Fun Friday - Years 9-11

Another fantastic Fun Friday saw our students enjoying a great mix of activities to round off the week.

Year 9 put their estimating skills to the test with the classic challenge of guessing how many sweets were in the jar, while Year 10 had their eyes down for a lively game of bingo. Meanwhile, Year 11 kept the energy high with a round of higher or lower cards.

It was brilliant to see so many students joining in, enjoying themselves, and ending the week on such a positive note. Roll on next Friday!

The new ta library

Students have been enjoying the vast wealth of reading materials that the new TA Library offers. Many books have already been taken out and devoured by our fantastic keen readers. Top library users so far this month are: Logan Payne and Sivaganga Renjith – fantastic reading, you two.

The library boasts many genres of fiction such as the Gothic, mystery, adventure, science fiction, YA, war and the supernatural. Students are encouraged to pop in and have a look at all that there is on offer, talk books with your librarian and sit quietly at break one on a rainy day. What better weather for reading than rain?!

New Library Highlights

Book club on the last Friday of every month - 3:15-4:15 – in H115
A quiet calm space to be at break one
A wealth of books to borrow and take home
The Book Talk Challenge with prizes up for grabs

By timely coincidence, the Reading Secretary has just announced that 2026 will be The National Year of Reading. This is a government campaign to address the steep decline in reading amongst children, young people and adults.

“Reading for pleasure isn’t just a hobby. It’s linked to a range of benefits including stronger writing skills, improved wellbeing and confidence, and even higher future earnings, with new data showing those proficient in reading and writing in primary school earn £65,000 more over their lifetime” (Gov.uk, 2025).

We will look forward to seeing even more students take advantage of our new school library!

Year 7 meet the tutor evening

On Thursday, we welcomed the parents of our new Year 7 students into school for our Meet the Tutor evening. Families had the chance to spend time with their child’s tutor and Head of House, while our pastoral team were also on hand to answer questions and offer support.

Throughout the evening, parents were able to attend a range of workshops covering topics such as written homework, online homework, and assessment and reporting. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, and it was a wonderful opportunity to build those first connections and answer the questions that naturally come at the start of secondary school.

We are excited to be working with our new families and look forward to supporting them over the next seven years as part of our school community.

Year 9 and 10 parent information evenings

This week, we welcomed Year 9 and 10 parents into school for their Parent Information Evening. The feedback from families has been overwhelmingly positive, with many appreciating the clear roadmap of what to expect over the next 12 months in their child’s education.

We know how vital the partnership between school and home is, and evenings like this give us the chance to ensure everyone is aware of the important next steps ahead. By facing these challenges together, we give our students the very best chance of success.

KS3 DJ Club Kicks Off in Style

Last Thursday saw the launch of KS3 DJ Club, run after school by our in-house legend DJN (Dylan Nock). A small and enthusiastic group of Year 7 and 8 students gathered to learn the basics of beat-matching and mixing, diving straight into hands-on practice with professional DJ equipment.

The session ended with a short showcase of their new skills, giving each student the chance to share what they’d learned. Among the stand-out moments was Liv Andrew’s impressive mixing, which earned her the honour of being selected for her first live on-stage performance at The Platform’s Live Music Lunch this week.

DJ Club runs every Thursday between 3:15 and 4:15 in the Imac suite and is open to all Year 7 and 8 students. Whether you’re curious about DJing or keen to perform live, this is the perfect place to start, who knows who might be the next to follow in Liv’s footsteps.

Ju Jitsu Success

Esmie Riggs in 9C competed in the U15 Somerset Ju Jitsu Open last weekend. Esmie finished a very impressive 2nd overall and represented Team TA to such a high standard. Well done, Esmie!

Disney PArade

Heidi Milner, Mia Wilkins, Louise Porter and Sophia Burnham enjoyed an unforgettable weekend performing at Disneyland Paris. The four students were part of a small group of just 15 who first won a place with Razzmatazz Torbay, before successfully auditioning with Disney to join schools from across England.

Disney staff praised the girls for their outstanding behaviour, and they represented Torbay, Razzmatazz, Torquay Academy, Disney and, most importantly, themselves with great pride. This was truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and we look forward to seeing them continue their success at Torquay Academy and in Theatre School.

Year 11 English

Year 11 started their weekly essays in English this week and have really done themselves proud. The preparation and homework completion rates have been excellent, meaning that they arrived to their lessons ready to absolutely smash it with their essays. Well done year 11!

Students of the Week

Year 7 - Jasmine Morris and Sam Vesely

Year 8 - Isla Parsons and Jude Storey

Year 10 - Poppy Bettridge and Brodi Docherty

Year 11 - Maks Adach and Nyla Wakefield

Clubs

This week saw the launch of our extracurricular sporting programme and it was wonderful to see literally hundreds of boys and girls in the sports centre, participating, having fun and competing! This year we have seen record numbers of students working out in the fitness suite, playing table tennis, attending football and netball clubs and getting wet and muddy on the rugby pitch. Our after school sports programme is incredibly strong in terms of quality and depth and there is something for everyone - whether that be participating for fun, to get physically active or to represent one of our teams - we encourage all students to come along and get involved.

Year 10/11 Netball

The Years 10 & 11 netball squads took part in their first tournament of the year on Tuesday and represented the school brilliantly. Both squads played against several schools and played some excellent netball! They approached every game with focus and determination, showing strong teamwork and great resilience on court. Although they lost a couple of matches against tough opposition, both squads secured their first wins of the season and grew in confidence as the tournament progressed. It was fantastic to see the level of enthusiasm on court, and they should be very proud of their efforts and the positive start they have made. Well done girls!

Player's Players: Ashleigh Evans/Matilda Stevens & Connie Kinghorn

Coach's Players: Ashleigh Evans & Kelsey Drew

Squad: Maisie Sandercock, Lucy McMahon, Maile Beavis, Millie Swift, Molly Hollomby, Connie Kinghorn ©, Kelsey Drew, Frankie Skelly, Matilda Stevens, Ashleigh Evans, Ellie Farthing ©, Phoebe Smith, Alexa Lyons, Jacinta Ampomah, Rebecca Quarshie

6th Form Netball

What a fantastic start to the season for our Sixth Form Netball Academy! The girls burst onto the court with energy, strength and enthusiasm, setting the tone straight away with fast, confident play. Their determination was clear to see as they moved the ball through the court with pace and precision, creating chances for our sharp shooters to capitalise on.

Clinical movement and excellent teamwork kept the momentum high, while strong defensive pressure meant the opposition were constantly under pressure. The match was fiercely contested from start to finish, with both sides battling for every ball.

Despite a brilliant performance and some outstanding connections on court, the game ended in a narrow 31–33 defeat. A hugely promising start to the season – well done girls!

Opposition's Player: Eve Cameron

Players' Player: Eve Cameron

Coach's Player: Eve Cameron

Squad: Tammy Westacott ©, Ellie Stone, Elspeth Herring, Maisy Green, Rosie Clark, Milly Sneap, Eve Cameron, Ema Kestell

Year 8 Netball

The Year 8 netball team started their season with a trip up to Maynards School on Thursday. They played a great closely contested match, showing fantastic teamwork and commitment from start to finish. They linked well across the court, supporting one another in attack and defence, and demonstrated real determination in their play.

The girls worked hard throughout the game, challenging the opposition and giving their best effort until the final whistle. Despite their efforts, the match ended in a 14-21 loss, but the performance highlighted plenty of positives to build on an exciting season ahead. Well done girls!

Oppositions Player: Eva Thompson

Players Player: Abigail Harkin & Zenna Venter

Coaches Player: Abigail Harkin

Squad: Eva Thompson, Zenna Venter ©, Ela Uven, Mimi Skelly, Milly Skelly, Abigail Harkin, Delilah Davies, Mia Kost

New Year 7s start their TA football journey

It was fantastic to see such a strong turnout at our trials today, with so many players eager to showcase their skills. The standard of ability on display was excellent, and it’s clear we have another talented year group ready to join our exciting and ever-growing programme.

The effort, attitude, and enthusiasm from every player was brilliant to see, and it really highlights the depth of talent coming through at Team TA. With so many promising players in this group, the future of our programme looks stronger than ever.

Year 9

Our Year 9s are determined to make a strong start to their season, and tonight’s training with Coach Stu was all about sharpening attacking movement and improving decision making. The players showed great focus and commitment throughout the session, working hard to develop the quality needed to turn chances into goals.

With this level of effort and dedication on the training pitch, the squad is shaping up well and ready to kick off the season with real confidence.

Year 11

Year 11 start the new season with a win in the ESFA schools national cup against Launceston College. Goals from Ben, Rossi and Oscar secured a comfortable result and they now advance to play Devonport in the next round at home.

6th FORM - PRO DIRECT ACADEMY

Our first years had a brilliant chance today to test themselves in this league and really feel the step up from U16s. With such a young side there’s plenty still to learn, but there were loads of positives to take away. We’ll use the time on the training pitch to sharpen up and be ready for Petroc College at TA next week.

Exeter came out on top with a 2–0 win and fully deserved their victory, but special mention goes to Austin and Toby who worked their socks off all game and gave the opposition plenty to think about.

Girls' football

What a fantastic turnout for our girls’ training this week, with just under 40 students from Years 7–9 showing real talent and dedication. The commitment on display was outstanding, and the future of Team TA Girls is looking very bright indeed.