Girls Outdoor Adventure, Greenpower in Alabama & Football Champions!

The first-ever girls' outdoor project weekend!

Last weekend’s trip marked the first outing of our brand-new Girls' Outdoor Project Initiative, and it was the ultimate test of resilience, adaptability, and team spirit. As our very first cohort to head out into the wilderness, the girls had to face the elements head-on, and they absolutely smashed it.

We started bright and early on Saturday morning, heading straight for the stunning Fernworthy Reservoir on Dartmoor to kick off our expedition. The hike took us through gorgeous mossy woodland and open moorland, tracking past ancient Bronze Age history.

As the afternoon rolled in, so did the classic Dartmoor rain and damp mist! But a bit of wet weather wasn’t going to dampen our spirits. As a group, the girls worked brilliantly together to get the camp pitched in the rain. Crawling into our tents and sleeping bags after a damp day on the moor felt like a true achievement.

Waking up to more rain forecast for Sunday meant we had to make a tactical decision. Our original plan was to spend the day outdoor climbing at Haytor, but with the granite rock face completely soaked and unsafe to climb, we pivoted. We loaded up the minibus and headed to a local indoor climbing wall instead!

The girls showed incredible adaptability, and to be honest, after a cold, rainy night on the moors, everyone was secretly quite happy to trade the damp granite of the tors for a dry, indoor climbing wall! They seamlessly swapped their wet weather gear for harnesses and threw themselves into the indoor routes. Pushing their personal limits and conquering fears, they cheered each other on as they tackled some challenging climbs.

A huge thank you to all the students who brought so much energy, laughter, and determination to our first Girls Outdoor trip. You have set the bar incredibly high for our new project and proved that you don't need perfect sunshine to have an unforgettable outdoor adventure. Your resilience in the face of soggy weather was amazing to see.

Finally, this landmark trip simply would not have been possible without the incredible team working behind the scenes. A massive thank you to Miss Coull, Mr Beswetherick, and Mr Brett for all their hard work, energy, and enthusiasm in making this trip work so successfully.

See you on the next adventure,

Miss Stoyle

greenpower barber sports

As part of their incredible Greenpower trip to Alabama, our students were fortunate enough to visit the world-famous Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, an experience they will never forget.

Located in Birmingham, Alabama, the museum is home to one of the largest collections of motorcycles and racing vehicles in the world. From the moment they arrived, students were immersed in a fascinating world of engineering, innovation and motorsport history.

The group were treated to a personalised tour of the museum and its facilities, giving them a unique opportunity to explore areas and exhibits that many visitors never get to see. Surrounded by hundreds of beautifully restored motorcycles, race cars and historic vehicles, students were able to appreciate the remarkable craftsmanship and engineering that has shaped the world of motorsport over the last century.

For our Greenpower team, the visit was particularly inspiring. Seeing world-class engineering up close helped bring many of the concepts they have encountered through their own racing experiences to life. The museum provided a wonderful opportunity to learn more about design, technology, innovation and the pursuit of excellence.

We have recently received these incredible photographs from the visit and they perfectly capture what a special day it was. The images showcase not only the spectacular exhibits but also the excitement and enthusiasm of our students as they explored one of the most impressive motorsport museums in the world.

Educational visits such as this help broaden horizons, inspire future ambitions and create memories that last a lifetime. The Barber Museum visit was undoubtedly one of the highlights of an unforgettable trip to Alabama.

A huge thank you to everyone at the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum for making our students feel so welcome and for providing such an incredible experience.

What a fantastic day and another example of the amazing opportunities available to our students through the Greenpower programme.

Year 7s Tournament champions

Our year 7 Team had an outstanding performance at Devon Fa. We played with passion and pride with every team we came against. There was massive team work and sportsmanship throughout. We had over 30 goals in 6 games. Everyone tested themselves by playing two position with ease. We only conceded 2 goals which was a credit to the team and come incredible saves from Hugo Beattie. We came away with first place overall and the gold medal

Foreign Languages Club

On Tuesday this week, it was the pupils' last time at the foreign languages club (French and Spanish) with their modern language assistants, Malena and Typhaine.

The pupils gathered together to enjoy and share cakes, such as cannelés (a French cake from the South of France), a classic French yogurt cake, but also cakes made by pupils, such as a delicious apple charlotte cake!

French and Spanish pupils had a great time all together and enjoyed that moment.

Throughout the year, pupils in each club played games around the French and Spanish language, as well as discovering more about the culture...

It was an opportunity for the pupils to practice and learn even more in terms of vocabulary and pronunciation!

The French club will still be running after the half-term with Mr Dipode, room C208, every Tuesday during P5!

Miss Malena and Miss Typhaine, TA's language assistants for the year 2025/2026.

Creative Writing Club

This week, the Creative Writing Club welcomed a special guest - a wizard from the house of Slytherin! As well as using their amazing imaginations, students have been discussing their favourite books and stories this half term. One of the students chose to celebrate this by showing us what a 'true reader looks like'.

Our wonderful community of budding authors are looking forward to the final summer half term to see what writing tasks Miss Smith has in store for them!

Creative Writing Club meets every Wednesday at break 2 and are always welcoming new students from across the school.

Fun Friday Brings Energy and Excitement Across the School!

Another Friday meant another chance for students across Torquay Academy to enjoy a range of fun activities and friendly competition as part of our weekly Fun Friday celebrations.

Year 7 put their guessing skills to the test with the ever popular Sweets in the Jar challenge. Students carefully studied the jar, debated their predictions and hoped they had found the magic number.

Year 8 took to the court for an exciting Basketball Shootout, with students stepping up under pressure to show off their shooting skills. There were some impressive performances and plenty of cheers from supporters.

Year 9 and Year 10 both grabbed the microphone for Karaoke, creating a fantastic atmosphere filled with confidence, laughter and some memorable performances. Students fully embraced the opportunity and showed great courage stepping into the spotlight.

Meanwhile, Year 11 enjoyed a game of Higher or Lower, with quick decisions and a little bit of luck helping students battle it out to stay in the game.

Fun Friday continues to be a brilliant way to bring students together, celebrate each year group and create positive memories alongside all the hard work taking place in lessons.

Well done to everyone who took part and helped make another Friday one to remember!

English update

What a wonderful start to the term we've had! Year 10 have just begun exploring War and Conflict Poetry; the goal being to learn some of the poems they will need for their GCSE assessment next year. Here they are using whiteboards to test their knowledge of Exposure by Wilfred Owen.

The Library has been busier than ever; nearly 300 books have been borrowed so far this year. We have lots of new titles, many of which as requests from students.

year 9 art and design students

Year 9 GCSE Art students have just begun an exciting textiles unit, which will lead to the creation of designer T-shirts and tote bags. This work will be part of their final presentation of their 'Structures' coursework.

So far, students have been exploring a range of creative textile techniques, including stencilling on fabric, mark making, and drawing with fabric crayons and pens. They have also experimented with appliqué, and some students have even tried crochet!

Mrs Lynch has been delighted with the students’ enthusiasm, creativity, and positive attitude throughout the project so far.

Students will now begin researching their own independent artist to inspire the next stage of the design process. We are all excited to see how their ideas develop into exciting and unique textile creations!!

Year 7 History with Miss Essam-Wood

In year 7 cycle 4 we study Empire & Slavery. We study the positive and negative impacts of the British Empire and how it changed both the modern world and British history. In these pictures you can see my 7Q7 class tackle challenging interpretations and their PEEL on ‘why did the British government want an Empire’. The class were fantastic at creating their own paragraphs and I am really proud of how they have began this cycle and am excited to see how they progress!

Well done 7Q7!