Aladdin, year group photos and National Dodgeball finals
Agrabah Comes Alive! A Review of our Performing Arts Academy’s Production of Aladdin Jr.
After months of rehearsals, this week finally saw Aladdin Jr. take to the stage! What a show week it has been for our talented cast who have whisked audiences away on a whirlwind adventure filled with laughter, music, and dazzling performances: 5 shows, 3 matineés, 2 evenings, 800 primary school children and 600 friends and family! The professionalism, commitment and stamina our cast has shown this week has been exemplary and to see so many young primary children leaving our theatre so inspired has been heartwarming.
The audience couldn’t help but cheer for Lizzy Cameron’s portrayal of Aladdin. Her charisma and charm shone throughout the entire performance. Aimee Evans as Princess Jasmine was a perfect counterpart, bringing both strength and humour to the role. Her rendition of “A Whole New World” was a showstopper, with powerful vocals that soared. And we can’t forget the scene-stealing performance of Henry McManus as the Genie. His boundless energy and comedic timing had the audience roaring with laughter throughout the show. Jafar, played menacingly by Kole Gjikolaj, created a perfect foil for Aladdin, keeping the stakes high.
The set design transported us to the vibrant world of Agrabah. The cave of wonders and flying carpet scenes were particularly impressive, with colourful details and clever use of props. The costumes were dazzling, from Jasmine’s flowing gowns to the Genie’s outrageous outfits. Every detail added to the magic of the production. Of course, no Aladdin performance would be complete without the iconic songs. The cast de
livered energetic renditions of all the classics, including “Friend Like Me,” “A Whole New World,” and “Arabian Nights.”
PAA’s production of Aladdin Jr. was quite simply phenomenal. The young cast members from Year 7 all the way to Year 13 brought incredible energy and talent to the stage, leaving the audience smiling long after the final curtain call.
A special mention must go to our Year 13 members; Aimee Evans, Lizzy Cameron and Katie Packer for whom last night was their seventh and final production. All three girls have given so much to the PAA family over the years and developed into the most incredible role models for our younger members. We wish them all the best for the future.
A big congratulations to the entire cast and crew. Their dedication and talent brought this magical story to life on stage.
You can view our full album of pictures on our Facebook page.
DofE Gold Award
Following on from last weeks blog entry about more successful DofE Gold Award completions, here is a picture of Year 13 student, Harvey Bates, with his certificate. Harvey will be attending the celebration event at Buckingham Palace in May and we wish him the most amazing time there.
The DofE Gold Award is the most prestigious and the pinnacle of young persons’ character development awards and is testament to their hard work and resilience. This year we have a further 26 students from Year 12 signed up to do their Gold Awards and hope to share further success stories with you in the near future.
Year group photos
It is that time of year when Year 7, 11 and the 6th Form gather for their year group photos. After all of the recent rain, the ground was too wet for the stages so we all met in the Sports Hall for the pictures.
Easter Eggs!
There was a chocolate treat for everyone today as everyone in the school received an Easter Egg!
Easter card
This was our appreciation card for the term. Thank you for everyone’s support during this incredibly successful term.
6th Form Easter Egg Hunt
In addition to their Easter Egg, the 6th Form had their own Easter Egg hunt.
Harrison up their game
There is always competition between the houses. This extends to the house outfits worn by the Head of House and 6th Formers when the go and visit the form rooms to hand out the stars of the week certificates. This week Mrs Hosking, along with Pheobe and Josh, were looking great this week!
Year 8 HPA
This term the Y8 HPA students have been researching genetic engineering and robotics. On Monday they met to present their research to each other and eat pizza to celebrate their hard work. Prizes for the best research went to Emily Lock and Poppy Sanderson, while prizes for the best presentations went to Mason Findlay-Peers, Hattie Gamble and Matthew Campan. Well done to all the HPA students for their incredible work this term!
World Book Day
This week we celebrated World Book Day at Torquay Academy by asking students in years 7,8 & 9 to identify staff members in two different challenges.
The first challenge was our massively popular Masked Reader. Students were asked to identify staff members as they read an extract from one of their favourite books whilst hiding behind a snapchat filter. This challenge caused a lot of fun and laughter as students tried to work out who was hiding behind masks of lemons, lego heads and giraffes.
The Bookcase Challenge was our second challenge and asked students to try and work out which staff member owned the bookcases pictured. This challenge turned the students into detectives as they tried to find the clues hidden in the bookcases that would help them identify the staff member.
Reading is a great way to have fun and pictured are some of the students as they had fun trying to guess the answers to the challenges, as well as the winning students from each year group.
Business & Economics Classes
Yr 13 Economics – P5 Extra Revision
Year 13 students had an extra macroeconomics revision session focusing on fiscal and monetary policy. Mr. Margetts challenged them with complex questions, and it was impressive to see their knowledge applied effectively. The session covered various areas including the impact of different policies on economic growth, with evaluation points provided to increase depth of knowledge and application.
Yr 10 Business
Year 10 students have been diligently practising calculations related to costs, revenues, break-even points, and profit ratios. Their confidence is noticeably increasing with practice, with one student even achieving a perfect score in a recent calculation challenge.
Yr 11 Business
Year 11 students are revisiting key topics for their upcoming exams and developing exam techniques for longer answer questions. A key focus is on fully understanding case studies and analysing them critically (“reading between the lines”). They are demonstrating a strong grasp of exam expectations.
Yr 12 & 13 Business
Year 12 and 13 Business students are currently working on their coursework, focusing on two key areas:
Recruitment: This involved looking and taking part in exploring various recruitment methods, workforce planning and building a strong employer brand.
Understanding Successful Businesses: Students have been analysing different business models, factors contributing to business success, and identifying key performance indicators (KPIs).
In addition to their coursework, these students are also preparing for their exams, specifically looking at financial and personal finance topics. This could involve:
– Understanding financial markets and institutions.
– Analysing financial statements.
– Learning about saving and investing.
– Exploring personal finance concepts such as debt management and risk mitigation.
Chloe Wins ‘Best Young Singer’
Chloe Taylor in year 7 competed in the Torbay and south west music festival competition a few weeks ago and sang two songs and came first with 92 marks for her own choice song and musical theatre. The adjudicator comments said that Chloe is heading towards west end and she was so impressed with her singing. The next day Chloe had a phone call to invite her back to sing in the Gala concert and special award ceremony, where she was awarded another trophy for the adjudicators ‘best young singer’ award out of the whole competition.
This is a massive achievement for Chloe. Well done, Chloe!
U15 State Schools Netball Tournament
During the U15 State Schools netball tournament we had year 9s stepping up to play with the year 10s. Everyone showed great resilience and determination throughout the matches. The girls managed to come top of their pool, with many quick turnovers and excellent teamwork, resulting in them getting into the top 4 playoffs. Unfortunately, losing each game only by a little they managed to come 4th, which is an amazing achievement which they should all be proud of.
Overall Coaches Player: Brooke Tully
Overall Players Player: Millie Sneap and Maisie Sandercock.
Well done girls! (write up by U15’s Brooke Tully and Millie Sneap)
Dodgeball National Finals
The under 13’s travelled to Bridgwater last Thursday to compete in the regional Dodgeball finals hosted by Bridgwater Academy. It was the first time TA has entered this competition and delivered some exceptional performance. With the top two schools qualifying for the Nationals in Notttingham, competition was fierce. Overall we finished 2nd after some hard fought matches and now travel on the 12th July after gaining our place in the finals. Well done to all involved.
1st Team Netball
Our Sixth Form Netball Academy has officially finished in the top three of the AOC South West League after a well-contested game against Truro & Penwith College today. This is our first year entering the league, and a third-place finish is a phenomenal achievement. Well done, girls!
House Students of the Week
Year 7
Christie – Elissia Greenwood
Darwin – Jax Biagott
Fawcett – Codi O’Shea
Harrison – Emilee Fenner
Kitson – Luna Truong
Nearne – Poppy Haslett
Pengelly – Kumar Hopton and Maisy Hart
Year 8
Brunel – Chloe Bayliss
Darwin – Lily Thomas
Fawcett – Ethan Greenwood
Kitson – Brodi Docherty
Pengelly – Ethan Veasey
Year 9
Darwin – Layla Loizides
Fawcett – Hannah Tyler-Hart
Harrison – Kelsey Drew
Nearne – Abigail Yau
Homework Students of the Week
Year 7
Christie – Layla Lock
Darwin – Lucy French
Fawcett – Ayden Quarshie
Harrison – Lily Haughton
Kitson – Christopher Csapo
Nearne – Jacob Wakefield
Pengelly – Levi Jones
Year 8
Brunel – Ruby Chamberlain
Darwin – Logan Watt
Fawcett – Talia Street
Kitson – Harry McCarthy
Pengelly – Isabella Allen
Year 9
Darwin – Sonny Bond
Harrison – Larner Waller
Nearne – Kacper Drygiel
Pengelly – Ayden Goldsbrough
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