Duke of Edinburgh Award, PSHE Day and Tubers...

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DofE Silver Practice Expedition

Last weekend, 14 Year 11 students completed their DofE Silver practice expeditions. Mr Brett and Mr Adams had all the equipment loaded on the minibuses and the students rocked up after school on Friday at 4.30pm. After loading their rucksacks on the buses they were taken to their expedition start point on the edge of Starcross. The Friday fun was an appetiser of things to come with a gentle 4km walk to the campsite at Cofton. The students all navigated competently and arrived at the campsite – greeted by Mrs Schwarz – in time to get their tents set up and meals cooked before darkness set in.
One team had an interesting meal choice of boiled jacket potatoes with cheese. Mr Adams had been certain they were going to par-boil the potatoes before the expedition but no, they came with raw potatoes so had to wait a bit longer than others for their evening meal!

Saturday was the most challenging day of their expedition. The students had a 16km hike to complete before arriving at Twelve Oaks Farm campsite in Teigngrace. Mr Brett and Mr Adams had slightly amended the route to be slightly shorter from the 19km already planned. By the end of the day, they wished they hadn’t! At Silver level, the students have to be on expedition for 7 hours each day. This includes walking time, breaks and time spent on the teams’ expedition aim. The staff were staggered at the pace that both teams were making as both teams were looking like they were going to arrive much earlier than planned. After a chat with each team at one of the checkpoints, the teams both adjusted their break times and their walking speeds slightly in order that they stuck to DofE requirements on expedition times.

The route had a challenging start with some steep climbs up lanes and footpaths on the edge of Haldon. Once the teams went past Teignmouth Golf Course there were mostly welcome downhill sections and on entering Kingsteignton the going was very flat. However much of the navigation was tricky and the teams were carrying full backpacks, for some the first ever time doing that, so it was a big challenge.

After a colder night in their tents at Twelve Oaks Farm the students got themselves a hot breakfast and packed away their tents and kit. The day ahead promised a 10km hike along parts of the Templar Way, around Stover Country Park and Golf Course, through Liverton and near to Bovey Tracey. Again there were some slight route adjustments to cater for the group’s impressive pace. Both teams arrived at the end destination on the edge of the Great Plantation woodland opposite Bovey Straights garage in good time, good spirits and no major navigation issues. They were pleased to be on the minibuses returning home after a successful expedition – and there was lots of talk looking forward to roast dinners, McDonalds meals and the like!

Mr Brett and Mr Adams encountered the teams at various points on their hike and camped at the same sites and were struck by how positive, organised and focused the students were. Four of the group had no experience of DofE or Ten Tor expeditions but acquitted themselves admirably in all aspects of the weekend. They now look forward to a Dartmoor training walk, in two weeks and then two weeks after that it is the Qualifying Expedition. An amazing start to their expedition section of the Duke of Edinburgh Silver award.

Thanks to Mrs Schwarz, Mr Brett and Mr Adams for making the event possible. Most importantly well done to the following students: Penny Richards, Hannah Carr, Oriana McCaul, Heidi Wright, Will Harrison, Bobbie Royal, Dylan Wright, Kole Gjikolaj, Max Beer, Charlie Fox, Bogdan Pampfile, Charlie Fox, William Reed and Oakley Hayes

PSHE Day

This Monday saw the first of our PSHE days for the year.

Year 7 students took part in a range of sessions, including healthy relationships and healthy routines. We looked at how to deal with changes and how to look after our mental health. Students also investigated what factors affects their ideas about money and what is meant by cyberbullying and how to protect themselves from this.
Issues connected to money also occurred in the year 8 sessions where students looked at issues surrounding gambling and the changing world of work. Students also looked at unhelpful ways to look after our mental health and where to seek support. Parenting looked at the roles and responsibilities of the adults that look after the students and how that relationship may change with time. Students looked at what was important to them in relationships and had a brief introduction to the meaning of consent.

Alterego theatre productions performed to our year 8, 9 and 10 students. The production was to make students aware of the issues connected to ‘Countylines’ and how people can get involved in this.
Several sessions for the year 9s were connected to health. Sessions included how to prevent STIs, the importance of sleep and the issues surrounding the use of cannabis. Students looked at how a romantic relationship differs to other relationships and also the harm and misconceptions caused by porn.

Relationship issues were also studied by the year 10 students , who looked at the impact of sending nude images, how to manage unwanted attention and how important a positive online present was to a potential employer. They also looked at what rights and responsibilities they had to an employer and the employer had to them. The effects of getting involved with gangs was also studied. Sam Allnutt from Howard Mortgages ran a session on getting a mortgage and the associated costs connected to setting up your own home.
Year 11 students had a day of preparing them to leave us and to have lives that are more independent. Sessions included those on creating a CV, choosing a university or a college, and the costs connected with these. Employers from Torbay and the surrounding interviews gave the students a one to one interview to prepare them for real interviews ready for employment. We thank all employers for their contribution to making this day a success.

The day for the sixth form was also focused on preparing them for independent living with sessions on basic car maintenance and cooking, along with budgeting and finance. Students also had a session on the best ways to manage stress, teamwork and choosing a pathway in the future that will best allow them to succeed.

Cadets

It’s been a busy few weeks at cadets. The RAF section have recently completed a cadet training camp. Utilising the skills acquired to deliver cadet activities.

Weapons training on the Scorpion cadet rifle in preparation for a target shoot next week. The RAF cadets worked hard to pass a Weapons Handling Test.

The Army cadets continue to impress with drill and uniform turnout. A high standard throughout. Learning field craft skills, moving in formations are a few core skills that will also be developed when we meet to at the end of October with an overnight first camp.

Ten Tors training will be starting with 3 cadet teams. We all look forward to developing the teams to ensure a successful result at next years event.

D of E training is a key element of being a cadet. Both Army and RAF sections are actively taking part in D of E award scheme.

An exciting few weeks finished of with some well deserved promotions. Congratulations to our first contingent senior, now Sergeant Josh Furze and Lance Corporal Cody Furze.

     

Tubers

A new batch of Year 7s have started at Tubers each week.  They are all having a great time.

Hospitality and Catering

Year 10 and 11 students studying Hospitality and Catering have had a week where they have focused on pastry skills and presentation techniques for our vegetarian customers. They have very much enjoyed baking these savoury and sweet treats. The year 9s made a lovely burger and fries to learn about the ways we can enjoy more of an informal meal on a budget.

Level 3 Health and Social Care Students

It has been a busy couple of weeks for the HSC students who have been getting out in the community and looking at local provision for those with learning disabilities. Firstly they took a trip to Mayfield School, with a view to a collaboration between us and work placements being put in place. Not only will this enhance coursework, but also open the pupils to potential job opportunities and enhance their CV. Their second trip to Hollacombe Community Resource centre, led on beautifully from our Mayfield visit and the pupils were able to see post-school provision. It also allowed them to see many examples of things they had been learning in their Health and Social care lessons such as person-centred care, personal budgets, adaptations for certain disabilities and much more. In the next two weeks, the pupils will visit specific work opportunity schemes to complete this section on local provision.

Sparx Award

I am thrilled to announce that we have been awarded a Gold Sparx Award based on our students’ activity on Sparx Maths from September 2021 to the end of August 2022.  This means that Torquay Academy is one of the top-performing schools on Sparx Maths for the whole of 2022.

French with Mrs Berry

In Mrs Berry’s Year 7 French classes this week, the students have been learning to say their age, the date of their birthday.

They started by learning numbers to 30, using a story and actions to help them remember the correct pronunciation. The classes have also been doing a lot of singing! They learnt a song to remember the days of the week and another to learn the months of the year. They also learnt how days of the week are named after planets.

They are now able to have a conversation introducing themselves; saying the name, their age, birthday and how they are feeling. They are also able to follow a wide range of classroom instructions given in French.

A great start. Well done, year 7!

Astro update…

We are hopefully less than two weeks away from being back on our astro. There are hundreds of tonnes of sand and rubber crumb currently being spread on the astro.  It looks amazing and I can’t wait for our girls and boys to be able to use it.

Year 7 Music

Miss Graham’s Year 7 class were having lots of fun this week as they finished their lesson with a rhythm clapping game which the students loved!  There was so much laughter and that was before the winner was decided by a “moo off”!

Oxbridge Preparation in Year 8

We talk to our students a great deal about university.  This week, Dr Jones met with some of our Year 8s to introduce them to our Oxbridge preparation sessions.  Over the coming weeks students will be invited to seminars in a wide variety of topics.

Art

You will be used to seeing Kacper Piwowar with a table tennis bat in his hand.  This week Mre Lynch showed my this incredible drawing he produced in his art lesson.

Dancing Success

Over the weekend, Sienna successfully auditioned and gained a place as a Senior dancer at the Torquay Pantomime “Aladdin”, which will be running throughout the Christmas period at the Princess Theatre Torquay.

Progress of Our New House Shields

Pictured above, from left to right: Brunel, Christie, Darwin, Fawcett, Harrison, Kitson, Nearne, Pengelly.

As I reported in the Summer Term, one of our big house projects was to produce a shield for each of our eight house groups. The process involved much research into the origins and emblems of heraldic shields, looking at layout and pictorial meanings. Our Year 7 tutor groups collaboratively designed their house shields-taking careful consideration of colours and images which would represent their house figurehead. Plaques were then expertly created by Mr Hadley and finally the designs were given to Mrs Lynch and a dedicated team of Art students.

Mrs Lynch, along with Grace Hallett, Katie Packer, Emily Coates, Holly Hand, Melissa Piper and Chloe Dance spent much of their Activities’ Week bring the Year 7 students’ designs to life. At the time of writing, the designs are ready and over the next week the plaques will be place onto backing and the house mottos will be inscribed upon them. Here is a preview of the shields in their final stages; when finished they will be proudly displayed around the academy. An excellent result from a project which involved a large number of staff and students creating a legacy for their house.

6 in 6 Challenge

During the summer holidays some of our new year 7 students took part in the 6 in 6 literacy challenge. This challenge asks the students to write a review about 3 of their favourite books and then to read and review a further 3 books. All the students that completed this challenge earned their first ever Torquay Academy badge. The badges were awarded this week to a record breaking number of students. With over half of the year group completing the challenge, these students have made an excellent start to their time at Torquay Academy.

Well done year 7; keep up the good work.

Year 7 Netball CVL

On Wednesday this week the Year 7 Netball Academy attended their first-ever central venue league. They had three tough games against Torquay Girls Grammar, Churston Grammar School and Newton Abbott College.

The girls worked extremely hard putting everything into practice all that was covered in training focusing on elements of defence and getting to grips with position on court!

Well done to all the girls how took part. Coaches player: Sienna Welsh for some fantastic interceptions.

Year 11 Netball vs Brixham College

On Monday, Year 11 TA Netball Academy played against Brixham College at home in readiness for their first round of the Sisters in Sport League that is taking place on Wednesday. The girls had a strong start, with consistent shooting from Ellie Denby, Grace Povey and Charlotte Sweeney to ensure a 5-1 gap at the end of the first quarter. Throughout the second and third quarter, slick centre pass routines from our centre court players ensured that Team TA were leading 16-7 at the end of the third quarter. The scoreline ended 22-9, after a strong defensive presence from Mia Denby, Lauren Major and Lily-Anne Winterton. Congratulations to Stephanie Chokuda who was voted our player of the match by Brixham College and made her debut in this game also.

Year 11 TA Netball Academy:
Mia Denby (C), Ellie Denby, Lauren Major, Lily Unsworth, Evie Sutton, Ellie Chammings, Skye Warner, Grace Povey, Lily-Anne Winterton, Charlotte Sweeney and Stephanie Chokuda

Under 16 Netball vs Newton Abbot College

In the National Cup our girls game up against a very tough team from Newton Abbot.  They battled brilliantly, but lost out.

Year 7 & 9 Football Training

Year 11 Boys Football vs SDC

Dominant display sees Year 11 through to round 3. A performance that can only be classed as pure dominance saw TA beat SDC 3-0 in round two of the National Cup. TA out performed their rivals in everything on Tuesday from possession to work rate. Goalkeeper Will Hemus didn’t make a save. TA were 2-0 up at half time thanks to goals from Will Green and Charlie Pope. The third came in the second half when Zac Rowland-Steele showed the benefits of his regular gym attendance to bully his way through the SDC defence. This was a sweet victory for the team against many familiar faces.

Year 8 Boys Football vs Ivybridge

Our year 8s faced a very strong Ivybridge team in the 1st round of the National cup, the move from 9 a side to 11 a side made a big difference for us as we struggled to adapt to the size and speed of the game with more space to cover. It was the same as last year when we faced them in the first round, Ivybridge were stronger and better than us on the day and deserve the victory, but hopefully like last year the result made us work harder for the rest of the season.

Post 16 Football vs Gower College

This was a frustrating afternoon for us on Wednesday, after a long trip to Swansea and a very good start to the game leading 2-0 after 30 minutes, we somehow lost concentration and gifted them 2 really soft goals before the break that lifted Gower’s spirits and sent them into the second half full of confidence.

With some forced changes, we started the 2nd half still a bit disjointed and were punished from two corners early on to go down 4-2. We had to now push for a goal and near the end of the game we were caught on a counterattack to make it 5-2. We kept pushing for a goal and got one back but the result was still a disappointing loss that was hard to take due to the poor goals conceded.

We have no time to sulk, though as we have such a busy two weeks coming up for our U18s with 3 games next week for them in different competitions and another two the following week. Let’s hope we can turn this around and progress in the cups and league.

Year 10 Boys Football vs Plymstock

Our year 10s put in a brilliant performance against Plymstock school in the Elite National Cup, dominating the game and showing great character in front of a very loud Plymstock crowd of parents and students.
It was nice to see some new faces involved and also players coming back from long term injuries and they really made a positive inpact.
We finished the game 6 – 0 winners with the goals coming from:
Goal – Harvey Wootton Assist – Fin Herbert, Goal – Sam Hext Assist – Max Lee, Goal – Sean Crawford, Goal – Fin Herbert Assist – Alfie Porter, Goal – Fin Anderson Assist – Fin Herbert and Goal – Fin Herbert

Students of the Week

Year 7 – Harry McCarthy and Poppy Bettridge

Year 8 – Maisy-Mai Johnson and Naphtali Phinehas

Year 9 – Callum Jackson and Ellie-Jane Scott

Year 10 – Sophie Packer and Samuel Stimpson

Year 11 – Stephanie Chokuda and James Scrimgeour

Sixth Form – Lizzie Cameron and Kelsey Hawkings

House Stars of the Week

Year 7

Brunel – Kiara Ujj

Christie – Caleb Harford-Brown

Darwin – Maisie Darke

Fawcett – Bella Pomerville

Harrison – Kordian Wisnik

Kitson – Elliott Baines

Nearne – Lilly Anne Le Feurve

Pengelly – Mia Hawkes

Year 8

Brunel – Indy Evans

Christie – Anisha Kale

Darwin – Maisy-Mai Johnson

Fawcett – Aliviya Lawrence

Harrison – Thomas Connelly

Kitson – Evie-May Howell

Nearne – Abigail Yau

Pengelly – William Kelly

Year 9

Brunel – Joshua Sandeman

Christie – Brooke Tully

Darwin – William Denega

Fawcett – Amy Harrison

Kitson – Lottie Davis

Nearne – Ben Phillips

Pengelly – Olivia Walters

Homework Stars of the Week

Year 7

Christie – Jasmine Edwards

Darwin – Evie Ford

Fawcett – Halle Walker

Harrison – Layla Meek

Kitson – Lucie Bowers

Nearne – Alfie Braye

Pengelly – Alexander Moss

Year 8

Brunel – Laurentiu Mihai

Christie – Callum Pile

Darwin – Emilia Hunt

Fawcett – Harrison Harkin

Harrison – Olly Whittred

Kitson – Susie Lester

Nearne – Nancy Brown

Pengelly – Chloe German

Year 9

Brunel – Finn Moncrieff

Christie – Nortbert Tomsia

Darwin – Cerys Lowe

Fawcett – Agata Sadlik

Kitson – Laila Heavens

Nearne – Madi Chandler

Pengelly – Millie Sneap

Sparx Leaderboards

Tassomai Leaderboards