Flying experience for CCF, Crib Goch and rounders

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More flying experience for TA CCF Air Cadets!

Another six of our CCF (RAF) cadets got the opportunity to experience flying in the RAF trainer plane, the Grob Tutor. Cadets Roberta Bankes-Fay, and Jack Hicks, Cadet Corporals James Lovell, Corbyn Gardner and Dimitar Dinev, and Cadet Sergeant Cody Furze were taken up to MOD Boscombe Down by Flying Officer Adams for an 1130 briefing.

All the cadets were very excited, and a little nervous! For Cadets Bankes-Fay and Hicks it was their first flight experience, for the others their second, except for Corporal Dinev who was going up for a third time! This highlights the range of exciting opportunities our cadets are now getting from CCF, with the number of air experience flights offered to them increasing all the time.

On arriving at the military base the cadets and Fg Off Adams were escorted by two RAF officers to the AEF (Air Experience Flight) Briefing Room. Here they were met by Flight Lieutenant Gary Moore, the Officer Commanding for No.2 AEF (MOD Boscombe Down) The Flight Lieutenant showed the cadets a brief introductory safety video before they received their training in how to wear and use parachute packs, cockpit procedures, and emergency procedures including parachute drills. All of this was completed in the briefing room using the trainer packs and the cockpit simulator chairs. The cadets were shown and had to then demonstrate how to release the cockpit canopy, exit the aircraft, hold themselves during parachute descent, and safe parachute landing. It was all becoming more and more real to the cadets and the nervous excitement was building!

Once Flt Lt Moore had news that the previous flights were completed for another group of cadets, Mr Adams took the cadets over to the runway apron to the safety equipment room. They caught sight of the planes they would be flying in as they walked over. In the safety equipment room we were met by Chris, a former Royal Navy Safety Equipment Specialist Technician. He allocated the cadets their flying suits and fitted the first two cadets, Cadet Hicks and Corporal Gardner, with their parachute packs, flying helmets with radio comms, gloves, and their Top Gun style aviator shades! After being briefed on how to use the radio comms and the other safety equipment we had word that the two pilots were ready for the first two air cadets.

The cadets went up in pairs with their respective pilots in Grob Tutor planes marked WW and WB. They experienced about 45 minutes flight time, and each cadet took control of the aircraft for approximately 20 minutes of that flight time! Their flight paths took them over Stonehenge – all of them seeing the World Heritage Site from a unique perspective that few people can claim to have seen it from! During their flights they experienced various aerobatic manoeuvres, including barrel rolls, loops and stall turns (where the aircraft dives vertically and a turn is executed at the bottom of the dive) – and after a demonstration from the pilot the cadets actually got the opportunity to execute these manoeuvres themselves whilst being in control of the aircraft!

Each cadet said it was the most amazing experience and the AEF team issued the first time flyers with certificates to commemorate their flights. In addition to the flying experience the cadets were able to chat to their pilots who all had experience of flying some of the famous RAF jets such as Harriers, Tornadoes and Typhoons, and they experienced a working military base. A huge thank you to Flt Lt Moore and his team for facilitating this amazing opportunity.

Some of the photos accompanying this article were taken by the cadets during their flights and they really sum up this fantastic adventure.

DofE expedition

The experiences we offer the students continue to grow and grow.  For their latest adventure, the students and staff headed off to Wales to climb Crib Goch.  This is a Grade 1 scramble on Snowdon, which means that you need to use your hands to climb short steep sections.  As you can see from the photographs the scenery was absolutely stunning.  A great achievement for all of the students who took part.

Cadets

With over 100 cadets taking part the CCF every Wednesday, there are many different activities on offer to the students.  It is lovely to see so many students enjoying themselves each week.

History with Mr Davis

Year 9 are currently studying Medicine through time in GCSE History and today’s lesson focused on how the NHS has greatly impacted on the health of British people. Students were involved in a lively debate about what would happen if the UK no longer had the NHS and compared our health system to the United States of America. Students realised how lucky we are to live in the UK and how important universal health care is for the health of the population.

Maths with Mr Brett

Sea Cadets

Sophie Dean had been invited to attend a D day service on the 6th June with her Sea Cadet unit SCC Torbay.

What a wonderful gift…

Miss Turner was blown away by this painting she was given as a parting gift from her year 11 student Coral Rogers. Coral is clearly very talented and is going on to study art at A Level at TA. She also wrote Miss Turner a lovely thank you note for everything she’s done as her English teacher over the last two years.

English Update with Mrs Clayton

And it is nearly a wrap!

A level English Literature: 2 down – 1 to go. Mrs Clayton’s students had no idea she took this photo as they were revising so hard (she has told them now!)

Drama and Prose is in the bag and the exam board have been kind with the question choices so far…   This year they have completed at least one exam practice question a week – sometimes two in exam conditions – they have covered virtually every possible question for the texts they have studied over the last two years.  This is on top of an extended piece of writing for their coursework component comparing a whole class text with one other of their choice.  This year’s text was Fight Club.  Certainly, a world away from the traditional GCSE texts such as Macbeth, A Christmas Carol and An Inspector Calls.  Mrs Clayton was blown away by the quality and originality of the coursework sample with comparisons to such texts as The Bell Jar, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, The of Dorian Gray and American Psycho.  Reading two substantial texts in their own time, researching contexts and critics on top of generating their own question is a challenge for anyone – these students took on this challenge, met the deadlines and succeeded in securing outstanding grades that have given them amazing start before their pens touched the first exam paper.  Mrs Clayton thinks we all need to remember that due to Covid, none of our current year 13s have experienced the real exam experience: for them all this is all very new.

So Paper 3: Poetry next week.  You’ve got this!

Mrs Clayton knows she is biased but…no one has worked harder than this year’s Year 13.  She am very proud of you all and will miss them!

Year 7 Rounders

On Monday, the Y7 Rounders team played in their first ever mini tournament, playing Teign school and Churston Grammar School. It was fantastic to finally put into practice the skills they had been learning at club and during PE into a real competition. The girls played brilliantly and have broadened their knowledge of the rules and tactics within the game! The game against Teign was very even and tense, but Teign just got the lead by half a rounder.

Well done to the following girls involved: Alesha Black-Matthews, Anastasia Tukilush, Sophia Peryer, Katie Peryer, Lily-Rose Garbett, Hattie Gamble, Ellie Simpson, Mia Hawkes, Maria Nihtyanova, Dolly Gagg, Kayla Hadley and Sienna Welsh.

Governor’s Silver Certificates

Year 8 – George O’Hanlon

Governor’s Bronze Certificates

Year 7 – Teddy Watson, Lewis Collett, Anastasiia Tukilush, Poppy Sanderson, Oscar Rogers and Millie Russell

Year 8 – Lauren Tanton

Year 9 – Gideon Prowse and Phoebe Denbow

Principal’s Gold Certificates

Year 7 – Imogen Clifford, Ashton Lynch, Olivia Pope, Vinnie Frankum, Alesha Black-Matthews, Brandon Callow, Emily Colclough, Honor Dawson, Lee Stevens, Ivan Masliakovas, Finley Dawson, Maria Nihtyanova and James Beer

Year 8 – Liam Anthony and Natalie Spasova

Year 9 – George Scrimgeour, Oliver Jones, Isaac Knowles, Dean Conway, Harrison Hogg, Poppii Marshall, Joe Taylor, Jamie John Palmer, Aliyah Smith, Jessica Mitchell, William Jackson, Laila Heavens and Amber Dicken

Principal’s Silver Certificates

Year 7 – Chloe-Mae Jones, Janzen Flores, Harry Lee, Jasmine Edwards, Autumn Wagstaffe, Erin Glancy, Blake Young, Brooke Birchall, Reg Richmond, Jonathan Siuchninski, Ava-Rae Mills, Lily Robins and Paris Reid

Year 8 – Scarlett Huxtable, Ruby Sellick, Ellie Farthing, Leela Cartwright, Brody Cooper, Eunan Campell, Chloe Burton, Mason Bryant, Maddie Kenyon, Joe Boyce and Cody Cave

Year 9 – Grace Milloy, Naomi Redmond, Sophie Nicholson, Bayley Woodger, Layla Stevens, Oscar Hughes, Seth Margetts, Emily Kershaw-Lane, Charlie Grimley, Erin Wiseall, Letoja Hoxha, Liam Trapp, Dylan Breslan, Harvey Cooper, Leigha Smith, Freya Elliott and Scott Knight

Principal’s Bronze Certificates

Year 7 – Imogen Monk, Lola Reece, Sydney Summers, Jenson Gorin, Jayden Hardman, Lily-Rose White, Hayden Quadling and Lily-Ann-Rose Le-Feuvre

Year 8 – Kiel Mortimer, Leon O’Connor, Blayre Holden, Emilee Payne, Millie-Anne Adamson, Roxy Johnson, Faye Cassidy, Gracie-May Tolley, Nancy Brown, Nicholas Heale, Grace Green, Jason Mewett and Phoebe Smith

Year 9 – Finn Moncrieff, Leon Mugliston, Noah Tyson, Ellie-Jayne Scott, Olivia Riches, Harry Marsden, Jj Cossey, Tomasz Kowalski, Matt Wadling, Jayden Morris, Isabel Sockett, Erin Giffard, Adam Wright, Summer Faulkes, Lucas West, Sara Mills, Amy Harrison, Owen Ingram, Ben Poston, Ellie Roberts, Agata Sadlik, Jess Silvester, Abigail Mealin, Emily Banks, Maisy Moran, Eve Cameron and Millie Sneap

Students of the Week

Year 7 – Tyler Evans and Evie Ford

Year 9 – Martina Vijayakumar and William Jackson

Year 10 – Owen Houghton and Brooke McKenna

House Students of the Week

Year 7

Brunel – Ellie Mae Jackson

Christie – Janzen Flores

Darwin – Alesha Black-Matthews

Fawcett – Ella Simpson

Harrison – Lee Stevens

Kitson – Brodi Docherty

Nearne – Poppy Fieldhouse

Pengelly – Gracie Sandercock

Year 8

Christie – Ollie Neale

Darwin – Joe Boyce

Fawcett – Kaiden McLaren

Kitson – Bella Blatchford

Nearne – Oscar Mills

Year 9

Christie – Alfie Mahoney-Billis

Darwin – Sara Santos Martins

Fawcett – Faith Wagstaffe

Kitson – Jayden Trevelyan

Nearne – Callum Clif

Homework Students of the Week

Year 7

Brunel – Teddy Watson

Christie – Chloe-Mae Jones

Darwin – Riley Gilmour

Fawcett – Bella Pomerville

Harrison – Emily Colclough

Kitson – Annie Aldous

Nearne – Leah Hollis

Pengelly – Lily Bortoli

Year 8

Christie – Harrison Richards

Darwin – Riley Calland

Fawcett – Connie Knighorn

Kitson – Ollie Cooper

Nearne – Dylan Parker

Year 9

Christie – Mya Hoskin

Darwin – Lewis Watt

Fawcett – Theo Hardman

Kitson – Wojecjech Tabazcuk

Nearne – Dolce Zulhayir

 

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