Inspiring artwork, music and a visit from an old boy

Listen

Inspiring Artwork

Year 13 student, Sam Turner, has produced this fantastic sculpture as she prepares for her final A level exam.  The level of detail is simply incredible.

Eleanor Nixon, also in Year 13, has recently completed this amazing portrait.  I am always amazed at the quality of our students’ work every time that I visit the art department.  It is easy to see where they get their inspiration from.  Below are two portraits that Head of Art, Mr Haring, has painted of two of our colleagues in order to demonstrate certain techniques.

Assembly talk by Lieutenant David Clark

We were privileged today to be visited by Lieutenant David Clark.  Dave is responsible for the training of recruits at the Royal Britannia Naval College in Dartmouth.  He left Torquay Academy in 1990 and joined the Royal Navy.  He shared with us the exciting adventures the Royal Navy afforded him around the world as well as meeting the Queen and Prime Minister.  Dave left us all with the following points:

• Work hard in everything you do (School, sport, job etc)
• Lifelong education (GCSE, A-Level, BTEC Apprenticeship, degree)
• Don’t be afraid of failure, have resilience and use it to motivate yourself
• Have the self-confidence and belief to embrace new opportunities

It was an inspiring visit and we are extremely grateful that Dave took time out of his busy schedule to see us.

As usual, we were treated to some incredible musical performances from:

 

 

 

Year 8 Band;

Use Somebody by Kings of Leon

Luke Howard – Guitar

Alfie Sams – Drums

Michael Brooker – Bass

Millie Partridge- Keys

Rhyanna Lewis – Vocals

Isabelle Pollard – Vocals

Ellie Mitchell – Vocals

Year 9 Group;

Human by Rag ‘n’ Bone Man

Declan Ball – Drums

Bronwen Price – Guitar 1

Ben Shewell – Guitar 2

Eloise Simpson – Vocals

Year 13 6th Form Music;

Own Composition

Laszlo Topaz – Drums

Elle – Mae Rodger – Piano

Amy Mealing, Hannah Allpress, Reece Taylor – Vocals

The Music Academy;

Money (That’s What I Want) by Barrett Strong 

Silbury Peakman, Y10 – Keys

George Swift, Y10 – Bass

Sam Harris, Y9 – Electric Guitar

Cameron Westwood, Y12 – Drums

Elle – Mae Rodger, Y13 – Vocals

Hannah Allpress, Y13 – Vocals

Amy Mealing, Y13 – Vocals

Lisa – Marie Langer, Y12 – Vocals

Their performances will be uploaded here and to our YouTube channel over the weekend.

Year 10 Band play out

Following on from their success at The York in Plainmoor, Risen Soldiers (aka the Year 10 band) performed again last week at The Apple and Parrot in Torwood Street. They played alongside Ethyrfield, Heads and Tails and Stranger. They got such positive feedback at the gig and many were surprised at their talents for such a young age. They played some covers but also performed some of their own material. It was so great that they were supported by friends, family, and teachers on the night. It was such a good evening and they were a real credit to the school.

They will also be performing at The Fleece in Bristol on Sunday 11th Feb for Take Over 18 to a much bigger crowd. Good luck!

The band consists of;
Ethan Tanner – Bass
Alex Corbett – Guitar
Noah Johnson – Guitar
Robert Green – Drums

Team TA Sports Roundup

As the saying goes, from the sublime to the ridiculous, from the relative quiet of last week to the very busy but productive activities this week. We started the week on Saturday when Isaac Astbury in Year 7 was representing Devon in the South West Area Cross Country Championships.  It was a wildcard selection for Isaac as he was ill when the Devon trials took place earlier this year.  He certainly did not disappoint, finishing a very respectable 14th out of over 80 runners; he was third-placed Devon athlete and did his bit to earn Devon the overall team winners medal. All the remarkable when you consider nearly all of the other runners train with and belong to athletics clubs. Well done, Isaac.

It is always nice to hear from proud parents about how well their children are doing in the world of sport. This week we learned that 5 of our Year 8 girls that play football for Buckland Ladies at the weekends have been invited back to the ACES National Championships in June of this year. No mean feat and we wish them all the very best when the time comes.

Elyse Leech, in Year 13, continues to impress with her athletic exploits, this time she finished a very creditable 2nd place in an indoor meet in Cardiff last weekend, well done, Elyse.

It was also lovely to see rugby still being played in the school during February, rugby matches normally stop before Christmas but this year Mr Waring has persevered with the Year 7 team and has concentrated on the 7-a-side version of the game. On Monday we hosted two teams from Torquay Boys’ Grammar School and played two games in which honours were even with both teams drawing with them.  A great time was had by all and we look forward to the return fixture after half term.

On Wednesday 10 boys from across the school took part in the Devon Individual Table Tennis Championships in Eggbuckland, Plymouth. The standard of players in this tournament is outstanding with many of them ranked in the top ten in the Country for their age group. Our boys acquitted themselves very well and whilst we did not walk away with any titles the improvement demonstrated by them since last year is staggering.  Well done Year 12: Kamil Sniercoki, Tom Full, Ryan Dolling, Mitosz Aleksander, Year 9 Nick Turner, Year 8 Igor Sniercoki, Ellis Knowles, Year 7 William Bevan, Bobby Western and Brandon Thompson.

You will also see some individual sports write-ups on this blog that just go to show how much has been happening this week. I would like to take this opportunity to say well done to the PE team for all their efforts this half term, but just as importantly to our students who have been an absolute credit to the school and have demonstrated all the qualities that you would both desire and expect from the hardest working students in the South West.

Isaac Astbury 

Football

Year 11 prove too strong for Brixham.

On Monday the Year 11 football team traveled to Brixham in the first round of the South Devon Cup. it was a much-changed squad with some players getting the chance to represent the Academy for the first time. TA dominated the game from start to finish and were always in control running out 4-2 winners. The goals came from Olaf Koszella 2, Harrison Beer and Ollie Mason.

 ……..and Exmouth

On Thursday year 11 took on Exmouth in the quarter-final of the Devon cup. TA started brightly however they found themselves 1-0 down when a good save form Josh Nicol was punished by the Exmouth striker when he slotted home the rebound. TA didn’t take kindly to this and just on the stroke of half-time Ollie Mason leveled the scores with a strike from 25 yards before Olaf Koszella quickly made it 2-1 within in two minutes of Mason’s goal. TA then dominated the second half and eventually ran out 3-1 winners when a goal from Cole Harford finished a wonderful team move.

Year 8 prove far too strong for KEVICC

On Tuesday year 8 ran out 12-1 winners against KEVICC in the first round of the South Devon Cup. TA dominated the game from start to finish and were 7-0 up at halftime. The goals came from Harry Lee 5, who normally plays in goal, Ben Aldous 2, Sean Brown, Rhys Huxtable, Ryan Johns Kaudijo, Finley Paul and Joseph Nuth.

Second XI

On Wednesday the 2nd XI took on fourth place Weston College in the Category 2 South West College League looking to build on last week’s fantastic win. The game started slowly with Weston dominating possession and TA struggling to enforce their high tempo game. On the 18th minute centre back Luke Lewis saw the Weston goalkeeper off his line and from fully 50 yards Luke lobbed him putting TA 1-0 up. This injected a bit of life in to the side and 4 minutes later Lewis rose at the back post to head home from a Jack Rendle corner. Captain Joseph Boothroyd then made it 3-0 just before halftime when he coolly finished from 18 yards. TA started the second half confidently and expecting Weston to come out firing and that they did when they scored within two minutes or the re-start. The game was then end to end with both teams creating good chances and eventually full back Harry Smith made it 4-1 with a fine individual goal. Weston wrapped up the scoring just before the final whistle when TA switched off. TA were eventual winners 4-2.

Y7 Futsal

It was a real pleasure and privilege to have both our boys and girls Year 7 futsal teams represent South Devon in the Devon futsal finals, they both earned the right by winning their previous tournaments.

The Boys won a very difficult group, accumulating 10 out of 12 points. TA beat Plymstock, Kings, St Lukes and drew with Ivybridge to qualify for the final. After dominating and leading Isca until the dying seconds of the match, the final was decided on penalties which Isca won in sudden death 6-5. Not what we deserved but technically unbeaten, this team promises much for the future.

Our girls picked up a win against Devonport and drew with Paignton but unfortunately that was not enough to see them get through to the final. However not for the first time in this blog it is a pleasure to report that both teams were an absolute credit to the Academy.

House Sport

It has been a busy week for house events with the Year 8 boys badminton, Staff/6th form table tennis championships and the Year 9 cycling velodrome trials.

Monday’s badminton saw Ellis Knowles from Kitson winning the tournament with Silver going to Ryan-Johns Kouadio and bronze going to Archie Hodgson-Hunt.

The staff / 6th form annual house championships were held on Tuesday with another great turnout. The standard of table tennis has been taken to the next level with the table tennis academy dominating various stages of the tournament. The members of staff and 6th formers that competed demonstrated excellent ability and natural talent.
A special well done to Mr Kim Lee, our PE student teacher who won the tournament and also to Thomas Full who got to the final.

Championship winner-Mr Kim Lee
Division 1 winner – Bailey Clarke
Division 2 winner- Mitosz Aleksander
Division 3 winner Mr Weaver

Cycling

The Year 9 house cycling took place at Haldon Forest on Thursday with 16 competitors racing for a place at the Velodrome finals in April. The timed race took place on the red run in difficult conditions. Congratulations to our 8 qualifiers who will go on to represent their houses in Wales.

Mark Routledge
Will Makinson
Archie Bindon
Jake Peters
Jake Mitchell
Izzy Minty
Cheyenne Churchward
Millie Ashby Rosie

Netball

Tuesday night saw the Year 8 girls take to the courts at TA to complete in the third round of their Central Venue Netball Competition. The girls played Teignmouth, Newton Abbot College, Torquay Girls Grammar School and Coombeshead. The first game against Teignmouth demonstrated the girls’ ability to move the ball down the court and into the shooters, who were on form, which led to their first victory. The next game against Newton Abbot College saw many unforced errors on our part in the first half, however, with a few changes at halftime and a more determined team taking to the court in the second half, the team picked up some more goals and benefited from making the right decisions. However it was all a little too late and unfortunately, the girls ended the game down by 1. The next game was against TGGS where back to back games took its toll against a very drilled and experienced team and unfortunately led to our second loss of the competition. The final game against Coombeshead allowed some more positional changes and the girls showed some great determination to end the tournament on a high despite the cold weather. Some excellent interceptions from Kelsy Cresser and good movement of the ball from Ellie and Emma the girls were able to end the competition with another win. 2 out of the 4 game success was something to be proud of girls, well done! Excellent performances from Ellie Mitchel at C and GA and Kelsy Cresser at C and GD.

On Wednesday afternoon 4 Netball teams set off to Torquay Girls Grammar for an afternoon of fixtures.   The Year 7s were up against a tough TGGS team, whom they had previously lost to in the Central Venue Tournament. The team were ready for a challenge and were pleased to come away with such a convincing 11-3 win. Well done girls!

The Year 8 A team were a few players down and had to recruit from the Year 7 team. The team started well, with some great interceptions and defence, but playing with only 6 players eventually took its toll and the team lost 19-6.

The Year 8 B team were also short on numbers so had brought up 3 players from the Year 7 B team. The game was close throughout and the girls did a great job through court but were struggling to convert the goals. The game ended at a loss of 6-1 but they put in 100% effort up until the final whistle.

The Year 9 girls had some brilliant play throughout the game, putting great pressure on mid court and managing to end the game with 4 goals. Unfortunately, TGGS had a strong team out and managed to get 18 goals past the hard-working defence, leaving the end score 18-4 to TGGS.

Taekwondo

Kacy Fairhurst and Tomas Parry attended the Cardiff Martial Arts competition on Saturday the 3rd February. Both represented their club brilliantly. Kacy won a Bronze medal in her patterns and Tomas won a Gold for power, Silver for sparring and a Bronze for patterns. It was a fantastic achievement, well done.

Swimming

Year 7 student Angus Graham completed his second Devon County ASA race last weekend. He reached the final in the 50m backstroke and 200m backstroke.  He set significantly improved personal bests in both events.  Great achievement, Angus.

Lexia

Assistant Principal, Mr Penrice, is seen congratulating Siana Goddard in Year 9 upon the completion of her LEXIA programme.  LEXIA is one of many interventions and support programmes used at Torquay Academy to improve the literacy skills of our students.

Health & Social Care

Many people have a little one in their home but not many know what to do if they collapse, burn themselves or have a fit. This week in child care we learned about first aid on infants from a visiting first aider.  We learned about the treatment towards the point as to which we will call the paramedics. I mean this was not life changing whatsoever, but it gave me something that could help someone else, another living being, another life. That is so important to so many people out there and the best part is knowing that I could one day make a difference to someone I care about.  However, I hope that I’m never in this position. If you ever get a choice to do a first aid course you should take it. Seriously, just do it and actually pay attention and not just do what you have to do to pass because it could make the difference between life and death.

By Lacee Borge Year 9

Students of the Week

Students of the week this week pictured with Mr Gale and me are :  Joshua Poston – Yr 9 ., Lucy Cook – Yr 11, Santiago Ramirez-Piedrahita – Yr 13, Issac Astbury – Yr 7.   Yr 8 – Sean Andrews and Yr 10 – Hussan Hussain are not in photo due to illness.

Principal Certificates

Bronze :  Maddison Watt, Marissa Murray, Hayden Rowe, Tia Alcock-Burness, Chloe Hunter, Harriett Ellis-Burn, Chloe Martin, Rebecca Lovegrove, Dara Kennedy, Niamh Dolan, Kacey Kenyon ,Luke Howard, Harvey Bates

Silver :Daniel Pratt, Kelsey Hawkings 

Building Works Update

This week trenches for the foundations have been dug.  Concrete will be poured in over half term by a fleet of 19 cement mixers!