Josh makes England debut, debating and LORIC
England Debut
Josh Parry who has been selected to play for the England Colleges under 19 team made his debut this week against a strong Australia team in Barnet. The final score was 1 – 1 but it served great preparation for Josh and his teammates as they travel to Italy this half term to play in an international tournament there. I am so proud of Josh and his achievements and I am sure I will have many more pictures and stories to share in the coming weeks.
Great Debate
On Monday evening Louis Capstick, Year 12, represented Torquay Academy in the Historical Associations’ Great Debate competition at Exeter University. Competing against students from Exeter School and Exeter College, Louis argued that historical figures should not be judged by the morals today. Louis made his case drawing on a range of examples including politicians from throughout History including Edward I, Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Jefferson and Margaret Thatcher. Louis presented his argument to the judges, and then was able to skilfully field some tricky questions from lecturers from the University of Exeter and the Historical Association. Well done to Louis for his fantastic performance!
Senior Maths Challenge
The sixth form students received their certificates for the Senior Maths Challenge this week. They all did incredibly well with 11 students receiving a national award. Silver awards were achieved by Noah Johnson, Maggie Foulds, Jak Partridge, George McCaffrey and Sonny Prior and bronze awards were achieved by Cain Rider, Arturo Russo, Krisjanis Rumnieks, Berk Aktyurk and Alex Corbett. A massive well done to all those students that took part.
LORIC
LORIC is our Key Stage 3 Character Development Programme, aimed at providing opportunities for students to enhance and reflect upon key characteristics which we know will make them successful learners and individuals.
LORIC stands for Leadership, Organisation, Resilience, Initiative and Communication. Each Friday, the students in Year 7 & 8 record which of these key skills they have improved this week, with the aim of getting 1% better everyday.
This morning, Mr Jones asked Matilda (8B) to share how she plans to become more resilient (her ability to face tough situations and learn from mistakes)
Fun Friday
How long does it take TA students to eat 1,000 doughnuts? Seven minutes! Lunchtime today was a sugar-induced high as students were given doughnuts to celebrate the end of the week.
Team TA Sport Roundup
Futsal
On Tuesday both the year 8 boys and girls futsal teams took part in the county finals at Paignton Community College. Both teams performed exceptionally well and showed great character and team spirit.
The boys’ team managed to make it to the final after winning their group. They played some fantastic football through the competition and in the final came up against a very strong Ivybridge side. TA dominated possession during the final and created a few half chances but the game finished 0-0 so it went straight to penalties best of 3. The score after three penalties each was 3-3 so it was a sudden death and unfortunately, Ivybridge scored theirs and TA under pressure missed. It was unfortunate but the team did Mr Grinsill and TA extremely proud.
The girls’ side performed exceptionally well only having 6 players in their squad and having to play 6 games in a very short period of time. The girls lead by sixth-former Jamie Passmore played great football and showed an incredible willingness and work rate. The girls finished third overall behind two exceptionally strong sides from Eggbuckland and South Dartmoor. Once again these girls did Mr Grinsill and TA proud.
Well done to all those involved!
Year 9 Cricket
After qualifying at the Paignton Indoor Championships the U15s cricket team headed to Exeter University for the County Finals on Tuesday. Much like the previous week with the U13s the temperature inside the Dome was bordering on Arctic conditions. The boys started off in their first game with a solid start but some how managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. The boys then rallied well and took the next team down to the final over and only narrowly lost by 5 runs. Next up were one of the best teams in the tournament. This is where the boys played their best cricket and managed to edge out the opposition, bowling and fielding superbly. This was a great win and in such a tight group it turned out that each team had won 1 game and lost 2. This meant that TA would make the finals on runs scored across the three games. With our semi final opponents announced the boys made their way to the relevant pitch to take on the opposition. Just before the game started the organisers ran over to inform the boys that actually they had not made the final after all as they had added up the runs incorrectly. Disappointingly TA missed out on the finals place by just 7 runs. The lads needed to pick themselves up from the disappointment and focus for their final game, which they won convincingly. A great day out by all and bearing in mind they are all playing up an age group next year should be interesting. Some excellent cricket on display and some outstanding performances from Josh Thompson (year 8), Will Bevan, Finley Last, Bobby Western, Troy Riley, Max Grimley, Ollie Waring, Charlie Nunn and Harley Sneap with both the bat and ball and some excellent fielding throughout.
1st team
It was a tough one for the team to take on Wednesday as the drew 2-2 against Bridgend College. It was frustrating for them on many different levels. We need to win our last two games now to win the league. Good luck!
Students of the Week
Students of the week this week with me are : Emanuel Korolyk, Megan Sellick, Kieren-Lei Flay
Principal Certificates
Bronze: (not in order) Woody Ronson, Brooke McKenna, Beatrice Corline, Zak Roberts, Kaitlin Wright, Bella Lester, Bradley Crook, Jasmine Evans, Isla Howarth, Sophie Brown, Rose Phillips, Harry Russell, Mikey Davies, James Scrimgeour, Phoebe Staples, Matilda Bindon, Gabriel Prior, Charlotte Sweeny, William Bevan, Naimh Dolan, Connor Leonard, Holly Smith, Daniel Green, Nelly Fieldhouse
Silver: (not in order) Sean Crawford, Emma Roadnight, Ashton Lindow, Alaric Wills, Emily McCondichie, Archie Cox
Gold : Nisha Cosslett, Sam Cooper, Esme Brabon
House Stars of the Week
Year 7
Brunel – Lewis Ralph
Christie – Riley Batten
Darwin – Curtis Poynton
Fawcett – Rose Phillips
Harrison – Calen Thomas Tyrer
Kitson – Caden Somerset
Nearne – Kara Wills
Pengelly – Jayden Gardner
Year 8
Brunel – Matilda Bindon
Christie – Tilly Watson
Darwin – Sophie Denison
Fawcett – Kian Chadwick
Harrison – Joshua Hawkings
Kitson – Anya Page-Dove
Nearne – Evia Sutton
Pengelly – Gabriel Prior
Year 9
Brunel – Grace Cayford
Christie – Amber Hollings
Darwin –
Fawcett –
Harrison – Joshua Robinson
Kitson – Harrison Peart
Nearne – Laila Browne
Pengelly – Lottie Hodgson
Homework Stars of the Week
Year 7
Brunel –
Christie – Isabella Aguado-Georgian
Darwin – Maddie Coulter
Fawcett – May Sharpe
Harrison –
Kitson – Samuel Eaton
Nearne – Kevin Vieira
Pengelly –
Year 8
Brunel – Zac Rowland-Steele
Christie – Ben Puddicombe
Darwin – Danny Frankum
Fawcett – Lily-Anne Winterton
Harrison – Anya Griffiths
Kitson – Joel Copping
Nearne – Jack Alcock
Pengelly – Ella Ryan
Year 9
Brunel –
Christie – Kai Fowler
Darwin – Tasha Ellis-Hatch
Fawcett –
Harrison – Katie Packer
Kitson – Shannon Phillips
Nearne – Coral Sanderson
Pengelly –
