PSHE day, Careers Fair, Kevin Foster, Oxbridge and UCAS visit
PSHEe Day
Wednesday saw our last PSHEe day for this year. As usual, we covered a wide variety of topics. We also had, for the first time a careers fair, this bought together a variety of employers and organisations for our students to engage with.
Our year 7 students covered a range of issues connected to health, from the issues surrounding alcohol use and misuse, to how to eat a healthy diet and the factors that affect our food choices. We also looked at issues affecting our mental welfare such as a session, run by ‘wellbeing-workshops.com’ on what impacts our thoughts around gender and identity. Students also looked why people share sexual images and how to deal with requests for them, which linked into the work on how social media can affect our ideas about body image. Students also looked at why people join gangs and the consequences of doing so. Knowledge about financial wellbeing increased with a session on how to make a budget and spend money wisely.
A large section of the year 8 PSHEe day looked at relationship and sexual education. We looked at the unacceptability of sexual bullying and the issues with sexualised and violent content in the media. ‘The school of sex education’ ran a session on positive relationships including the hallmarks of a positive relationships, signs of a negative relationship, an introduction to concepts of boundaries, conflict resolution and improving relationships. Another session looked the law relating to sexual behaviour and the range of contraception available. A further session looked at the physical, emotional and social consequences substance use might have for individuals and how to refuse illegal drugs. The final session covered the advantages and disadvantages of online use, also why we should not send nude images.
The year 9 day also covered sex education, with sessions on consent, contraception, and the consequences of an unplanned pregnancy. A further session looked at the difference between biological sex, gender identity and sexual orientation and the factors that affect fertility. We looked at appropriate relationships with sessions on exploitation, domestic abuse and safe online relationships.
Year 10 students also looked at the difference between biological sex, gender identity and sexual orientation and the factors that affect fertility. ‘Proud2be’ worked with our students to explore issues connected to gender and LGBT. In terms of relationships, students looked at how different people have different relationships, how to maintain these relationships and the role and responsibilities of a parent. We had visitors running sessions detailing what student life, at university, involves and the range of courses available.
Sixth Form PSHEe Day
The Sixth Form spent the day preparing for their future careers. We were thrilled to welcome back several TA alumni who were able to offer a fantastic insight into the university experience to all our students. They were able to ask questions and see where university has taken our students. Other pathways were also explored as students looked into aspirational lifestyles and how to support themselves as they continue their studies. Our year 13s spent time learning about the student finance process and beginning their applications with the support of Next Steps South West. Whilst our year 12s prepared for the UCAS convention on Friday, investigating the institutions that will be there and what they have to offer, marking the start of the UCAS process for our year 12s. Students were also given the opportunity to cook on a budget, their cheese and onion pasties looked fantastic!
Year 8 & 10 Careers Fair
In a first for the Academy, Wednesday saw our first careers fair take place for students in years 8 & 10. As part of our strategy to help our students gather knowledge about the world of work, the fair provided a chance to meet with a wide range of representatives from a number of local and national companies and ask a lot of questions.
Our partners in this venture were, of course, the organisations represented in the room. These were: the RAF, the Army, Joanne Manville Personal Assistance, Hayes Travel, e-Hair, the Wild Planet Trust, Bay Photonics, the NHS, Exeter Airport, Torbay Leisure Report, the Department of Work and Pensions, I Can Do That and Charlesworth Nicholl Solicitors. Careers South West was also present to provide up to date information about apprenticeships and other pathways into work and education after leaving school, and students were also able to enquire about the courses offered at Plymouth Marjon and Falmouth universities. In addition, Louise Silvey, our Careers Advisor was also on hand.
Throughout the day, our students were magnificent and showed real interest in the possibilities for their future. Their questions were varied and certainly kept the employers busy, ranging as they did from how to start a small business, what was needed to study music and drama at university through to asking the RAF what their views on the ethical nature of war. The organiser, Mr Prestoe, said ‘I cannot thank the employers involved enough for their time and effort in making this possible. It was a fantastic opportunity for our students and there was a real buzz in the room.’
The fair will be back again in the future. If you are an employer and would like to be involved, please do contact us.
Kevin Foster visit
Kevin Foster, our local MP, came into school to meet with a group of students and have a tour of the school. When he met with the students he gave a presentation about the role of an MP and what he does. He then faced quite the grilling from the students on a wide range of topics, ranging from local road safety, policing and sports facilities, to those of a more global nature including Ukraine and refugees.
Year 8 Oxbridge Seminar
On Thursday our Year 8 Oxbridge stream students attended an amazing seminar by Mr Broome exploring the role of physics in the colonisation of Mars. The students engaged fantastically with the topic and showed off their impressive knowledge of physics and space exploration. By the end, many voiced their desire to go and spend the rest of their lives on Mars for the benefit of science!
Dr Jones’ Year 10 English Class
In Dr Jones’ Year 10 English class this week we have been exploring the role of Lady Macbeth in Shakespeare’s play.
Students produced incredible essays analysing Lady Macbeth’s transgression of the classical maternal role and how she reflects contemporary anxieties concerning the subversion of patriarchal authority in Jacobean England.
Year 8 Music
In year 8 we are continuing to develop our instrumental skills by playing through various songs and genres. You may remember the amazing blues performance by year 8s in the Christmas concert. They have moved onto some more modern songs which we can say has been met with an increase of enthusiasm. This cycle instead of working together as a whole class the students have been challenged to work both independently and within their own chosen bands. In the pictures you can see 8T6 rocking out to Sweet Home Alabama, grooving to Sunflower and swaying to Happier.
I am pleased to announce that as a result of the skill and talent shown in the Christmas Concert by the year 8s who gave the older years a run for their money. We have a Junior Music Academy!
2 bands
Vocalists – Aliyah Smith, Charlie Grimley, Summer Faulkes & Erin Giffard.
Pianists – Eve Cameron & Lisa Szewczuk
Guitarists – Charlie Porter, Daniel Eales, Kirah Clee & Austin Howell.
Bassists – Zac Evans & Oliver Jones
Drummers – Tom Thorner & Bartosz Mitula
With a new song complete for both already, keep an eye out for these guys in future performances.
Year 7 Science
Miss Carpenter-Kay’s students in Year 7 have been learning about Energy, Forces and the Structure of Matter for their Physics topic this cycle. They have worked incredibly hard and developed some fantastic skills over the past few weeks. In particular, students have been developing their understanding of using formula triangles and how to apply the equations in different scenarios. In Science, they have created the acronym ‘VEVA’ which is another method used to structure calculations.
Below is an example from Briony Pightling, as you can see the step by step approach enables students to break down what could be seen as a complicated problem. The students have also been completing thought-provoking practicals of a GCSE standard. Excellent work Year 7!
UCAS Exhibition
We were excited to learn that the UCAS Exhibition was back for 2022. We took all of our Year 12 students to this fantastic event to support them in planning their futures. Whatever their plans are after Year 13, the UCAS exhibition had it covered with:
● Live application clinics and personal statement workshops
● Course and careers taster sessions
● Student talks and Q&As
● Expert advice on how to research and choose what’s right for you
● The chance to explore and meet universities, colleges and employers face-to-face
The students left the event with their aspirations raised and clearer sights set on their futures past sixth form. All were exceptionally well behaved, grabbed multiple prospectuses, some free bags and maybe consumed a doughnut or two from the burger van along the way. This was a very successful visit!
Year 7 Bake Off Competition
This half term’s house competition is the inter-tutorial Bake Off which will take place on Wednesday 23 March. Sixteen excited amateur chefs from our eight houses will be working in pairs to design a dish for my enjoyment. The brief has been that the students create an item that I would like to see at an afternoon tea. House captains were inundated with entrants but had to limit the entries to one item per group. Among the offerings that will be concocted next week are; Strawberry Shortcake, Apple Crumble, Fruit Tarts and the traditional Devon Cream Tea. The students have an hour to prepare and bake their respective dishes under the guidance of Mrs Haines and I will then try each item and award points on both presentation and taste. I am a neutral judge-being the only member of staff at Torquay Academy who is not affiliated to a house and to make the competition even fairer, I will not know who created each menu item.
I will report the results next week.
Year 7 French
Mr Clark’s Year 7 class have playing interactive Grammar games in French online. Here they have been studying the grammar and vocabulary to enable them to give their opinion about school subjects. At the end of the lesson the class is divided into groups and they compete online, telling each other the phrases in French. They can also play this at home by logging on to linguascope.com.
Mrs Hosking’s Year 8 English Class
The topic for this cycle’s Year 8 English lessons is ‘War and Conflict’. This week, students have been learning about some poems that were written about WWII. Their ‘Word of the Week’ was ‘JINGOISM’ which means to be mindlessly and aggressively patriotic. The class discussed this concept and looked at how it is relevant in the context of war poetry.
They started the week looking at Randall Jarrell’s poem, ‘The Death of the Ball Turret Gunner’. The group were particularly interested in the final, gruesome image of the gunner being ‘washed out…with a hose’ in the final line of the poem.
They annotated the poem, looking at the extended metaphor and semantic field of sleep and then demonstrated their understanding in answering some questions before going on to be more creative and writing some lines of poetry themselves.
Year 7 Climbing Wall
This week it has been Mr Grinsill’s Year 7 PE group‘s opportunity to have a go on our climbing wall. The students always enjoy this part of their PE curriculum, particularly when the weather is as nice as it was on Thursday. In addition to being a very thorough physical workout, climbing teaches the children about determination and resilience. It is wonderful to see how their confidence grows with every climb. We are going to be reintroducing our climbing club for Years 7&8 in the summer term.
Year 7 Boulder Bunker Experience
We’re always looking to find new experiences for our students to build self-esteem and confidence. A few members of our year 7 team have been down to visit The Boulder Bunker, where the brilliant instructor Mr G gave us an initial introduction to free climbing. They’re looking forward to going back and developing our skills further.
Fun Friday!
For Fun Friday this week, students had to guess how many sweets were in the jar. The answer…………..109!
Goals from last week’s game Post 16 vs Exeter College
Year 9 Boys Football vs Teign
Our year 9s started their District Cup run against Teign school on Wednesday. The new competition gave us the chance to mix up the team and try out some new players and positions. We started the game really slowly and for 20 minutes struggled to have any quality in the final third, the breakthrough came with two quick goals from Amari Hadley to wake us up. The game continued to see lots of goals and patches of good play. Teign deserve a special mention as they only travelled with 11 and had an outfielder play in goal for the game also. The game finished 11-0 with our goals coming from – Amari Hadley x2, Max Lee, Sam Hext, Sean Crawford x3, Finn Anderson, Jude Snell, Ollie Clarke and Liam Cartwright. We now look forward to seeing who we face in the next round.
Year 7 Netball vs Churston
On Tuesday, two teams from the Year 7 Netball Academy took part in a tournament at Churston Ferrers Grammar school and joined Torquay Girls’, Newton Abbot College, Kingsbridge Community College, Kevics and Dawlish in a fun afternoon of netball. This time Frankie and Eden stepped up to the position of captain for their teams and helped Miss Felton and did a fantastic job!
Both teams played fantastically well, with some outstanding interceptions, shots on targets and taking those all-important backline passes, which has been a focus over the last few weeks. The defence was also very good, with students demonstrating their ability to keep with their player and fight for every pass. The opposing teams also bought their A-game and provided some excellent competition for the girls to put into practice some of the things we have been working on in training.
Well done to the following students: Lucy McMahon, Grace Cartland, Francesca Skelly, Millie Swift, Emilee Payne, Rebecca Quarshie, Ellen Scott, Maisie Sandercock, Matilda Stevens, Eden Nelson-Minns, Lora Cadman, Phoebe Smith, Ellie Farthing, Larna Waller and Chloe German.
Yr 8 Netball Fixture vs TGGS
The Year 8 Netball Academy travelled to Torquay Girls Grammar on Wednesday to play in an U13 netball tournament.
Our first game was against Torquay Girls Grammar. Both teams’ work rate off the ball was of a high quality, this has been an element of the game that the girls have been working on during training and evidently, the scoreline reflected this. Sophie Nicholson and Brooke Tully’s accurate shooting ended the game on 11-1. Congratulations to Amara Phillips, who was voted player of the match by the opposition.
Our second game was against Newton Abbot College. The girls continued to play a fast-paced game, the scoreline ended 15-5. Congratulations to Brooke Tully, who was voted player of the match by the opposition.
Year 8 Netball Academy: Brooke Tully (C), Lydia Bevan, Jemimah Jones, Sophie Nicholson, Ivy Hodgson-Hunt, Katie Rowe, Amara Phillips, Amy Harrison, Olivia Riches and Millie Sneap
Goals from last weeks game Year 8 Boys Football vs Paignton Academy
Louis Tillen Rugby
Louis plays for Exeter Athletic U12’s (Chiefs youth section). This weekend the team travelled to Wales to play Pontyclun Badgers RFC (Welsh champions), on the main pitch at Cardiff Arms Park.
The boys had to play and adhere to Wales RFU rules and regulations, this meant for the first time the boys played on a full-size pitch, played 15 aside, played 8 man scrums and played line-outs…..not to mention playing in a stadium!
No surprise that the boys lost, to a well drilled and strong Welsh side, but they all played with such courage, pride, respect and discipline, never letting their heads drop once. It was such an incredible experience for Louis and the whole team, one they will never forget.
Frankie Skelly and Daisy Hellier Speed Bounce Event (Gymnastics)
Frankie won her bronze medals in 6 lap and 2 lap, and Daisy won her bronze medal in the speed bounce event.
Brilliant Athletics Results
On Sunday, Hannah & Grace were part of the South Devon Athletic Club team that competed in the 5th & last Sportshall athletics meet. 8 clubs competed. Points were accrued across the 5 meets & awards presented . SDAC U15 girls team proudly won overall Gold, Hannah won Bronze for both standing triple jump & 2 lap hurdles, Ava won Bronze in shot. Fantastic results girls & a true demonstration of teamwork & determination.
Success for Daisy
Daisy has competed for Torbay Athletics in The Devon Sports Hall League over the last six months and at the final on Sunday she received a bronze medal for coming third overall in five competitions for speed bounce. The girls in the team also got a gold medal for coming first overall across all events for under 13 girls.
University Offers
Students of the Week
Year 7 – Amy Rogers and Sonny Bond
Year 8 – Leah Hope and Jj Cossey
Year 9 – Ivan Vaplak and Ella McLachlan
Year 10 – Craig Mintern and Shania Blades
Year 11 – Lila Nyari and Leo Dunkley
Sixth Form – Emily Johns and Josh Poston
House Stars of the Week
Year 7
Christie – Maks Adach
Darwin – Joe Boyce
Fawcett – Aleksandra Treder
Harrison – Sunny Long
Kitson – George Luscombe
Nearne – Layla Broadway
Pengelly – Phoebe Smith
Year 8
Brunel – Ellie-Jayne Scott
Christie – Dean Conway
Darwin – Alfie Jeneway
Fawcett – Sara Mills
Harrison – Owen Waller
Kitson – Emily Meloy
Nearne – Charlie Hope
Pengelly – Austin White
Year 9
Christie -Milo Marshall
Darwin – Leah Scott
Harrison – Olivia Kirby
Kitson – James Lovell
Nearne – Nikola Drygiel
Pengelly – Poppy Wallace-Fisher
Homework Stars of the Week
Year 7
Christie – Lola Benney
Fawcett – Diogo Pestana
Harrison – Ethan Anyon
Kitson – Florence Mills
Nearne – Olivia Mae Franke
Pengelly – Kai Chalmers-Wood
Year 8
Brunel – Tom Kowalski
Christie – Norbert Tomsia
Darwin – Lola Cornock
Fawcett – Jayden Field
Harrison – Leah Hope
Kitson – Dylan Breslan
Nearne – Caitlin Williams
Pengelly – Ethan Lane
Year 9
Christie – Jake Green
Darwin – Curtis Poynton
Kitson – Harry Watt
Pengelly – Riley Collett
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