Sport Relief, National Science Week, Rewards & More

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Sport Relief 2014

Pictured: Sport Relief fundraising activities throughout the week

Sport Ambassador Challenge

For every £1 the sports ambassadors can raise and put in their collection pot, the PE department will run/row/cycle that distance as a team (£1 = 1mile)

World Book Day Winners Rewarded

I had the pleasure of rewarding students today after their brilliant effort on World Book Day in the Guess Who competition which was set.  Prizes were promised to the students who had the most correct guesses of teachers and their fancy dress book character names.  The overall winners managed to correctly guess 81 characters correctly and more than deserved their Easter egg prizes.  Many other students (pictured) came close with correct guesses in the high 70’s so I felt it was only fair for them too to have Easter egg prizes.

Year 12 UCAS Convention

Pictured: Our Sixth Form students at the UCAS convention in Exeter earlier this week

A group of our Sixth Form students attended a UCAS Higher Education convention in Exeter this week with approximately 140 Higher Education institutions and professional organisations exhibiting.
The convention gave our students the opportunity to talk to exhibitors who were able to provide information and advice on their future choice of study, institution, and career options. There was also a handful of commercial companies, student finance advisors and Gap Year organisations too. In addition to this, students were able to attend different seminars covering topics such as ‘Applying through UCAS’, ‘Student Life’ and ‘Student Finance’.  Sixth Form student Jeremiah Ovenden said “It was good to talk to all of the different universities that I was interested in; it really helped me think about where I want to go after I graduate from the Sixth Form”.

Mountain Biking – PE

Pictured: Students getting to grips with their mountain bikes during their PE lesson

Taking full advantage of the beautiful sunshine and our extensive grounds, students have been back on their mountain bikes this week.  Open to KS4 PE groups, students have been practising on the bikes in preparation for the upcoming competitions held at Holden Forest Park.

National Science Week

Pictured: Students enjoying a week packed full of Science!

In celebration of National Science Week, students from all year groups, carried out a range of different scientific activities during their lessons and lunch times. The activities provided the students with enrichment opportunities, learning about different areas of Science outside of the usual curriculum.  The students took part in various sessions including extracting DNA from fruit, making edible honeycomb, homopolar motor making and dissection. The week of activities finished with a demonstration of different flash bang chemical reactions which the students really enjoyed.

Alongside the lunchtime sessions, year 7, 8 and 9 students were involved in separate challenges, during their Science lessons. Year 7 were set the challenge of designing and building a self-propelling vehicle. Year 8 students had to research and design a planetary rover, based on Curiosity (the Mars rover). Year 9 students had to design Mrs Hammond a new Formula 1 car, using scientific knowledge to improve on current designs.

Science teacher Mrs Hammond was overwhelmed by the amount of students that wanted to spend their free time participating in extra learning activities and explained: “the students have been really engaged all week and came back for more each day. National Science Week provided a great platform to showcase the skills and knowledge of our budding young scientists”.

I would like to that Mrs Hammond for all of her hard work in making the week such a success for our students.

Year 11 Pre Public Exams in Full Swing

Pictured: Year 11 students about to start their pre public GCSE Maths exam

Our Year 11 students have had a whole week of exams this week. Full exam conditions were set, giving our students valuable experience and practise for the upcoming GCSE exam period this summer.  After the exams, students will have detailed feedback from their teachers that cover every question.  Students will also been given a full revision pack to take away with them to study over the Easter half term in order to maximise their exam potential.  For more revision guidance and useful resources, please visit the Year 11 GCSE Revision Hub on our website: www.tqlearn.com/student/gcse_hub

Would you like an NCS Summer?

Pictured: Lyn Brown of Community Action South West talking to our students during PSHEe about the exciting NCS Summer Programme

The Community Action National Citizen Service were in school this week with a fantastic offer for our students.  Lyn Brown of Community Action South West led an assembly during PSHEe, explaining how our Year 11 and Sixth Form students could have an exciting and rewarding summer holiday.  Students aged 16-17 can apply for a free summer programme including two action packed residentials and the chance to become involved in an amazing social action project, making a difference in the community.

The programme is free and would be a fantastic experience for anyone who takes part this summer. Spaces are limited and if you would like to find out more and to apply, click the following links:

NCS Summer Programme Information
NCS Summer Programme Application Form

5 Sports, 5 Days, for FREE – Basketball

Pictured: Our students taking advantage of the free after school basketball session

As mentioned in my previous blog posts, we give young people the chance to enjoy five different sports on five different days, for free in our Sports Centre

This is a great opportunity to try a new sport or receive free coaching in a sport you already play. The sessions are also open to the public so please feel free to join us.

The basketball session (pictured) takes place every Tuesday after school. More details can be found here: www.tqlearn.com/sports_centre/

Rowcroft Hospice Enrich Health & Social Care Lessons

Pictured: Students listening intently to their visitor from Rowcroft Hospice

Our year 10 Health and Social Care students are currently working on an assignment which looks at the use of care values.  To help our students to understand the subject in more depth, Laura from Rowcroft Hospice (pictured), joined them in one of their lessons this week and talked about the care services that Rowcroft provide to patients and their families. She also explained how they treat patients individually taking account of their holistic needs and those of their families. She explained all the different elements of running the hospice and how it is funded as well as giving them a practical insight into how care is given both at the hospice and in the community.  I would like to thank Rowcroft Hospice for allowing Laura to spend time to help our students. These visits really benefit the understanding that our students have of Health and Social Care.

PCSO Rushworth Football in the Community

Pictured: PCSO Rusworth with young people from the local community

PCSO Martin Rushworth holds an after school Community Football Club, every Tuesday after school.  The aim of the club is to engage with young people with the main aim of having fun, getting out of the house, increasing fitness levels and keeping the young people off the streets. Devon and Cornwall Police officers and members of the Torbay Youth Offending Team often join in the sessions, which help the youngsters to engage with other services, whilst breaking down barriers between them.  PCSO Martin Rushworth, who is also a Qualified FA Level 1 football coach said “through the sessions I like to promote teamwork, improving social skills and developing their own football skills in a safe and friendly environment.”  It was great to see a range of young people there, including students from our school and the local community. Year 7 student, Cerys Lyon, said “It’s fun to make new friends and gives me something to do after school. My dad comes along too, so I get to spend more quality time with him”.

The session is open to young people aged 11-19 years old and runs every Tuesday between 4.00pm and 5.30pm on the school’s 3G pitch.

Sports Round Up

Year 7 Netball Team had their final Central Venue League tournament this week. Slow to start in the first match, the girls soon settled into their positions and ended their final game with a draw against KEVVICS. This has hopefully given the girls some good practice for the end of season tournament next week.

Pictured: Our Year 7 Girls Netball Team

Year 10 Netball Team went to Churston for the end of the season netball tournament. With a few new faces in the team, due to illness and injury, the girls worked well and played some good netball, but were unable to win the tournament.

Year 9 Football Team enjoyed an emphatic 6-1 victory against Westexe this week and progress to the final of the Devon Cup!

Pictured: The Year 9 football team in their new tracksuits before their semi-final match against Westexe

Netball Trip to Watch Team Bath

Written by Abbie Sykes, Year 10

Pictured: An action shot of Team Bath

On Monday, Miss Sizer and Mr Gascoyne took students from years 7, 8 and 10 Netball teams, to Bath University to watch Team Bath play against Surrey Storm in the ZEO Netball Superleague. This was a rematch, as the two teams had met previously in the league, but drew 42-42.  After a three hour journey, we arrived at Bath University, with just enough time to have a bite to eat, collect our tickets and select our seats. We were sat high up in the stands so had an excellent view of the teams whilst performing their warm up routines and during the match.

Surrey Storm got off to a very good start and sadly for Team Bath, maintained their lead for the duration of the match. The final score was 51-61 to Surrey Storm.  Throughout the match we were able to watch some fantastic play and see some very good interceptions, use of space and shooting techniques. This will hopefully allow us to improve our own performances within Netball. After the match had ended, we headed back to the minibus and began our journey home.

We would like to thanks Mr Gascoyne and Miss Sizer for taking us to Bath and allowing us to take advantage of this opportunity.