New Staff Members, New Books & New Prefects

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New Staff

L:R Miss King and Mr Mellitt, Science,  Mrs Brimming,  English, Mrs Smith, Science

We are delighted to welcome four new members of teaching staff this term.  They are all having a significant impact in the school, especially with our examinations groups.

Poppy Excels with her Violin

Poppy Bell of 7SNA has received a certificate for passing her Grade 3 Violin Exam with The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music.  Poppy has been playing the violin since she was 7 years old and has progressed in her skills by practising two to three times per week.  As the Exam grew closer, Poppy was honing her skills daily to perfect her playing. From three sections, she had to play three pieces of music:

La Rotta
Le Streghe
Puttin’ on the Ritz.

Poppy said, “I was really nervous before going in and when I came out I wasnt sure if I had passed or not. When I found out that I had passed, it was very exciting and I was really happy”.   Poppy will continue with her playing and progress to the highest level she can, and play for fun. We hope to hear Poppy play us some music in assembly later this term.  Well done Poppy!

Elyse Leech Update

Elyse has been doing well with her sprinting. She won in an open in Plymouth and Yeovil in the Easter Holidays. She also won a Gold medal for the 100m in Exeter and a Bronze in the 200m. This was excellent as she has moved up into next age group, so she is one of the younger Athletes.  Great achievement, Elyse.

World Book Night

Last Thursday was World Book Night; this event was established to foster a love of reading in adults and children. We applied for as many free books as possible to give away, hoping that pupils and parents would sit down on Thursday evening and enjoy a book together.
Mrs Jukes still has a few free books to give-away so if you would like a book to enjoy together please go and see her in her office in lower E. Reading with your child is one of the many ways you can support their progress in English.

Recipients of books are encouraged to pass the book onto others once they have read it. There is a page where people who have read the book can write their name; it would be brilliant if the books given away could make their way around our community.

Year 5 Priory Visit

Priory School Year 5’s visited us for the second time this year for an afternoon of Literacy and Science. They had a great time conducting experiments and taking part in a group quiz in the library. As always it was great to see the pupils and they were a credit to their school.

Become a Prefect

Torquay Academy appoint Prefects each year to undertake various roles and responsibilities around the school, both during the school day and at extracurricular events. This is a perfect role for students in Year 11 who want to take on extra responsibility, extend their experience and provide themselves with opportunities which will support their applications to college, university and to work. If you are a year 10 student and you would be interested in applying to become a prefect in Yr 11 please download the attached application form. Once completed you will need to print it off, sign it and return to Mrs Low or Mrs Smith in Lower G office. Any questions please come and see Mrs Low or Mrs Smith.

Download the application form here

Exciting News For would- be Rugby Players !!

Carnegie Group

The Middle of Nowhere by Geraldine McCaughrean

The Carnegie group has grown since last year’s event  and now includes students from Years 7 – 10, which is fantastic. The novel ‘The Middle of Nowhere’ has been given to Torquay Academy as the chosen book for us to ‘bring to life’ on stage, which students are reading now.  The students will be choosing five parts of the novel which best represent the novel, leading them being able to express the theme and storyline to their audience. They will be heading over to KEVICs on 22nd June where they will be performing it to other local schools. The other schools will also be performing their own chosen novel from the Carnegie short-list on the day.  Over the next few months the students will be writing scenes, preparing costumes and designing sets for their own short production.

Cake Sale

Today students from Years 7 and 8 hosted a cake sale for staff to help raise money for a sensory garden. Codie Ritson is a 12-year old girl who has cerebral palsy.  Codie’s cousin, Kacie Milton, is a pupil at Torquay Academy and asked Mr Margetts if she would be able to host an event to raise money for a garden for Codie.  Codie’s garden is currently on 3 levels and is innaccessible by wheelchair, it would be wonderful to have a flat area with sensory features, as Codie’s favourite place in the world is being outdoors.

With the help of Year 8 Progress Leader Assistant Mrs Nicol, members of Sixth Form, and some of Kacie’s friends in Years 7 and 8, staff were treated to an assortment of delights, all washed down with a nice cup of tea!

We wish Kacie lots of luck with future events and hope that Codie receives a garden that she can enjoy for many years.