Off to America, extracurricular activities & open evening
Off to America!
Our very own motorsport team had a great surprise last week when Mr Foulds called them and their families in for a briefing to cover the plans for the forthcoming academic year, only to discover that the real reason for the gathering was to tell them that they would be travelling to Alabama, USA to compete in a race against some of America’s quickest teams!
They will spend the Easter holidays staying in a big house on a lake, attending lessons and after-school clubs at a high school, visiting factories, universities and shopping malls, absorbing the rich culture from the heartland of the civil rights revolution and racing just over the border in neighbouring Georgia, plus whatever other exciting activities can be squeezed in along the way. The whole trip is funded by the Turing Scheme, named in honour of Alan Turing who is credited with breaking the Enigma code during the second world war.
It truly is an opportunity that could alter the aspirations of our children and their peers in Alabama alike!
In other fantastic news it was confirmed that both of their cars have qualified for the international finals to be held at the prestigious Goodwood circuit on October 10th!
International School Award
We have been awarded the Foundation level of the British Council’s prestigious International School Award in recognition of our work to bring the world into the classroom.
The International School Award celebrates the achievements of schools that do exceptional work in international education. Fostering an international dimension in the curriculum is at the heart of the British Council’s work with schools, so that young people gain the cultural understanding and skills they need for life and work in today’s world. Our international work includes Students in years 7 and 8 researching European Countries producing displays about these countries, these may include National foods, currency modern history. They include songs in the language of the country and introducing themselves in the language. In keystage 4, year 9 students have been corresponding with their penpals at our twin school near Morlaix (Britanny).
Off to Jordan!
A huge congratulations to Kacper Piwowar who has just spent the week taking part in the ETTU Hopes Selection camp in the Czech Republic, he was extremely successful at the camp and has been selected to attend the ITTF World Hopes Week & Challenge in Jordan later this year. This is an incredible achievement and we wish him all the best for his next challenge!
Back with a Bang!
It has been an incredible week in the PE & Sport Department this week as we commenced our Super-curricular after-school clubs. There are so many opportunities in this Cycle for both recreational and competitive sport and we have been delighted to see almost 400 different students this week making the most of this.
On Monday, we had a very busy sports hall with all years badminton and table tennis club, and opened up the strength and conditioning suite to students in Years 10, 12 & 13. Out on the field we started our girls rugby, year 10 girls football and year 9 boys football training
Tuesday was even busier, with over 80 students attending the year 7 boys football trials, 44 students at dance and cheerleading club and lots of Year 9 and 10 boys on the field playing rugby alongside the Year 8 football team.
On Wednesday we started Year 7&8 boys rugby training as well as Year 7&8 netball. The Year 10 boys football team were also put through their paces for the first time this year as they prepared for a cup fixture next week. We also had recreational football for years 7-10 which was extremely popular.
Thursday was crazy, with almost 70 students at basketball training in the sportshall, over 100 students in year 7 or 8 out on the astroturf playing football. Taking a break from their period 5 studies, we also welcomed a number of year 11 students into the strength and conditioning suite.
On Friday, alongside the fitness suite for the Year 11 & 6th form students, the Year 9&10 girls had their first Netball training session, the year 9 football team were out preparing for their first fixture whilst students also participated in climbing club and went Mountain biking.
To cap it all off, the PE Team hosted the TA Mini Olympics on Friday afternoon…..more on that to follow next week!
Cheer club
Year 7 and 8 football
Dance
Table tennis
Basketball
Year 9 and 10 rugby
Year 8 football
Year 7 football
Year 9 fitness suite
Year 9 had their first taste of the newly refurbished fitness suite this week in Mr Richardson’s class and completed an ‘Alphabet Workout’. The students completed a series of different exercises for every letter of their name. Finn Mallen was the pick of the bunch as he completed a 30 minute run on the treadmill! Well done Finn. An outstanding achievement. There was great effort all round, with every student attempting their respective work outs independently and with a bucket of hard work and enthusiasm.
CCF
The CCF have returned to parade this week. They are looking forward to a great year with the return of so many opportunities that had to be cancelled last year due to COVID-19.
Open evening
It was such a pleasure to welcome Year 5 and 6 students into our school on Thursday along with their parents and carers. It is such a privilege to show what our wonderful students and staff do every day. On Thursday evening our students and staff welcomed hundreds of people into their subject areas.
Year 7 homework
The hard working year 7s continue to impress the team! They have settled in so well and are establishing those positive routines that will help them succeed in the future. Here are some of our students who are so determined they are completing their homework during their Lunch break!
Netball club success
This weekend Tammy Westacott and Summer Connolly, in Year 9, took part in a county qualifier netball tournament. Tammy and Summer both played some outstanding netball and have helped to secure their team a place in the regionals. They now have an exciting season ahead of them representing our county at the regionals. The girls have worked so hard to achieve this. Congratulations!
Automotive engineering
Automotive Engineering has been a hive of activity this morning as students work collaboratively to develop their practical skills, knowledge and understanding.
Featured House of the Week
Our first featured house of this academic year is Fawcett.
Fawcett’s colour is yellow; our new Year 7 students are proudly displaying their yellow ties and sporting their coloured PE tops. Fawcett’s house leader is Mr Gale who is one of our Assistant Principals; Mr Gale is incredibly proud of Fawcett and has ensured he has met with the new Year 7 tutor group and instilled a sense of competitiveness within them.
Fawcett takes its name from Lieutenant Percy Harrison Fawcett (1867-1925) who was a famous office, explorer, cartographer and archaeologist. Fawcett spent his early career plotting maps and searching for ores and treasures in some of the then lesser known areas of the globe -such as Brazil, Morocco and Bolivia. It was Fawcett’s lifetime ambition to discover the Lost City of Z which reputedly lay deep in the Brazilian Rainforest. He spent much of his fortune in the search -visiting many locations completely unknown to his contemporaries. Unfortunately, in 1925, both Fawcett and his son disappeared in the search and their fate remains a mystery. A really interesting fact is that Fawcett is the real-life inspiration behind the fictitious character of Indiana Jones and there can not be many people who have not seen one of the films in the franchise.
The area of Torquay which is most connected with Percy Fawcett is Vane Hill Road which is just behind the harbour. The house in which he resided no longer stands. The motto for Fawcett is Be Adventurous. We expect the students at Torquay Academy to embrace the opportunity for adventure through their learning. One can be transported to new worlds and high places through the knowledge they gain in lessons. Additionally, a good education will prepare students for the adventure of university, opportunities to travel and the excitement of the world of work.
Our featured students of the week are Felicity Adams and Lincoln Taylor from 7F Lincoln won the House Star of the Week for a number of reasons. Lincoln accrued a large number of praise points, answered well in class and is particularly pleased at his attempt to master the art of answering in complete sentences-using appropriate academic vocabulary. At Torquay Academy we call this technique Format Matters.
Felicity won the first house competition which was to write a piece on why Fawcett is the best house in the school. Felicity writes: Percy Fawcett discovered parts of South America which were originally blank spaces on the map. He interacted with the native American people who lived in the jungle-treating them as equals which was uncommon during this time due to Western prejudices. We are all different with different qualities and, like Percy, will treat everyone as equals and the way you want to be treated.
Mr Christophers in the gym…
The students are not the only ones who have been enjoying our fantastic facilities this week. Mr Christophers enjoys his morning workout (and sing song!) in our newly refurbished fitness suite.
Fun Friday…
Year 8
Year 9 – Tennis Ball Darts
Year 10 – Nikodem Piasecki and Jacob Pieterse doing the limbo
Winners
Year 7 – Edward Evers
Year 8 – Willow Kendal
Year 9 – Josh Kenneford
Year 10 – Nikodem Piasecki
Year 11 – Corbyn Gardner
Students of the Week
Year 7 – Leela Cartwright and Ben Jeffs
Year 8 – Eve Cameron
Year 9 – James Lovell and Libbie Green
Year 10 – Charlie Fox and Skye Warner (not pictured)
Year 11 – Tyler Silvester and Kelsey Hawkings
House Stars of the week
Year 7
Brunel – Nya Bettridge
Christie – Miko Piasecki
Darwin – Layla Loizides
Fawcett – Oliver Cocker
Harrison – Tom Connelly
Kitson – Ethan Lynch
Nearne – Daniel Piper
Pengelly – Phoebe Smith
Year 8
Brunel – Elvin Fellows
Christie – Lydia Bevan
Darwin – James Hutt
Fawcett – Laura McCondichie
Kitson – Amber Dicken
Nearne – Noah Butler
Pengelly – Lyra Bowstead
Year 9
Brunel – Isabelle Davis
Christie – Cleo Fry
Darwin – Roberta Bankes-Fay
Fawcett – Callum Yeates
Harrison – Sophie Packer
Kitson – Sam Eaton
Nearne – Mitchell Watkins
Pengelly – Taylor Reynolds
Homework Stars of the week
Year 7
Christie – Harry Paull
Fawcett – Rebecca Quarshie
Harrison – Eden Nelson-Minns
Kitson – Millie Swift
Nearne – Briony Pightling
Pengelly – Chloe German
Year 8
Brunel – Ellie-Jayne Scott
Christie – Amara Phillips
Darwin – Lucas West
Fawcett – Madison Findlay-Peers
Kitson – Phoebe Denbow
Nearne – Tessa White
Year 9
Brunel – Ruby Denison
Christie – Oliver Huxtable
Darwin – Phoebe Hewings
Fawcett – Aidan Chadwick
Harrison – Josh Spencer
Kitson – Elliot Mills
Nearne – Aleah Coombes
Pengelly – Jake Pettit
Sparx Leaderboards
Tassomai Leaderboards
