Year 11 concert, Careers Fair and Adventure Academy

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Year 11 Concert

On Tuesday evening our incredible Year 11s put on a night to remember.  As part of the final exam they had to perform a 15 minute set.  They also had to plan the light and sound for the event.  All of the bands who performed did so brilliantly and the packed Platform appreciated it enormously.

You can see all of the images captured on the evening below.

Careers Fair

On Wednesday we hosted our second annual careers fair. Packed into the sports hall were 4 universities, 3 colleges, a number of apprenticeship providers and representatives from over 50 different employers. With companies engaged in construction, engineering, hospitality, law, recruitment, IT, animation, banking and finance, as well as the armed forces, the prison service, NHS, childcare, hairdressing, property sales, the civil service and the maintenance and management of wind turbines, this was an exciting event. Students in years 8 and 10, as well as the sixth form, had the opportunity to ask questions, learn and, at the same time, grab more than a few freebies! Thank you to all of the companies (and parents) that made this possible. It was a wonderful event and one that we hope to repeat in the future.

PSHE Day

Despite the teachers strike we were still able to run our final PSHE day of this academic year. The highlight of the day was the careers fair organised by Mr Prestoe. We had over 65 organisations and companies kindly send representatives to talk with our students about what they offer. This gave our students a valuable insight into various routes into further education or employment sectors. Our years 8, 10 and 6th form took advantage of this valuable opportunity.

In addition to the careers fairWe also had the Alterego theatre company present ‘Chelsea’s story’ to the years 7, 8, and 9; this looks at Child Sexual Exploitation. Chelsea was a 15 year old girl who, having fallen out with her friends and family, met a guy called Gary. Gary was kind and understanding, had a nice car and his own flat and listened to her. Unfortunately, Gary was not what he seemed to be.

The year 7s also took part in resuscitation sessions so the entire school has now had some first aid training. Some of these sessions were led by 2 of our cadets, CSgt C Furze and CSgt J Furze. Other sessions for the year 7s included work on online safety and how to look after yourself online, issues relating to alcohol, gender stereotyping and how to manage family conflict.

In addition to the theatre production and the careers fair the year 8 students looked at the challenges of being a parent, also how our peers can influence our ideas around drug and alcohol use, and strategies to combat this. Students took part in a session run by The School of Sexuality, which looked at our body parts, how we all differ and changes as we grow up.

The year 9 students used Unifrog to gain some insight into options post 16. Other sessions involved looking at decisions they need to make about their own health, as they grow older, for example vaccination and the reasons behind various medical checks and screenings. Another session looked at ways to support our mental health and finally a session on the range of contraceptives available to them.

The year 10 continued the theme of alcohol and drug education by looking at ways of seeking help and possible barriers to this. Sessions also included looking at long-term relationships and the advantages and disadvantages of various types. Another session reminded students about how to avoid STIs and refreshed their knowledge of the different diseases. The final relationship and sex education session investigated what is meant by sexual harassment and how to deal with it. Another session looked at work and options for the future.

Year 11 PSHE Day

For PSHE day, some of our year 11 students have spent the day doing targeted geography sessions in preparation for their fast approaching GCSE exams.  Our students attended three sessions throughout the day and worked hard on improving the structure of 6 and 9 mark exam questions.

Sixth Form PSHE Day

On Wednesday this week, the Sixth Form had their own PSHE Day with a focus on future pathways. Not only did they experience the fantastic Careers Fair, but they also took part in workshops on Apprenticeships, Finance, CV writing and UCAS Discovery preparation. On top of this, we were really happy to welcome back some of our past Sixth Form students to share their journeys post-TA, where students were able to ask questions and receive advice about their first few years after leaving sixth form. It was wonderful to catch up with George Fenn (2018), Holly Porter (2021), Beau Giles (2022), Elias Rawles (2022), Mia Burns (2022), Molly Beaulah (2021), Josh Poston (2022), Connor Thompson (2017) and Abbie Sykes (2017) who is now a teacher here at Torquay Academy!

Anticipation for Ethan Sanders

Ethan Sanders has just found out that he has been accepted onto a prestigious apprenticeships with British Airways to become an aircraft engineer.  Ethan has kindly written about his experience:

I started my application process for British Airways at the start of November , I was one of 600 applicants. On the 25th of November I took part in an online assessment in which I was asked how I would handle different situations; itconsisted of questions on situations and I had to write out why I wanted this apprenticeship. Later I got the great news that I was one of 210 who had made it to the next part of the interviews. At the start of January I had been invited to a series of video assessments which consisted of me reading and answering questions on different safety regulations. British Airways got back to me at the end of February and had invited me to attend the assessment centre in London Heathrow and that I was one of the 90 who had got to this stage. I was shocked that I had made it to this point. After this on the 26th of February British Airways wanted me to book a slot at the assessment centre, but upon looking on the website there were no slots available so I looked religiously on the website for a week when I found that there was now a place available. I breathed a sigh of relief and later, on the 8th of March, I left to go up to London for the interview which consisted of team building exercises, practical skills, Q and A with the current apprentices and finally an interview. Luckily for me I had done my research so when the interview came I very felt confident with my ability to answer the questions and was happy knowing I could show them who I am and how well I could impress them. Afterwards, around a week later, they had asked me for my predicted grades and said they would get back to me about the application soon. The following days consisted of me waiting for the reply from British Airways and they did, they called me and told me the news that I had got the apprenticeship, I was over the moon. They told me I would start in November, I was ecstatic and so happy I had made the apprenticeship knowing this is were my future career would start.

Adventure Academy

It was time to take out the bikes again this week.  We are very lucky to have such experts on our staff who are able to lead so many different activities.

Hospitality and Catering Year 11 Exams

The Hospitality and Catering students in Year 11 have been working exceptionally well on their practical exams for their overall qualification. They have planned and prepared their two dishes ensuring they are focused and ready for the challenge. This has been a very rewarding time as the students can showcase their skills that they have.

Mrs Schwarz’s Y11 Maths Class

In year 11 Mrs Schwarz’s class has been undertaking detailed feedback on their recent PPEs. Understanding how to tackle a problem, where marks can be gained, and refreshing Cornerstone Concepts can still lead to a grade more than their PPE this summer’s final exams. This is then consolidated using Sparx for homework and revision.

Hospitality and Catering

It has been another great week in the kitchens and they have been working on a range of practical skills, decorating and presenting their dishes to appeal to their customers. The students have had the challenge to ensure that their techniques are both tasty and aesthetically pleasing . Well done to all.

Tubers

At Tubers, some of our students have been experimenting with light to get some epic product shots.  They have also been storyboarding for a Monster energy drink promo video.

Maths with Mr Shute

Mr Shute’s year 10s  have been using trigonometry to find missing sides and angles in right angled triangles. James Lovell’s book shows some particularly good examples of this.

Meanwhile in year 8, both of his classes have been working on percentages. Firstly, they investigated words with the prefix ‘cent’; interestingly enough, centipedes do not necessarily have one hundred legs! However, what really caught students’ attention was the discovery that they can find any percentage using their calculator.

Word Millionaire

We have our second word millionaire. Bella Pomerville from 7F has correctly passed enough quizzes on Accelerated Reader that she has earnt her word millionaire award for having read one million words.
Congratulations Bella, keep reading!

Leon Snell

Leon ran for the Devon team in the UK Inter Counties Cross Country Championships at Prestwold Hall in Leistershire on Saturday.

One of the youngest runners in the under 13 race on a very tough muddy course and after 6 weeks of no training following injuring his Achilles at the school race in Exeter.  He ran amazingly, completing the 3km in 14min 42 seconds.  Well done, Leon.

Year 9 boys progress in South Devon Cup

Our year 9s progressed in the schools torbay cup with a win over Teignmouth, a tough game in windy conditions changed our style of play but the boys dug in to get the victory – Our goals being scored by Charlie Green x2 and Josh Sandeman.

Final League Game of the Season for our 6th Form

We are immensely proud of our First team.  This week every player put in a performance to be proud of for their final game together. After an up and down season they finished in a spectacular fashion with a 2-1 win against South Devon College.  We now look forward to continuing the work with our players in their next steps and supporting the transition for those who are going to the USA on their football scholarships. Exciting times for those leaving us this summer.

Students of the Week

Year 9 – David Wanstall and Amara Phillips

Year 10 – Maja Davies

Year 11 – Owen Greenwood and Layla batten

Sixth Form – Year 12 Cody Furze and Year 13 Liam Wallace

University Offers this week

House Students of the Week

Year 7

Brunel – Teddy Watson

Christie – Emily Lucas

Darwin – Max Weston

Fawcett – Stella De Rose

Harrison – Emily Colclough

Kitson – Max Warner

Nearne – Emily Watts-Simpson

Pengelly – Poppy Sanderson

Year 8

Christie – Kallie Stewart

Darwin – Charlie Burton

Fawcett – Leela Cartwright

Harrison – Jasper Franklin

Kitson – George Watt

Nearne – Abigail Yau

Pengelly – Phoebe Smith

Year 9

Brunel – Alfie Eccles

Christie – Darcy Reece

Darwin – Zack Shaw

Fawcett – Daniel Billingham

Kitson – Aliyah Smith

Nearne – Colby Britton

Pengelly – Olivia Walters

Homework Students of the Week

Year 7

Brunel – Alfie Speed

Christie – Paul Blades

Darwin – Logan Watt

Fawcett – Saphi Byers

Harrison – Robyn Higgins

Kitson – Tyler Evans

Nearne – Alfie Braye

Pengelly – Keisha Powell

Year 8

Christie – Maile Beavis

Darwin – Leah McClements

Fawcett – Tallulah Houlahan

Harrison – Barnaby George

Kitson – Ethan Lynch

Nearne – Phoenix Quetelle

Pengelly – Millie-Anne Wigston

Year 9

Christie – Ema Kestell

Darwin – Ellie Temo

Fawcett – Lucian Churchward

Kitson – Laila Heavens

Nearne – Nelly Siuchninski

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