Academy News

This week we welcomed the Kosmos Trio for an improvisation workshop inspired by Japanese music. Students learned a short traditional Japanese melody before developing it into a group improvisation, accompanied by narrated haiku poetry.

The result was truly spectacular, as our students combined their own instruments with the beautiful sounds of the Kosmos Trio’s violin, viola and accordion to create a unique and memorable musical experience.

Lacey has consistently demonstrated a strong work ethic and dedication to dance throughout this term. She has shown a clear commitment to developing her skills, effectively applying both her technical ability and performance skills. We look forward to seeing what Lacey can achieve in dance throughout Year 9. Well done! 

It’s been a fantastic week of sport as the Somerset Football Cup began, we hosted Norton Hill and our Netball teams went to battle once again. Check it out below: 

Year 11 Boys Football Entertain Against Norton Hill
Our Year 11 Boys Football team hosted Norton Hill on Tuesday, in what turned out to be an entertaining, end-to-end game on the 3G. The boys battled right to the end, but ultimately ended up on the wrong end of a 5-4 scoreline. 

Archie picked up the man-of-the-match award following his hat trick, but there were strong performances all over the pitch.  Well done!

U14 Girls Football Team: Somerset Cup, Round 1
A massive congratulations to our U14 Girls Football team who won 8-0 against Clifton Trinity in the first round of the Somerset Cup. An incredible start to this cup run, all 17 players showcased their skills! 

Player of the match was awarded to Rosie. Well done!

KS3 Netball Have An Impressive Afternoon
Our Year 7 & 8 Netball teams had an impressive afternoon this week, giving us two exciting games of Netball.  

Year 7’s were up first, with this being one of the first few games of the season it was amazing to see how the team is progressing already. It was a close match that unfortunately went in the other teams favour with a final score of 3-2. 

Year 8 were on fire, dominating the game from the get-go and bringing home a 9-3 victory! 

Players of the match were awarded to Hannah (Year 7) and Freya (Year 8). Well done!

Last Saturday, a group of students and Performing Arts staff took part in a sponsored 10K walk across the Mendips to raise money for the Alzheimer’s Society. 

With beautiful weather and plenty of opportunity for a good chat along the way, everyone enjoyed a lovely afternoon together while supporting a great cause.

The students who took part are all members of the cast for our 2027 entry into Dance Live!, a national dance competition. This year’s dance piece explores the theme of dementia, so taking on this fundraising challenge felt like the perfect way to begin the rehearsal process and raise awareness of the cause behind their performance.

So far, the group has raised an amazing £450, but donations are still welcome. To support the students and staff in their fundraising efforts, please donate here!

The Academy's student leadership conference brought together students from the House Councils, Eco schools and Subject Ambassadors for a day of reflection, collaboration and inspiration, with the morning focused on building skills and the afternoon on hearing from a leader in public life. 

The day began with Mr Hildrew formally launching the conference and speaking to students about what leadership means. 

Students then took part in a series of team building activities designed to develop communication, trust and problem-solving. These activities gave students the chance to see how effective teams depend on a range of strengths, and to practise leading as well as following.

The morning continued with a creative group task, in which teams combined their ideas to produce a joint piece of work. This required planning, negotiation and compromise, and it was pleasing to see so many students taking the initiative, encouraging and celebrating each other's contributions. The finished results showed real imagination and a strong sense of teamwork.

In the afternoon, students were joined by our local MP, Tessa Munt, who spoke about leadership and her experiences of being a Member of Parliament. She gave students an insight into the responsibilities of representing the community, the challenges of making decisions that affect others, and the importance of listening to the people you serve. Students had the opportunity to ask questions, and their thoughtful, confident contributions reflected the ideas they had explored throughout the day.

Tessa Munt also held a student youth surgery with Miss Hockin at lunchtime and it was very well attended.  Students wanted to talk about the issues with bus timetables, roadworks affecting their punctuality and where they can attend Sixth Form, alongside the issues in the environment.  Also discussed were the opportunities for local people to get jobs and more opportunities to study different subjects in line with the new announcement.  

The room is always buzzing with enthusiasm when Tessa comes to visit and hopefully we'll be able to offer another trip to Parliament for those interested during this academic year. 

Getting involved in youth politics is available to all so please speak with Miss Hockin, Leader of Learning for History and Politics, or Ms North, Student Leadership Coordinator, if you are interested. 

It was a quieter week for sports this week with our Open Evening and INSET day, however that didn’t stop our KS3 teams securing a few more victories. 

KS3 Girls Football Victorious Afternoon Against Priory

Our Year 7, 8 & 9 Girls Football teams faced Priory this week to kickstart their season. It was a fantastic afternoon, with ALL of our teams coming away with the victory.  With plenty of upcoming games, we can’t wait to see how our girls get on! 

KS3 Girls Netball Victorious Afternoon Against Sidcot

Our Year 7, 8 & 9 Girls Netball teams had their first match of the season against Sidcot this week. Each of our teams played excellently, with everybody’s skills improving throughout the games and they ALL secured victories. The final scores were:

Year 7: 8-3, Player’s of the Match were awarded to Holly & Poppy

Year 8: 6-3, Player of the Match was awarded to Issy

Year 9: 12-4, Player’s of the Match were awarded to Arianna & Annie

Sidcot’s staff noted that all of our students played with a really positive attitude, we couldn’t be prouder of our players, well done!