Academy News

Last week, our Year 12 Biology students embarked on an exciting three-day residential field trip to Nettlecombe Court, a Field Studies Centre located on the Somerset Exmoor border. The visit provided an invaluable opportunity for students to develop their practical skills, deepen their ecological understanding, and complete essential components of their A Level Biology course.

Throughout the trip, students took part in a range of fieldwork investigations and classroom-based theory sessions, including two of the required practical investigations that contribute to the Practical Endorsement in A Level Biology. They learnt how to measure vertical height along the shore and compared species diversity across the lower, middle, and upper shore zones, gaining first-hand experience of ecological sampling techniques.

The group also explored grassland ecosystems and carried out freshwater invertebrate studies, developing their understanding of biodiversity and ecosystem health. In addition, students learnt how to analyse their findings using a range of statistical tests, an important skill for biological research.

One of the highlights of the trip was the opportunity to participate in an overnight small mammal survey. Students helped set humane live traps as part of a population monitoring study and were delighted by the success of the survey, which recorded both wood mice and shrews.

The residential concluded with each student completing an individual ecological investigation, allowing them to apply the knowledge and practical skills they had developed throughout the visit.

With fantastic weather throughout the three days, there was also plenty of time to relax and socialise. Evenings were spent enjoying games of rounders and badminton with students from other schools, making the trip both educational and memorable.

The field trip was a tremendous success, providing students with valuable practical experience while creating lasting memories and strengthening their enthusiasm for studying Biology.

Thursday evening saw yet another successful and crowd pleasing ‘Strictly Dance Fever’. The talent on show was sensational, as every performer fought to win and demonstrate their skills to the audience who were jam-packed into the auditorium for the sold-out show. The very difficult task of deciding on the winners was made by the four judges: Mrs Lippe, Miss Cook, Miss Shopland and our current KS4 Dance Captain Hannah. 

Three categories were performed on the night; the winner of the solo category was Leah (Year 9). Oviya and Olivia (both Year 10) won the duet category, and this year, for the first time, we had joint winners for the group category: Leah, Mati and Flo (Year 9) as well as Lily, Willow, Amelia and Ruby (Year 10).

The overall winning piece was a technically demanding and showstopping performance performed and choreographed by Leah, Mati and Flo (Year 9), and this proved to be a very popular decision as they were presented with the ‘Strictly Dance Fever’ trophy. 

The ‘Best Performer’ trophy was then presented to Elsie (Year 8) for her outstanding performance throughout the show.  

Emily was chosen for our 'Future Star' award as she impressed everybody with her energy and beautiful dance style.

On the night, we also presented our two new Dance Captains with their badges - Isabelle will be our new KS3 Dance Captain, and Evelyn will be our KS4 Dance Captain. Both girls have big shoes to fill, but we are confident they will do a fantastic job. 

Congratulations to all our winners and a big thank you to everybody who took part in making this evening a fantastic event!

With Sports Day preparations taking over this week, it’s been quiet on the sports front. Except for our U15 Girls Cricket Team, read how they got on below:

Nationals Round 1 of the Knight-Stokes Cup

Our U15 Girls Cricket team, who were crowned Regional Champions last week after an undefeated season, headed off to their first national game in the cup.  It was an incredibly close game, keeping us all on our toes as we watched. Unfortunately, our girls did not walk away with the win as the final score was 119/5 to Churchill and 120/5 to their opponents. 

The entire cup run has been an incredible effort, and we couldn’t be prouder of our Regional Champions! 

ICC Women's World Cup: Netherlands v USA 

Our U15 Girls Cricket team had an incredible opportunity this week, as they stepped onto the field at Lord's to be the flag bearers at the ICC Women’s World Cup. The girls carried the Dutch flag onto the field for the game, having an amazing time.

Our Music Department hosted the 2026 Academy Music Festival this week, bringing together students and staff for three days of outstanding musical performances.

The festival showcased an incredible range of talent, with performances from student bands, including an impressive metal rock performance, our Junior Choir, Song Club, Soul Band, and several outstanding solo performers. There was even a special appearance from the staff band, which remains a student favourite.

We couldn't be prouder of every student who took to the stage this week. It takes an incredible amount of hard work, dedication, and team effort from both students and staff to create such a fantastic festival.

It has also been wonderful to see so many students supporting one another; this week saw our biggest audiences yet. Well done to everyone involved; we can't wait to see what next year's festival has in store!

Last week, our Book Group enjoyed a fantastic visit from author Cathy Faulkner. Cathy shared fascinating insights into her writing journey, from finding inspiration and carrying out historical research to the challenges of getting published. She is the author of two acclaimed historical verse novels, The Treasure Seekers and Digging for Victory.

A special congratulations to Callie in Year 9, who was selected to sit in the Golden Ticket seat and won copies of both of Cathy's books.

The Book Group also celebrated the announcement of the 2026 Carnegie Medal for Writing. After reading this year's shortlisted titles over the past few months, students voted The Boy I Love by William Hussey as their favourite. They were also delighted to see Wolf Siren by Beth O'Brien named the overall winner by both the student shadowing groups and the judging panel.

Wolf Siren is a magical retelling of the classic Little Red Riding Hood story, told through the eyes of a partially sighted protagonist. Students who would like to explore this year's shortlisted books can find out more on the Carnegie Shadowing website here.

This Monday, Libra Club celebrated Pride Month by having a party with rainbow themed cake, treats and games. They hosted a Pride flag scavenger hunt in which students had to find objects for each colour of the Pride flag. 

Thank you to all who have attended Libra Club this year and helped build such a lovely, welcoming atmosphere.