Churchill Academy

AcTivities Week 2018

  • 769 students
  • 157 staff
  • 42 trips out - including residentials - Gospel Choir in Austria, Belgian Battlefields, Barcelona, The Azores, London and the Surfari 
  • 35 different activities on site

Phew!  What a fantastic week of activities in school and further afield for students and staff this week. Apart from the residential trips noted above, students have been splashing down in Poole, paint-balling, go-karting, horse riding, clay pigeon shooting, climbing, cycling, skiing, learning bush craft as well as enjoying trips to the Harry Potter studios, Cardiff Bay for a Rib Ride, Bristol Zoo and Wildplace, Drayton Manor, Fairford Air Tattoo and Longleat. 

In school, students have been very creative designing T-shirts, book making, candle making, doing decoupage, making jewellery, repairing and making benches and patch-working. They've also enjoyed lots of sports, dance, drama, chess, journalism, cookery, robotics and much more! 

Huge thanks to Mrs Cadman and Ms Thorne for their many months of organisation to make Activities Week happen.  It's been another great success!

Some of the news and photos from this week so far.... 

 

Azores 2018

Thirty students from Years 9 - 11 flew to the Azores, via Lisbon with Mrs Amer, Mr Bevan and Mrs Crocker. What an amazing five days we had! Activities included touring Ponta Delgada, observing so much stunning scenery, walking across suspended metal walkways high above valleys and waterfalls, bathing in geothermal pools in sub-tropical rain forests and botanical gardens, a catamaran trip across the ocean to observe dolphins in the wild, a beach trip and eating lunch cooked in the ground via geothermal heat. A full report will be published via the blog in September.

Tawny owl boxes   

Students made Tawny Owl boxes on Friday of Activities Week which are destined for Locking Camp, Shapwick Nature Reserve and Churchill Academy Sports field! We have two spares if any parents live in a tawny owl suitable area (basically woodland and mice!) and are able to put one up.  Please contact Mr Barham if you are able to help.

Barcelona Trip

The Barcelona trip during Activities Week was amazing and we had lots of fun. There were many opportunities to use Spanish when ordering food and drink and buying souvenirs.  Whilst we were there we went to the beach and swam in the Mediterranean and in the hotel pool, we went to Port Aventura theme park and a parque acuático (water park). We also spent a day shopping in Barcelona along Las Ramblas, looking at some sights and going to the Camp Nou football stadium. Overall, it was an amazing trip that was very enjoyable, with lots of opportunities to hear and use Spanish in its natural environment.  I would recommend it to anyone – just don’t forget your suncream!

Isla Skudder & Ruby Smith, Year 9

London Trip

Myself, Mr McWilliam Woods and Miss O'Neill had an absolutely amazing (but exhausting) time with 21 Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 students. The absolute highlight of the trip was seeing the Lion King in the West End. We visited the Tower of London, saw all the celebrities in Madam Tussaud's and had lovely meals out in the evening. Other highlights of the trip were Mr McWilliam Woods proudly wearing the First Aid kit as a fashion accessory and being complimented by the staff at the Tower of London (in a non-ironic way) and the fact that the Churchill students' behaviour, kindness, determination and curiosity were on full show all the way through the trip. Every single student that went was chatty, smiling and laughing and showed why teenagers deserve a much better press than they currently get. 

Miss Strachan

Bench making

Students, along with Mr Barham and Mrs Briffitt, have been busy repairing and making new benches for use around the school.  Thanks to the PTA for their funding contribution to help with materials and paint.

Comic Art Capers

Students and Mr Malkin were given a masterclass in writing and drawing comic strips on Thursday by Kev F Sutherland who has drawn comic strips for The Beano and Marvel comics and Doctor Who and Viz magazine amongst many others.  See his blog here. By the end of the day a comic was produced with contributions from all the students plus an individual caricature of each of them by Kev.  See the comic here.  

Got to Dance

This week Churchill’s ‘Got to Dance’ participants for Activities Week, have been put to the challenge of learning and choreographing dance’s based on four different modern musicals. The musicals included School of Rock, Aladdin, Matilda and Our House. After getting a brief introduction of each musical, the students were up and ready to learn. The students were tested on their ability to retain information quickly while learning some tough dance routines. They have also been tested on their choreographic skills as they had to adapt, change and add their own dance moves. After a whole day of hard work, the students did a mini showcase for the rest of the group including our two dance teachers, where they performed excellently. Not only did they show off their performance and dance skills, but also showed how enthusiastic their attitude towards dance is, along with their enjoyment for the activity.                                                                                                               
Charlotte Reakes (Year 10 Work Experience Student)