Academy News

Fourteen members of Song Club performed at St George's in Bristol on Tuesday evening, opening the WEMA Young Musicians' Showcase Concert. They sang Driver's Licence by Olivia Rodrigo and Hit the Road Jack by Ray Charles, receiving enthusiastic applause from both the audience and the organisers.

There was even time for a visit to the ice cream van between our sound check and the concert to help students cool down! 

We also enjoyed watching the other performers, who were mostly solo instrumentalists. The only other choir, from Hayesfield in Bath, performed Consider Yourself from Oliver!, a performance that got several of our members excited for next year's Key Stage 3 musical.

It was a fantastic evening, and we can’t wait to see our students' next performance. Well done!

In April, 95 students in years 7 and 8 sat the Junior Maths Challenge - a national problem solving competition aimed at stretching high attaining mathematicians. 

Over half of the students who participated scored highly enough to receive a certificate - 8 gold, 19 silver, and 24 bronze - a brilliant achievement!

Five students - Joseph, Emily, Henry, Lexi and Darius - qualified for the Junior Kangaroo, which is a harder follow-on round for some of the country's gold certificate winners. 

And finally, Alex, our highest scoring student with a whopping 113 marks, qualified for the Junior Mathematical Olympiad. The Olympiad is sat by only around 1000 students across the UK (less than 1% of the Junior Maths Challenge entrants), and it is the first time in my seven years of running maths challenges at Churchill that a Year 7 or 8 student has qualified! 

Well done, Alex, and to everybody who took part in this year's competition!

Over the past month, Lancaster students have continued with their running and walking challenge, with the aim of travelling the equivalent distance of Churchill Academy to Lancaster (and back again!) - a total distance of 738km. 

Students have been taking part in the mornings during tutor times, running in school Athletics competitions, and most students did a lot of walking on the sponsored walk and trek last Friday. 

These contributions have taken our current distance travelled to 374km, with 364km to go. 

Whilst it is great that we have passed the halfway mark and are now virtually travelling south back towards Churchill Academy, we are running (no pun intended) out of time, so we need your help! If any students, parents or carers linked to Lancaster complete any runs outside of school - either recreationally or as part of an organised event - we would love to add your distance to our Lancaster total! The time doesn't matter, so if you're happy to contribute, just email DAT@churchill-academy.org with the distance covered, or students can tell me at school. 

Of course, this running challenge is to raise money for our Lancaster House charity - Springboard Opportunity Group - a daycare provider for children with special educational needs and disabilities in North Somerset. The link to donate on our Just Giving page is here,please feel free to share it with family and friends. 

Thank you,

Mr Thomas & all of Lancaster House

Some of our high-attaining Year 11 students marked the end of their GCSE examinations with an inspiring visit to Exeter College, Oxford. The day offered students a valuable insight into college life, combining academics with the opportunity to explore one of Oxford’s historic colleges.

During the visit, students toured the college, sharpened their critical-thinking skills, and participated in interactive academic taster sessions led by postgraduate students. A particular highlight was meeting former Churchill students now studying at Oxford, who shared their experiences and advice about university life and the application process.

Our Year 11 students had the opportunity to chat to Lily, who is studying Law at Lady Margaret Hall, Ellie, who is studying PPE at St Peter’s College, and Bruce, who is studying Chemistry at Exeter College. Students also met Finn, who is studying Economics and Management at St Edmund Hall, and Verity, who is reading History at Lincoln College.

It was a fantastic way to celebrate the end of our students' GCSE exams. We want to say a massive thank you to Exeter College, Oxford for hosting us!

Our Year 10 Geographers completed their second field trip last week, travelling to Bristol to look at how quality of life varies within the city. 

The students gathered data in a range of locations, explored the regeneration of Bristol's Harbourside, and travelled along the river on a boat tour to gain further insight into the changes in the area. 

Our students engaged well and produced some excellent work. Well done everyone!