Academy News

Miss Hockin, Mr Slater and Ms North had a fantastic time accompanying students to Berlin over half term. We packed a great deal into our few days, visiting many of the sites studied at A Level History while also experiencing some of the best of German culture.

On our first day, we enjoyed a walking tour of the city, taking in some of Berlin’s most significant historical landmarks, including the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Hitler’s bunker, Checkpoint Charlie and several Holocaust memorial sites. After lunch, we visited an underground network of shelters, where we learnt more about how people would have sought protection in the event of a nuclear attack during the Cold War.

Following some evening free time, we were up bright and early the next morning for a visit to Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp. Our guided tour provided a powerful insight into the Holocaust and the experiences of those imprisoned there. The students' respectful behaviour, thoughtful questions and attentive listening throughout the visit were exemplary.

After a busy morning, we enjoyed some free time at the Mall of Berlin, followed by bowling and an evening meal together.

On our final day, we travelled to the outskirts of Berlin to visit the former Stasi Prison. We were fortunate to have an incredibly knowledgeable tour guide whose husband had been the subject of an extensive Stasi file after attempting to escape East Berlin on several occasions. Her personal insight and in-depth storytelling made a real impression on the students, with many commenting that this was the highlight of the trip.

We then made a quick stop at the Panoramapunkt to enjoy spectacular views across Berlin before heading to the German Spy Museum. The interactive activities, including the laser challenge, lie detector tests and the opportunity to put our James Bond skills to the test, proved great fun for both students and staff!

This brought our action-packed trip to an end. The flight home was filled with laughter and students enjoying the company of their peers.

Miss Hockin was incredibly proud of every student throughout the trip. Their fantastic behaviour, thoughtful conversations and reflections, and the way they supported and interacted with one another made the experience particularly special. Every tour guide commented on how kind, respectful and genuinely interested our students were.

A huge thank you to all the students for making the trip so enjoyable, and to their families for their support in making it possible. We hope everyone took away some wonderful memories, as well as a deeper understanding of Berlin's fascinating and complex history!

Amber has made a really strong start to her BTEC Dance course, pushing herself out of her comfort zone to learn new styles of dance, maintaining a positive and committed manner at all times.

In her theory lessons, Amber makes contributions to discussions and demonstrates a really strong work ethic and desire to do her best. We can't wait to see how she progresses this year!

Congratulations to our Year 12 Food Science students, who have successfully achieved their Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification!

This is a fantastic achievement and recognises their understanding of the importance of food safety, hygiene and safe food handling practices. These valuable skills will support them in their future studies and careers within the food industry.

Well done to everyone involved – a great achievement to be proud of!

The girls took centre stage this week with our Netball and Hockey teams competing. Check out how they got on below:

KS3 Netball Face Priory School 

Our KS3 Netball teams had a fantastic afternoon against Priory this week. Our Year 7 team was up first, it was a close first half however Priory got the win in the end with a final score of 2-5. 

Up next was our Year 8 team, who demonstrated their new skills against a tough opposition team. The final score ended in Priory’s favour at 3-6. 

Last but certainly not least was our Year 9 team, who absolutely SMASHED their opponents with their strongest game of the season to date. A celebration was truly in order as the game finished with a final score of 15-0 to Churchill. Amazing! 

Players of the match for each team were:

Year 7 - Holly

Year 8 - Esmee

Year 9 - Jess 

Well done to all of our Netball players! 

KS4 Hockey’s Victorious Afternoon 

Our KS4 Hockey team faced Priory school this week, it was incredible to see their skills progression and teamwork.  Churchill scored 7 goals throughout the game, bringing the final score to an amazing 7-0 to Churchill. Wow! 

Our goal scorers were Emily, Katie, Isis, Maddy & Katie, with Isis being awarded Player of the Match.  Well done!

Congratulations to Thomas, Tyler and Holly, who represented Churchill brilliantly at the Geographical Association’s Worldwide Quiz on Wednesday, hosted at the University of Bristol.

Competing against 10 teams from other schools, they achieved an excellent 5th-place finish overall!

The team demonstrated fantastic geographical knowledge throughout the competition and were superb ambassadors for Churchill. Well done to all three!

Are you a parent at the Academy who would like to play a part in supporting the Academy community? Come along to the inaugural meeting of Friends of Churchill on 25th November, 6pm–7pm.

The group will be an opportunity for parents to come together, share ideas and explore how we can work in partnership with the school to support its work and strengthen the experience of all our students.

At the meeting, we’ll:

• Discuss how parents can work together to support the school’s work

• Explore the Parent Friendly Schools framework and how its five key drivers can help us develop stronger parent–school partnerships

• Meet other interested parents, with a view to forming a Friends of Churchill group

There is absolutely no commitment – just come along, find out more and see whether it’s something you’d be interested in being part of.

The meeting is open to parents of Churchill Academy & Sixth Form students only.

Sign up here to let us know you’d be interested. We’d love to see you there and hear your ideas!