Academy News

On Thursday afternoon, the Vocabulary Competition Grand Final saw our top wordsmiths go head-to-head in an intense battle of words. Contestants were challenged to define increasingly complex words, from ‘tantamount’ to ‘spiel’, in a series of exciting rounds.

Highlights included the tricky "Spot the Antonym" challenge and the high-speed "Quick Draw" round, where students raced to identify the correct definitions.

A huge congratulations to Kate for claiming the top spot as this year's champion, with Ailidh as runner-up and Zak securing 3rd place.

Well done to all participants for showcasing their linguistic brilliance!

It has been a thrilling busy week for our sports teams, here is how they all got on: 

Year 7 & 8 find success at the South Schools Athletics Competition

As the first round began this week, our Year 8 team took the competition by storm, securing the well-deserved top spot. Year 7 was not to be overlooked either, coming in to take second place behind our Year 8 team. Well done everyone, onto the next round! 

Year 7 visit Priory School for the Rugby Festival 

On Wednesday, the Academy took 16 of our Year 7 boys to the Rugby Festival hosted by Priory School. All the schools involved played some great rugby; however, our boys put on a dominant display, winning all five games, scoring 19 tries, and only conceding 2! 

The boys all showed great enthusiasm and desire, it was incredible to see how much their confidence has grown since their first tournament in Term 1. Well done boys, keep it up! 

Year 7 girls face nine schools in a Netball tournament

We took two Year 7 teams, red and blue, to a netball tournament to face nine other schools this week. The red team played brilliantly, with matches against some worthy opponents and finished the day in 5th place. The blue team gave it their all, securing third place in the tournament. 

It was great to see how everyone’s netball skills have progressed throughout the term and the effort all of our girls put in at every match. Well done everybody! 

Year 10 Rugby has another successful game!

On Thursday, our Year 10 boys visited Kings of Wessex for a rugby match. It was an exciting game, with everybody putting their all in. The final score was 27-12, securing a well-earned victory for the Academy. Well done, boys! 

Year 7 and 8 Netball team experience their first fixture!

Our Year 7 and 8 girls netball team visited Priory School this week to play in their first school fixture of the year, and for some students their first fixture ever.  They played excellently, giving them invaluable experience. Well done girls! 

 

 

The Churchill Music Young Musician of the Year 2025 competition semi-finals took place this week with a series of lunchtime concerts. Students competed for a place in the final, which will take place at St John's Church on Monday 27th January 2025, at 6 pm. 

Students performed a section of the piece they hoped to present in the final. Overall we were enthralled by the high calibre of musicianship and variety of musical styles on show making it a tough competition to judge! 

Congratulations to all of the competitors for their incredible performances. The finalists will be notified in due course, but we can guarantee that the final will be a fiercely contested affair that you do not want to miss!

Jens Hullah, a former student of Churchill Academy & Sixth Form, returned to his roots to inspire the next generation of athletes. Jens, who currently represents Great Britain in the Europa Cup for Bobsleigh, recently visited the Academy to share his experiences with Year 12 A-Level PE students.

During his talk, Hullah provided an in-depth look at his journey from being scouted to competing at an international level. He emphasised the importance of perseverance, adaptability, and seizing opportunities, recounting how these traits were pivotal in his rise to elite sports.

In addition to sharing personal anecdotes, Jens offered a candid view of the challenges faced by elite athletes, from gruelling training sessions to the mental and physical demands of high-level competition. His message resonated with students, leaving them inspired and equipped with a realistic understanding of what it takes to excel in sports.

Jens concluded his presentation with his empowering mantra: "Be 1% better every day" and encouraged students to pursue consistent self-improvement in their own lives, whether in sports or other endeavours.

Thank you Jens for returning to see us and giving us all such an inspiring afternoon!

We were pleased to welcome so many students and their families into the Academy at this year's Careers Convention.  

On Monday, the Academy took two teams to Bristol Grammar School to compete in the Regional Qualification for the National Schools Chess Competition, where they faced twenty-eight teams. 

The National Schools Chess Competition is a prestigious competition run formerly by the Sunday Times and then the Times Championship. Now, with the generous sponsorship of Winchester College, it has run since 1957. 

Our first team put in a fine performance beating Hanham Woods, Clifton High School and Denmark Road, easily qualifying for the National stages.  

Our second team narrowly missed out on qualifying, losing to Kings Bruton, Commonweal, and Clifton High School. However, they did draw against Clevedon School. 

Noteworthy performances were by Henry, Leo, and Austin, who all made their debuts on the senior team!

A very big well done to the whole squad. We are looking forward to the next round of the competition, which will take place in the New Year.

Chess Club is held in W6, every Tuesday lunchtime with Mr Skeen. All standards are welcome, please come along and check it out!