ASPIRE Celebrating life at Coombeshead Academy FORTNIGHTLY ISSUE 8 ENGLISH RESULTS Congratulations to all of the Year 11 students who received their English GCSE Results last week! The students’ hard work paid off as Coombeshead Academy posted a fantastic set of Autumn results. All of our students should be proud of their commitment and dedication but a special mention should go to the following students for making a fantastic four (or more) levels of progress from Key Stage 2:                Ben Armitage Katherine Barham-Westcott Alex Blackburn Ellis Brine Austin Bryant Tom Bulley Olivia Campbell Rachael Caraher Alanna Gibbons Chris King Shay Newcombe Tia Perring Alex Stirland Kalen Warne Salwa Zayer We are all incredibly proud of you all! Well done Year 11! 30th January 2015 ENRICHMENT DON’T JUST SIT THERE! On January 28th Coombeshead Academy hosted our first ever clubs fair called the 'Don't Just Sit There Fair'. This unique idea was to try and set up a situation where local clubs with junior sections could come in and provide an inspiring showcase of opportunities for our young people. With 30 different clubs in attendance there was a wonderful variety of clubs and activities on show to students. From bowling to BMX to bell ringing, from Athletics to Art, windsurfing to water polo and table tennis to taiko drumming, students got a chance to see what is available in the local area. "It was good to get to see a range of clubs you wouldn't normally hear about" said Ellie Bailey from year 8. Staff signed up for activities too! "I'm so excited” said Miss Gee, “I can't wait to start something new when I move house!” “At Coombeshead Academy we believe passionately in doing what we can to enrich our students lives outside the classroom.” Said Mr Rose, who organised the event “It was very exciting to be doing something truly innovative to help our students grow from children into brilliant, dynamic, respectful, interesting, confident young adults. ENRICHMENT CHESS CLUB Maths are running a chess and games club in M4 every Thursday. The best pupils will go into the tournament at TBGS but all are welcome to come and have a game. Please speak to Miss Robertson for more details.. ENGLISH THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME The English team are delighted to announce that some lucky students will be able to see the West End production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The critically acclaimed play is travelling to Plymouth Theatre Royal in March and we have been able to secure tickets for this very popular production. The English team are always looking for different ways to experience and enjoy GCSE texts and we are sure this will be a great opportunity! If you'd like to join us, see Miss Turner or any member of the English team for details. AR GRADUATES Congratulations to the following students for becoming our AR graduates this term! With a reading age of 16 years or above, these students have graduated from our reading programme and can enjoy reading any books of their choice. Elicia Wreford Jake Corbett Mia Harvey Akina Bridden Ellen Carthew Chayton Jackson-Smith Poppy Lovick Liezal Parenzee Tom Smith Robyn Ellis-Wilkinson Ben Pead Darren Ashford Megan Lear Lauren McNulty Taryn Northway Eddie Stratton-Pratt Angus McCaffery SIXTH FORM ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT REBECCA SMALLSHAW When did you leave Coombeshead? 2013 How old are you now? 19 What did you study in 6th form? Psychology, Business Studies, ICT and Mathematics (to AS Level). Did you go to uni, if yes to study what? Plymouth University studying Primary Education with a Specialism of ICT and Computing. What was the best thing about 6th form? The connections I made with the teachers and the help I received throughout the two years. What was the worst? The stress of the exams and coursework, and the feeling of sometimes not achieving what you want! What was the most important life lesson you learnt in 6th form? That I can achieve anything if I really put my mind to it. I have always wanted to do the course that I am currently on and therefore achieving this goal was massive for me! If you could do it again, what would you change and why? I would listen to all the people that told me A Levels are a lot harder than GCSE's!!! PRIMARY LIAISON YEAR 3/4 AQUASPLASH FESTIVAL On Tuesday 20th January, Haydn Woolley, Casey Bearne and Vinia Willingham travelled to the WESC Foundation swimming pool in Exeter to lead at the Year 3 and 4 Aquasplash Festival. 72 excited primary students attended the event and took part in several different team races and games. During the warm up our sports leaders worked developing the students’ water confidence and teamwork skills. There were lots of ball games and woggles games involved and the leaders had just as much fun as the students. The afternoon was a huge success and helped lots of primary children face their fears. Our leaders were a fantastic advert for Coombeshead Academy and had lots of positive comments made about them. Well done all! NALC VISIT TO COUNCIL CHAMBERS On Monday 26th January, Assistant Headteacher Brian Whiffen took student counsellors representing local primary schools to visit Counsellor Jeremy Christophers at the Teignbridge District Council chambers. Cllr Christophers is the leader of Teignbridge District Council and he was keen to hear the children’s views on local issue that affect them directly or members of their school community. After an introduction to his role and responsibilities and an overview of how a district councils fits within the national political picture, Cllr Christophers held a questions and answer session where the primary children were able to express their views. Sitting in official chairs using the official microphone system normally reserved for the official meetings and business made it all very official! Topics of interest included the banning of ecigarettes in any public building, cycle and bridle paths, dog fouling, potholes and sports provision. As always, the student council were eloquent, wellinformed and mature in the way they spoke and acted. An excellent afternoon was had by all involved. SPORT & PE TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIP Last week we travelled to Teignmouth Community School to take part in the South Dartmoor Partnership Team Table Tennis Championship. Due to the popularity of table tennis at Coombeshead we were able to field two squads in the tournament. A very strong competition saw our year 11 squad struggle to earn victories. However, the successes of Joe and Tom against Newton Abbot College enabled the team to gain a draw in this match, but there were narrow defeats against Teign and Teignmouth. The Year 9 team enjoyed good wins over Teignmouth ‘B’ and Newton Abbot College. There was a draw against Teignmouth ‘A’ and a defeat to Teign on the way to a strong 2nd place finish. Finishing in the top two earns the team a place in the Devon ‘Winter’ Youth Games later in the year and the boys have already begun training with the aim of going one better! Year 11: Alex Fogden, James Allen, Joe Kitto and Tom Gillett Year 9: Tyson Gelden, James Burgess, Harrison Moss, George Thomas and Tyler Joint WATERPOLO Congratulations to Heather Tomlinson and Haydn Woolley on being selected for the Great Britain waterpolo training squad. Heather and Haydn will join up with the squad as they prepare for several upcoming European tournaments. On average both students spend around 12 hours every week swimming and training with Newton Abbot Waterpolo club and the Exeter Regional squad. "I am excited and very proud of myself for getting into the GB U15 talent squad" said Heather, “Each training weekend they test you on different skills and expect you to improve a bit each time.” This is a fantastic achievement for both students. Well done Haydn and Heather! SPORT & PE YEAR 9 GIRLS 7-A-SIDE FOOTBALL The year 9 girls’ 7-a-side football team, which consisted of a mixture of year 8 and 9, headed to Torquay Academy for the Central Venue League on the 20th Jan. The girls completed the league programme with a 100% win record and were very much the 'talk of the tournament. Well done, you were amazing as always! MATCHES: 7-0 vs St Cuthbert Mayne 8-2 vs Westlands, 4-0 vs Torquay Academy, 2-0 vs Paignton Community College 2-0 vs Churston Grammar. TEAM: Chloe Driscoll Imogen Fuller Ella-Mae Miller Dani Tyson Georgia Wilson Jess Pugh Jess Dendy Tilly Harper LIONS GROUP ATTENDS BADMINTON FESTIVAL On Tuesday 13th January the Coombeshead Academy Lions group headed to Dyrons Leisure Centre for a Badminton festival. The Lions group is for a select few students that have shown enthusiasm and interest in Sport and PE lessons but might not necessarily get a chance to represent the school in activities. We feel that these pupils deserve to be rewarded for their hard work with an opportunity once a term to experience a Coombeshead Academy Lions: Patrick Pook, Eve new and enjoyable activity outside of the Hirst, Eve Hunt, Chloe Roberts, Tarryn Northway, Maia school setting. Groombridge and Sammy Beaumont The group all took part in the group along with Miss Hardingham where they had an afternoon full of Badminton games and different skills activities. The students worked in different groups around various stations including skill development, how to score and game play. All of the students were enthusiastic and had a lot of fun. Next up for the Lions will be beach volleyball in the summer term. E PRAISE TOP TUTOR GROUPS 1. Y7 Carthew/Farleigh (1976) 2. Y9 T Smith (1946) 3. Y7 P Masters (1928) 4. Y7 C Kingscott (1925) 5. Y7 H Burningham (1915) 6. Y7 E Snowdowne (1893) 7. Y7 S Medhurst (1708) 8. Y9 D Harbottle (1499) 9. Y9 J Tripcony (1428) 10. Y10 E Hardingham (1317) DIARY DATES  Monday 16th Feb - Friday 20th Feb - Half Term  Thursday 5th March - World Book Day  Thursday 12th March - Year 10 Parents Evening  Friday 13th March - Comic Relief   Thursday 26th March - Post 16 Parents Evening Monday 30th March – Friday 10th April - Easter Break AR LEAGUE