Wednesday was a big day in school as we said farewell to our Year 13 students.

Many of the year group have been with us for seven years with others making a welcome contribution to the school for the two years they have been in our Sixth Form.

Thank you for all you have done for the school – we’ll miss you!

Ms Davidson included these words when she spoke to students at their final assembly.

She said, “Whatever you do in your timeline of life, make every day a gift. Ask yourselves what you can do to make your lives worthy and great. Cherish differences, focus on things that truly matter and tell family and friends that you love them. Be brave. Get amongst nature and live in the moment. Work to live, don’t live to work. Be still. Make meaningful, purposeful lives for yourselves and learn to improve and make a difference to the lives of others”.

During the assembly students were congratulated on their achievements in the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Olympiad Challenges.

Biology

Gold – Jago Bruce

Silver – Henry Spencer, Arek Kaniewski, India John, Tom Grigg

Bronze – Nathalie Widdecombe, Jim Luckhurst, Daniel Sewell, Daniel Symons Commended and Highly Commended Luke Julyan, James O’Connell, Catherine Williams

Chemistry

Silver – Tom Hill, Henry Spencer

Physics

Silver – George Irving

Bronze II – Alexander De Beer, Alexander Sells, Christopher Villaqviran, Isabelle Brown

Commendation – Edward Wrigley, Noah Kemp Stancer, Alexander Morgan, Ben Aitken, Jahan Rudge

Year 9 Double – Plymouth and Devon Cup

Congratulations to the Year 9 football team. The team has rounded off the season by taking the double after beating All Saints 4 – 1 in the final of the Plymouth Cup. The team has already won the Devon Cup.

Well done to Mr Manley and the team!

Excellent Work

Thank you to the Geography Department for successfully leading three days of Year 10 coursework this week. They enjoyed perfect weather conditions.

Head of Department, Mrs Green, said. “Students were collecting data to determine ‘What evidence there is that the coastline at Start Bay is affected by physical processes’. They measured the gradient to find the profile of the beach to see if it changes; they measured the sediment to see if it is affected by erosion and longshore drift. The group also looked at the management strategies and how effective they are (essentially not very as the A379 is currently closed as the ‘Beast from the East’ washed away a large part of the road).

Half Marathon Fund Raising

Well done and thank you to all students and staff who supported the half marathon competition and cake stall, raising funds to help Year 11 student Simon Gerry support Sam’s House, a much needed home from home for patients of Bristol Children’s Hospital and their families.

Yesterday I presented a token prize to students who were the closest in predicting the finish times of staff who ran the Plymouth Half Marathon.

Also, a special well done to Mr Alsop who finished the course on Sunday in an incredible seventh place!

Oliver Pentecost 9E (Mr Alsop 78.05)

Harvey Nicholson 7W (Mr Manley 104.17)

Jamie Anderson 7W, Daniel Atkin 7W, James Derx 8P (Mrs Green 150.07)

Mr Alsop on his way to securing seventh place

The school has been nominated by the Plymouth Herald in the Plymouth Community Awards in recognition of the fundraising day held during the autumn term which supported CLIC Sargent and the Teenage Cancer Trust. The award ceremony is due to be held on Monday 25 June.

Anti-bullying Ambassador Training Day

Thank you to Mrs Edwards for sending me this report on the recent training day.

Fifteen students went to Coombe Dean for an anti-bullying ambassador training course. The training was run by the Diana Award and the main aims were to give the ambassadors a clearer understanding of what is happening in schools across England in relation to bullying, how it affects victims, and give them ideas on how to address problems within their own schools.

The students took part in all sorts of activities to give them a better understanding, such as “The Perspective Game” where they would each have to say one thing good about themselves. If other participants thought they had the same trait they would combine to run under a parachute. Throughout the course of this task it became clear that there were many similarities and differences among them all. This showed them the importance of not making someone feel uncomfortable because of their differences and how to bring this forward to educate pupils back at school.

The anti-bullying ambassadors will be working closely with their fellow students to prevent bullying within the school.

Mrs Edwards

Sports Update

Devon Wednesday League presentation evening

As the football season draws to a close the school enjoyed a successful evening at the Devon Wednesday League presentation evening winning third place in the league, the Sporting Club Award, Goalkeeper of the Year and a £300 voucher for winning the Fair Play Award for Respect throughout the season.

Cricket

It was a great start for the U15s in the softball cricket competition, beating St Boniface by nine runs but a tough night for the U13 team earlier in the week when they lost to Mount Kelly.

Ultimate

Congratulations to the winning team in our Ultimate Draft League after a tightly contested final.

Mr McConnell said, “We had 44 players take part over the five weeks and it’s been great to see the 3G full after school every Thursday with boys playing Ultimate”.

Future Events

25 May – Final day of summer term one

26 May – 3 June half term

4 June – First day of summer term two (B week)

4 – 8 June Year 7 exam week

9 June 11+ Familiarisation tests (admission by pre-collected entry pack)

11 – 15 June Year 8 exam week

11 June PTFA summer raffle draw

20 June PTFA meeting

22 June GCSE exams finish

22 June Year 9 report

23 June Year 6 uniform day