Academy News

On Wednesday 4th December, our Academy Dance students took to the stage in front of a jam-packed audience for the Dance Showcase 2024.  This annual showcase is an opportunity for our students and their families to celebrate all their hard work over the past few months. 

Our Year 10, 11 and 12 BTEC Dance students showcased their coursework pieces, recreating professional repertoires such as 'Revelations' by Alvin Ailey and 'Dust' by Akram Khan. We also saw their self-choreographed work, showing their originality, creativity and impressive technical skills!

The fantastic Year 7 and 8 dance clubs brought a sense of joy and fun to the evening with their upbeat performances, showing their dedication and passion for dance. 

Our Year 9 Dance Company performed a stunning and thought-provoking piece, leaving our audience in awe of our students. 

It was an evening to remember, every student made the Dance department incredibly proud. A big thank you to all the families who came to support our dancers and a massive congratulations to all of our performers! 

Bones Apart is a highly acclaimed English all-female trombone quartet, so we were thrilled when the group visited the Academy to run a workshop with our students. 

The quartet has rapidly gained international recognition as a leading ensemble in brass chamber music. Its members bring together a wealth of performing experience at the highest level, from symphony and chamber orchestra to early and contemporary music to brass band and jazz.

In the first session of the morning, students from all years performed in the workshop and received constructive comments and advice about their playing from the professional musicians. We were impressed with how the students took the advice onboard, and we were able to use it to enhance their interpretations of the music performed and allow their personality and flair as performers to shine through. Congratulations to Freddie, Jamie, Doug, and Jason for their superb playing.

The second session immediately engaged Year 7 with a performance of a Renaissance piece of music. The workshop continued with arrangements of well-known pieces and gave us a taste of some of the many instrumental techniques possible on brass instruments, particularly the trombone. 

Towards the end of the session, Bones Apart fielded many interesting questions from the students. This was a moment of pure aspiration for all of the students. We know that some of the students will have been enthused to consider taking up playing an instrument, and we look forward to discussing the possibilities with them. 

A huge thank you to Bones Apart for sharing their knowledge with the students, it was an incredibly enlightening workshop. 

Our Sixth-Form students are preparing for an incredible adventure to Madagascar. Their dream of exploring this unique island nation is one step closer to reality, thanks to the generous support of Purgo, a local cleaning company.

During our recent LSP Business Breakfast, two inspiring students shared the Academy’s plans for the expedition and sought sponsorship to reduce additional expenses for the 22 students going on the expedition.

Purgo's generous offer will help make their once-in-a-lifetime journey possible as they have covered the cost of the travel and from the airport.

We extend our sincere gratitude to Purgo for their support. This kind gesture will undoubtedly enrich the lives of these students and inspire others to pursue their dreams.

This week, we were honoured to host the first LSP Schools Sixth Form Dodgeball Tournament, which brought together all four of the LSP secondary schools.

Two teams from each school battled it out for the coveted Dodgeball 2024 title. The event showcased the dedication and skills honed during Wednesday afternoon PE sessions.

We’re incredibly proud of our Academy teams who fought hard to secure second place. Well done to everyone involved!

A huge congratulations to Chew Valley School, the ultimate Dodgeball champions of 2024!

The weather held out, albeit a little on the frosty side, so we were back to a very busy week in sports at the Academy. Here’s how we got on:

Netball 

Our KS5 girls team competed in a tournament this week. It was a closely fought match, and the girls put in a stellar performance, but the other team claimed the win. Not defeated by the loss, the girls have turned their focus to improving their netball drills for the next tournament! 

The Year 8 North Somerset Netball tournament provided a platform for our talented young netballers to showcase their skills and teamwork. Both the purple and green teams demonstrated significant improvement throughout the season, culminating in a strong performance at the tournament.

The purple team secured a commendable third-place finish in their pool, while the green team exhibited remarkable growth and development as a cohesive unit. The team's dedication and hard work were evident in every match, and their positive attitude was inspiring.

Football 

Year 8 progressed in the Somerset Cup tournament this week, securing a solid 5-2 victory against St Katherine’s School!

Year 11 boys were involved in an end-to-end football cup tie this week, losing out 3-2 to Oldfield in a close run game. Congratulations to Will, who was named Player of the Match!

Our Year 7 Windsor students gathered this week to share some of the work they are most proud of since joining the Academy. 

Students brought along sturdy bird boxes, challenging algebra work, colourful artwork, creative writing and more. We had lots of fabulous work on display for us all to see! 

It was great to hear the students talking about the work they had created. It goes to show that hard work does pay off. Well done, Windsor!