Academy News

Here at the Academy, we are proud to be part of the Fish Heroes Programme, an inspiring initiative that ensures every child has the opportunity to prepare, cook and enjoy fish before leaving school. The programme promotes both essential cookery skills and healthy eating habits.

This week, we were delighted to welcome Simon Gray, a representative of the Fish Heroes Programme, who delivered three engaging lessons to our Year 9 students. These students have chosen to study GCSE Food & Nutrition starting this September, and Simon's sessions offered them a fantastic head start.

Throughout the lessons, students learned about various types of fish, sustainable fishing practices, and key preparation, cooking, and presentation techniques. Their enthusiasm and focus were matched by the high-quality ingredients provided for the sessions.

We were incredibly fortunate to receive a generous donation of fresh fish from The Fishmongers' Company. Their support helped create an exciting and hands-on learning experience that the students will not forget. 

A huge thank you goes to Simon Gray, The Fishmongers' Company, and everyone involved in the Fish Heroes Programme for their generosity and knowledge. You've helped spark a passion for cooking that will benefit our students for years to come.

Our students have produced some truly outstanding pieces of art this term, so much so, it was impossible to choose just one for Artwork of the Term! 

Thomas (Year 7) impressed us with his Fauvism-inspired landscape, using bold colours and expressive mark-making in oil pastels.

Talia (Year 9) created a beautiful textile piece inspired by fallen leaves and nature, combining printing techniques with delicate hand embroidery.

Monty (Year 9) wowed us with his observational portrait drawings, showcasing excellent use of line and tone in pencil.

We’re incredibly proud of the creativity and talent on display—well done to all our young artists!

Teresa has worked really hard in Dance this year, representing the Academy at the North Somerset Dance Festival and the Strictly Dance Fever competition. 

Teresa continues to impress us with her development of skills, leadership and dedication to dance. Well done Teresa!

Sports Day 2025 was a record-breaking afternoon, with over 10 school records broken and 37 house records! 

The sun shone throughout the entire day, and our students were treated to motivating tunes from Mr Spencer and Mrs Bones, creating the perfect atmosphere to keep the energy high.  

The events kicked off with the highly anticipated lug of war battles and field events, consisting of javelin, shot putt, long jump, high jump and wellie wanging. With impressive results across the board, it was great to see the determination and hard work every student poured into the events. 

The afternoon featured our track events, including the 100m, 300m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m races, as well as the grand relay finale. Every race was down to the wire as our students put on a show of skill all afternoon. 

Throughout the day, our wonderful Sixth Form students provided much needed ice creams and drinks to us all, raising money for their 2026 Year 13 Ball.  

We also saw teachers cooling off in a "Teacher Soak" where students were able to pay 50p to throw a sopping sponge at the teacher of the hour, all in the name of charity! We had different teachers throughout the day, including Mr Hildrew, who drew quite the crowd. It was a definite highlight, resulting in a whopping £272.72 for charity! 

As the afternoon drew to a close, the scores were closer than ever, leaving the relay to be the deciding factor of the 2025 Sports Day winners.  

Ultimately, it was Lancaster who triumphed, taking home the coveted trophy in recognition of their outstanding relay performance! 

Lastly, but certainly not least, the tug of war scores were totalled and Hanover kept their streak going, taking home the tug of war trophy for another year!

Check out all the record breakers below.
 

Thursday evening saw yet another successful edition of Strictly Dance Fever. The talent on display was sensational, with every performer giving their all to impress the packed Academy Hall.

The evening was expertly compered by former students Oli and Mair. The difficult task of selecting the winners fell to our panel of judges: Shelley Lippe, Vicki Cook, and Lindsey Murphy.

There were three performance categories on the night:

Solo Winner: Flo (Year 8)

Duet Winners: Charlotte and Gracie (both Year 10)

Group Winners: A large ensemble choreographed by KS3 Dance Captain Sophia featuring Evelyn, Florence, Darcey, Analucia, Olive, Kathryn, Holly, Scarlet, and Brooke.

The overall winning piece was a technically demanding and powerful tap solo, choreographed and performed by Flo (Year 8). The decision was hugely popular with the audience, and Flo was awarded the Strictly Dance Fever trophy.

The Best Performer trophy was presented to Mati (Year 8) for her outstanding contributions throughout the show, while Chace was honoured with the Future Star award.

We were also proud to present badges to our newly appointed Dance Captains: Leah (KS3 Dance Captain) and Hannah (KS4 Dance Captain). Both girls have big shoes to fill, but we are confident they will rise to the challenge and lead with enthusiasm.

Team Food recently took part in an extraordinary event: an attempt to break the Guinness World Record for the largest cooking lesson ever held. The previous record, set in Poland in 2015 by the Partnership for Health, involved 6,778 participants across 89 schools. This time, the goal was to go much bigger. 

The cooking lesson focused on making homemade pasta paired with a simple, delicious tomato sauce; a recipe that’s accessible, fun, and perfect for all skill levels.

Our students' response was incredible. Over 80 students applied to take part, and 21 were selected to join the record-breaking attempt. The group included a fantastic mix of year groups, and students eagerly stepped out of their comfort zones, partnering with peers from different years. It created an atmosphere of collaboration, learning, and connection.

And we didn’t just break the record - we absolutely smashed it. More than 700 schools participated, setting a new global benchmark with an estimated 15,000 participants. To make the day even more memorable, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver joined the lesson live, chatting with students and sharing his passion for pasta. When we asked Jamie what his favourite pasta was, he dove into an impromptu segment celebrating all things pasta, a real highlight for everyone involved.

The event was a record-breaking moment, a chance to learn new skills, and, best of all, provided a delicious meal to share at the end. We’re grateful to Jamie Oliver and the event organisers for giving us the opportunity to be part of such a special day. 

If you'd like to recreate the pasta dish we made, here is the recipe!