Churston Grammar

The Alice in Wonderland production had a hugely successful run of three nights. The cast and crew were professional throughout and well received by the audience.

"Phenomenal performance! Thoroughly entertaining throughout including the interval. Huge congratulations to absolutely everyone involved. Costumes were amazing! Many talented actors/actresses in the making. Could happily watch it all over again!" Julie Bradley

To see more photos, click here...

This years annual Awards Evening celebrated students who have excelled in their external examinations, be they GCSEs or A Levels. To be the top achieving student, or the student who made the most progress at a selective school does not need speeches from the Headteacher or a distinguished guest to add gravitas. Quite simply they are the ‘best of the best ‘.

At the event Bob Owers, Headteacher, said "Recognition also needs to go to all the students, staff, parents and governors who made 2017 a successful year. There is no doubt that 2017 was a very challenging year for students and staff at Churston. Year 11 students were the ‘guinea pigs’ for new GCSEs in English and Maths and Year 13 were in a similar position with many new A Levels. However students rose to the challenge and produced some outstanding results. The Year 12 students gaining an award this evening averaged more than an A* grade per entry. This was possible because of the new Grade 9 in English and Maths which is set at a level above the old A* grade. At A Level the achievements were equally outstanding; we will be recognising the Year 13 students who achieved the top mark in each subject in the school. We are very privileged to work with such talented students."

For more pictures from the evening taken by student Rhys Hurd, please click here...

The school's DofE programme is real success story – so far in the past year we have had the following numbers of completed awards;

Bronze - 78

Silver - 18

Gold – 12

There is an Expedition Information Evening Wed 7th Feb 2018 (4-6pm). This event is for parents/guardians of new Bronzes in Year 10, and also parents/guardians of Silvers and Golds who have not done the previous level of the award with CFGS, or are new to DofE.

The format of the evening will be;

A presentation at 4.15-4.30 and a repeat of the same presentation at 5.30-5.45. Either side of those times we will operate a drop in session for questions about buying the right waterproofs, choosing a rucksack, borrowing kit etc. You may stay for as little or as long as you choose! We hope to see you there!

Year 9 have been asked to complete a short survey to gauge interest in enrolling for Bronze DofE. This needs to be completed by January 19th. There will be an assembly, and then enrolment information will be emailed to students and parents. Deadline for enrolment will be February half term, after which Year 9 Bronzes will be able to start their Physical, Skill and Volunteering sections.

In November, Year 7s enjoyed a day focusing on self esteem - where they attended 6 workshops ranging from Music and Drama, to Relationships and Body Image. The focus was on mindfulness and reflection.

Towards the end of term, sixth formers took part in a day focusing on Mental Health and Wellbeing. They attended a talk from guest speaker Chukumeka Maxwell and then took part in a range of workshops throughout the day, from Mindfulness and Relax Movement to a useful Nutrition session, plus an afternoon of activities such as trail running, art therapy, dance, music and cookery.

Nicola Risdon, Teacher and Fully Qualified Counsellor, said:

"There has been lots of positive feedback from students. Hopefully they will have come away from the day with some strategies and information to develop and maintain their health and wellbeing."

We were lucky enough to have 4 ex-student guest speakers come into school and talk about how apprenticeships have been beneficial to their own personal careers paths. A small group of sixth formers and Year 11s were invited to listen to the experiences and thoughts of Evan Harakis from Leonard Cheshire Homes; Jack Sudworth from Effect Photonics; Adam Gower from Aston Martin and Sam Dodge from Bristol RFU.

If you are an ex-student and would like to be part of the Churston Alumni please click here...

Churston Sixth Former Weida Liao beat thousands of candidates from across the U.K. to record one of the highest scores in the new A-level Chemistry examinations.

This fantastic success was recently celebrated at a prestigious awards ceremony in London. Weida was the recipient of a cash prize from the Salters’ Institute, where she enjoyed a superb lunch with guests, following a successful first term reading Mathematics at the University of Cambridge. Dr Chris Hall, the Head of Chemistry at Churston, is delighted that her exceptional ability and hard work have been so well rewarded.

House Drama (Year 7-11)

During the Autumn term the House Drama theme was to present a performance based on representing the year 2017 and it was won by Christie.

Christmas Hampers

Christmas Hampers were all delivered by the nominating students in the final week of term. The hampers were gratefully received by the local community.

Decorated Christmas Tree Competition

Students were given the task of decorating a christmas tree in a way that represents the year 2017 in any way they chose. They also had the opportunity to carry out a performance to enhance their decoration. Judges scored each tutor group based on effort, artistic merit, creativity and originality and performance.

Results were as follows:

Year 7 - 1st Gilbert, 2nd Singer, 3rd Christie, 4th Brunel, 5th Thompson

Year 8 - 1st Christie, =2nd Singer/Thompson , 4th Gilbert, 5th Brunel

Year 9 - 1st Christie, 2nd Singer, 3rd Thompson, 4th Brunel, 5th Gilbert

Year 10 - =1st Thompson, 2nd Singer, 3rd Christie, 4th Brunel, No entry Gilbert

Year 11 - 1st Brunel, 2nd Thompson, 3rd Singer, 4th Christie, No entry Gilbert

Great Churston Bake Off

As a year group they managed to raise an amazing £532.97 for the house charities.

The results of the individual tutor group amounts are as follows:

1st - Brunel £151.06 (100HP)

2nd - Singer £104.64 (80HP)

3rd - Gilbert £102.46 (60HP)

4th - Christie £88.25 (40HP)

5th - Thompson £86.56 (20HP)

In aid of Children in Need, students and teachers took part in a charity game of Dodge Ball. The students seemed to have a great time throwing things at teachers!

The school raised a total of £205.25 for Children in Need.
Well done to everyone involved.

It is not easy juggling life in a new school with the life of an elite gymnast. However, despite the demands of both gymnastics and school work she has managed to balance completion of school work with her regional and national competitions.

Year 7's Safina Crocker has recently been crowned:

South West Grade 2 Champion 2017

British Grade 2 Beam Champion 2017

South West FIG Espoir Champion 2017

She also competed in her 1st International Competition representing the South West of England with her team where they won Team Silver

Over the competition season, Saffi competed in the South West regional championships, and became South West Grade 2 Champion . This meant she qualified for the national finals, where she finished in 17th place for all of Great Britain.

Saffi also competed in the South West age group championships, where she was one of the youngest. Despite this she managed to become South West FIG Espoir champion, qualifying for the national challenge cup final, where she finished a credible 32nd out of the 75 competitors. Leading on from this she was picked to compete at the International Rosebowl championships.

Well done Safina - we look forward to hearing about your achievements in 2018!

Email: secretary@churston.torbay.sch.uk
Website: www.churstongrammar.com
Phone: 01803 842289
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/churstongrammar