ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó

Congratulations to all students collecting GCSE results yesterday!

Half the grades awarded across all GCSEs were grades 9-7, with the average overall grade between 6 and 7. This is a superb achievement for the year group affected by the lockdowns in years 7 and 8, which significantly disrupted the start of their secondary education.

There are many individual success stories, and I look forward to congratulating the cohort in person when school returns and at the autumn celebration evening. However, having published the sixth-form success of twins Josh and Will Powles last week (Will studying the International Baccalaureate and Josh A levels, and both achieving places to study medicine at Exeter), it seems fitting celebrate twins Sam and Nathan Beattie’s GCSE achievement today, as Nathan will now be pursuing A levels and Sam the IB. They studied 21 GCSEs between them, 14 of which were grade 9s.

For those who may be experiencing some disappointment, remember that there are staff here to talk to. Please see the information about retakes and remarks attached to your results, and keep in mind this is just one milestone in your ongoing learning journey.

We welcome most students back to continue their studies at ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó in the sixth form, choosing either the A-level or International Baccalaureate route. However, if you are moving on at this point to pursue a different type of course elsewhere, we wish you well with the next steps of your studies, and hope you look back fondly on your time at ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó.

Enjoy the last part of summer.

Dr James Hunt

For the past two years the Languages Department has been using This is School (previously called This is Language) for Spanish and German. This is School gives students the opportunity to practise their Listening skills with a range of videos and activities, as well as learning vocabulary and watching short videos about all the key grammatical points and practising the grammar with activities.

Torquay Boys’ Grammar School is one of the top 10 highest ranking schools in the UK for the academic year 23/24. It’s incredible! Just look at the data:
• Our students have answered an impressive 247,507 questions correctly
• Our students have successfully received instant feedback on 27,990 assignments
• Based on the benchmark research, continued usage by students at this level will lead to demonstrable increase in attainment at GCSE or equivalent.
• Judging by their funky avatars, our students have been putting the 371,260 peanuts they’ve earned to good use. We love to see that creativity!
This is an amazing achievement by our students and really demonstrates the huge value and fun that Torquay Boys’ Grammar School is getting from your partnership with This is School. We are very proud.

Congratulations to all the cast, crew and orchestra who took part in this year’s show. The production was a magical retelling of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast; with 135 students and dozens of staff and parents involved, not only did the show reach it’s usual professional standard, but achieved a palpable sense of community. The fairy tale is about the power of others to influence a positive changes on individuals. No more true is that through the team work and collaboration achieved through the shared endeavour of the show, which allowed so many people to achieve something excellent.

Sports Day 2023 was a success on so many levels. From the high quality athletics to the feverish support of their peers, all students were involved in creating a wonderful atmosphere at Torre Valley North last Friday.  It is not often you see one record broken in a year but this year we had 10 broken, 3 of these by one individual Toby Moxham, 7B.

Toby broke both the Year 7 100m and 200m individual records, whilst being part of the Burgh house relay team that broke the Year 7 4x100m record (an event in which the top 3 teams broke the previous best).

Alongside this Ise Aworinde broke 2 records, Year 9 Long Jump and was part of the Year 9 Rougemont relay team that broke the record.  Mention should also go to Ruben O’Neil Cutipa who broke the Year 7 High Jump record, the Year 8, 9 and 12 Goodrington ‘B’ Relay Teams and the Year 12 Burgh team for breaking the relay records.

Overall at the end of an excellent day the standing were as follows, with Rougemont being crowned winners of Sports Day 2023.
1. Rougemont
2. Burgh
3. Goodrington
4. Fox Tor
5. Haldon
6. Dart

It is with huge delight that I am able to report all of our six teams, thirty-six students in all, successfully completed Ten Tors 2023. A huge congratulations to all students who engaged with the event but also the training process. We have trained about eighty different students this year and each will have gained something from the experience so well done to all of them. Also, a big thank you to staff for volunteering huge amounts of their personal time and their commitment to ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó students. The same goes to our colleagues from the National Trust, in particular Pete Davies, without whose expertise the programme in its current form would not be possible.

Torquay Boys’ Grammar School is reaching for the heights, preparing this year’s musical, In The Heights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Students from both ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó and TGGS have joined forces, as is annual tradition, and have been busily preparing the spring spectacular, since September. This year’s show is an upbeat homage to life in Washington Heights, a largely Dominican neighbourhood of modern-day New York.

Imagined by Lin Manuel Miranda, who brought us Hamilton and Encanto, this story is full of toe-tapping Salsa and hip-hop infused rhythms that are sure to be crowd pleasers. The story follows the characters balancing their hopes and dreams against the pull of finding a sense of home and belonging amongst their local community.

The cast have learnt many new skills with adapting to a very different style of music, and the 70 cast have worked really hard on perfecting the choral harmonies that make this show so uplifting, especially when accompanied by the talented 20+ strong orchestra.

The story is narrated by Usnavi (Jono Chant-Stevens), who runs a small bodega with his nephew Sonny (Charlie Baker). The shop sits alongside a cab company run by the Kevin and Camila Rosario (Josh Escott and Chloe Firrell) and Daniella and Carla’s (Grace Williams and Evie Perkins) salon. The community that interact within this small district of shops witnesses the blossoming relationships of Benny (Piran Wills) and Nina (Charlotte Key), and Vanessa (Hermoine Whetton) and Usnavi, alongside the daily struggles of Carla (Evie Perkins), a street seller, Piragua Guy (David Cooper) and local vandal, Graffiti Pete (Fin Gribbin), and all held together by the matriarchal figurehead of Abuela Claudia (Ellie Schaefer Davis).

With so many students involved, this is sure to be a powerful and uplifting production with something for everyone. Tickets are available now: . The production is often sold out by the end of the week, so book in advance to avoid disappointment.

Nervous smiles quickly turned to happy ones on the 5 of July when the 55 IB students collected their results.  They performed exceedingly well achieving with an average point score of 38.5% – the school’s highest ever! Their triumph is even more impressive when considered in wider context; the last time that students sat exams in 2019 the worldwide average was 30 points. Oxbridge offers start at 38 points and 34 of the 55 students achieved a score of 38 or higher. Half of the cohort scored 40 points (equivalent to 4 A* grades at A level) or better.  Clearly, their dedication and hard work paid off with a set of phenomenal results that all 55 can be rightly proud of.

While all of the cohort have earned hearty congratulations it is worth noting that 6 students – William Aitken, Michael Sinnott, Isobel Thomas, Max Fullalove, Max Bowden and Sam Grimshaw – achieved 44 out of 45 points. In 2019 the percentage of students achieving a score of 44 or higher worldwide was 1.2%, and with these results, 11% of our cohort achieved this score. Further success came with Rupert Hill, Jack Jones and Sarah Probert all earning places at Oxford and Max Fullalove gaining a spot at Cambridge.

The International Baccalaureate is a high status qualification respected by universities and employers, as it develops lifelong skills – critical thinking, broad knowledge, open-mindedness. Students have to continue study of English, Maths, Science, a social science, and a language.

The uncertainties of the last few years make the outstanding performances of these 55 students even more impressive.  Not only did they all face the challenges of remote learning, but until May, they had had never sat formal public examinations.  Their impressive results are, therefore, not only evidence of their high academic abilities and hard work but also a testament to their sterling qualities as human beings.  We wish them the best of luck in all their future endeavours as they build on the impressive foundations they have laid.

Congratulations to all six ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó and National Trust teams who successfully completed this year’s Ten Tors Challenge!

The Ten Tors 2022 event was preceded by some trepidation but also anticipation this year. After two years of the event being unfortunately cancelled, it was a relief to be finally able to restore this hugely beneficial part of school life.

At the beginning of the year, it was clear to see the pent-up frustrations of students living under lockdowns with over one hundred students signing up to be involved in the event. Over the course of a year’s tough training, this became 37 competitors and reserves for the Ten Tors weekend.

Huge congratulations go to these 37 students for what they have achieved this year. As a teacher, it is so heart-warming to see the best characteristics encapsulated so prominently in a group of young people.

Leadership, team work, resilience, and maturity were all on full display over the Ten Tors event and both Torquay Boys’ Grammar School and National Trust Teams put in very impressive performances.

The ÖÆ·þÓÕ»ó 45s came back 1^st in the morning and the NT 45s 3^rd in their distance. All 35-mile teams across the two organisations came back before 2:30pm.

As always, so many thanks are needed for so many people who make a year’s worth of training at weekends and all the preparation and organisation for the event possible. Particular thanks of course to our colleagues in the National Trust and particularly Pete Davies.

We have had 19 adult helpers this year, and without them we simply would not be able to provide such an opportunity to young people. We are sincerely grateful. Well done to all and bring on 2023!

Thank you so much to all of the parents and students who donated items to our appeal at the start of March. We were completely overwhelmed by the generosity of our school community – as were Torbay Rotary Club who organised the collection and delivery of all the much needed items to Ukraine and Poland.

Thank you also to the team of sixth forms and staff who helped to sort all the donations, label all of the bags and boxes and transport the huge volume of donated goods between different parts of the school – it really was a team effort!

Students from Torquay Boys’ and Girls’ Grammar schools have just completed an electric production of Sweeney Todd, held over four nights in the Cavannah Centenary Hall, March 8-11, 2022.

Work started six months before with rehearsals for cast and orchestra, at the start of the academic year: those familiar with the show will know it is a huge challenge in terms of complexity of the music, characterisation and staging. Despite the hurdles to overcome (blood special effects, teasing out the light with such dark characters, and endless music-action cues, to name a few) it turned about to be the perfect show choice as a spectacular to welcome the community back to school as we edge back to normal from the pandemic.

Over 100 people were involved either on or off stage, as well as in the orchestra; all their contributions were invaluable in bringing the story to life on stage, and no doubt a hair-raising experience that will be long remembered.