Events
News
World Challenge Preparation
On Saturday the 13th of October a group of Year 12s and 13s gathered at the bus bays at 6:30 am to set off to Cannock in order to embark on the beginning of their world challenge practice expedition for Madagascar in 2019.
After two hours of travelling and a few stops every so often, we had made our way to the campsite where we would be staying for the weekend. Unfortunately, the weather had not been on our side, as the ground was wet and the temperature was even more unpredictable than the ground we would end up trekking on. Once we had arrived it wasn’t long until we met with our guide (who we may or may not have been calling the wrong name for the duration of our journey) and to our dismay were promptly ordered to repack everything we had put in our daysacks and instead to place the majority of it into our holdalls. Shortly after this we were issued our group kit and were underway with our first trek.
After half an hour and a few conundrums with map reading we had made our way to Castle Ring, and it was at this point that we realised that we were in for a walk straight through a forest, and by straight I mean a simple beeline walk (also known as a “bimble”) to a river in the middle of the forest. Sounds easy right?
As it turns out this would quickly become our first challenge. The path we wanted to follow didn’t exist. We continued to press forward until the obstacles became too challenging to navigate through and we ended up climbing uphill until we came across a marsh, which also just so happened to be impossible to navigate through! The whole ordeal tested our physical and communication skills but as a team we managed to pull through, deciding to circle back the way we came until we found a clearing in the woods. After being hit in the face by a twig way too many times and the occasional slip we managed to find a road that guided us to our next few locations.
We made our way around to an opening in the trees where we stopped for lunch and a much-needed break. It was during these occasional breaks where we were reminded of how to communicate as a team and ensure that no one fell behind. After recovering our stamina we headed back downhill and finally found the lake we were looking for. It was here where we tested out some of our group kit, such as a briefing on how to use the water purification kit as well as a chance to practise throwing the Throwline bag, just in case one of us were to get stuck in the water during the expedition.
After testing we headed back to the campsite, which turned out to be far more tedious than originally expected. We made many simple mistakes along the way but never lost our temper when something went wrong and after six hours we were back at camp. We took the time to rest for the evening before setting up our tents and heading to one of the nearby facilities to practise cooking. Once we had washed up and had our debrief for the night (as well as few card tricks and games that were thrown in here and there) it was time to get some much-needed sleep. This for a few of us turned out to be easier said than done, particularly as the night grew colder and colder and sure enough it began to rain.
The next morning we awoke and after solving the problem of the missing matches began to cook our meals for the morning before heading out once again on a trek to Castle Ring. It was here where we practised the procedure to follow in case any of our team members went missing as well as taking the time to try putting up the group shelter. This trek, however, ended up being cut short by the downpour of rain which didn't seem to ever end and after learning how to use the stretcher in case anyone got hurt during our expedition and attempting to cross a tightrope we headed back inside the campsite to get warmth and to dry our clothes.
Due to how early we were after we had lunch we ended up waiting for our debrief. During this period of downtime we took down our tents to the best of our ability in the rain and assigned who would be responsible for keeping them safe until expedition day next year. Once the debrief had concluded we headed back to the minibus and made our way back to the Academy to get food and head home for a well-deserved rest.
I found the weekend to be both challenging and extremely enjoyable despite the rain. It really acted as a good way to introduce us to the things we would face once we made our way to Madagascar in 2019 and to also get us to work together as a team to make the most out of our expedition.
Netball and football successes.
It has been an incredibly busy and very successful week for our netball teams. Last Thursday afternoon saw the Academy's Under 19 netball squad host William Farr and Lincoln College A and B teams for their district tournament.
We are so very lucky to have a big squad full of talent. No less than 15 students were present to represent us. The squad played together brilliantly. Some of them have played and trained together for seven years and others have joined the squad this year, but old and new squad members played together effortlessly.
The squad won all three of their games, demonstrating some incredible levels of skill and strategy. Winning this tournament has secured them a place at the county championships next month. A special mention must go to Izzy who made her debut for the team and gave more than 100% by giving herself a concussion after diving to keep the ball on court.
If you see any of the students around the academy, please congratulate them on their achievement.On Tuesday the Y9 netball team played away against Branston. The game was very fast paced with all girls managing to keep up throughout the whole match. Our defence was very strong with Amelia and Jess keeping their attack out of the circle and getting some amazing interceptions, which we were able to use to turn into goals. Our shooters stood their ground against the tough defence of Branston and managed to score some amazing goals for our team. Overall our team worked very hard throughout the match achieving a well-deserved win of 17-13.
Some additional news for the Academy football players too;
On Wednesday evening LSST Year 7 travelled to William Farr school in Welton to play in their second fixture of the season. After a rather chaotic first fixture at Queen Elizabeth high school in Gainsborough last week we started the game in a much more organised formation. The back three held their shape well to keep out a fast centre forward partnership from Will Farr and our holding midfielder Joel was easily able to cope with the penetrating runs of their midfielders. Our attacking line was dangerous from the off and halfway through the first half a great ball through left Jake with a one on one with the goalkeeper that he calmly tucked away in the corner. A second chance fell to centre forward Jake later on in the first half which he rifled past the goalkeeper from 20 yards with his left foot. Soon after the break, some very neat play down the right hand side saw a ball threaded through to Luke on the corner of the 18 yard box. He placed the ball calmly between the goalkeepers legs to make it three nil. Some excellent defending towards the end of the second half and two good saves from our goalkeeper Will rounded off a very good performance by the Year 7 team and ensured the three nil victory, our first of the season.
25th Anniversary Celebration
We have great pleasure in inviting you to attend our 25th Anniversary Celebration: Songs from the Musicals: A Concert Performance – a collection of songs from some of the country’s best-loved musicals at The Drill Hall, Lincoln, on Saturday 20th October at 7.30 pm. Featuring performances from students past and present, the evening promises to be a memorable, high-energy spectacle, with songs including Grease Medley, Do You Hear the People Sing, The Greatest Show and America. To commemorate this significant milestone in the Academy’s history, profits from ticket sales will go towards the purchase of a grand piano – helping to preserve the importance of the arts for future generations of students.
Tickets cost £15 each and there will be a raffle and a silent auction with a range of exciting prizes.
Tickets are available directly from student reception or The Drill Hall.
Tickets are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.
Thank you for your continuing support. We look forward to seeing you there!
Arts Team
Duke of Edinburgh Silver Expedition
On Friday 28th of September, a group of year 12s went on their 3 day Silver Duke of Edinburgh assessed expedition in Derbyshire.
On Friday morning, a group of year 12s gathered at the CCF area to complete final preparations for the weekend ahead and at 0830 we set off for Derbyshire. After a short while of travelling the first two of four groups were dropped off at their start positions ready to begin the long expedition. The other two groups were taken a bit further to another location to also begin the expedition. We were full of energy as we began walking for our first and longest day (16 km). At the very start we encountered our first trial - the route we were meant to be following didn’t exist! After looking around, we came together and re-planned our route before once again setting off raring to go.
Half way through our walk we were overjoyed to receive the news that we would be heading to a campsite that not only was closer to our current position, but which also had much better facilities such as warm showers, toilets in heated buildings and fresh water taps very close by. Despite the day’s trek being definitely more difficult than the Bronze expedition we were inspired to carry on faster than before thanks to team support and the prospect of a better campsite.
In the evening my team got to experience navigation during the night; as we had the longest route we were caught in the dark and decreasing temperatures whilst 1.5 km away from the campsite. Nonetheless we managed to reach the campsite and set up tents and cook without getting lost in the dark or getting too cold!The next day started by being bitterly cold, the night before was the coldest we had ever experienced with DofE. We were up at 0630 to cook breakfast and pack our bags (both of which helped us to keep warm!) My group set off ready to go for our shortest day over the weekend (12km). The first half of our route was spent in a valley; which had some amazing views and we got to see the stepping stones at the bottom (which, to Mr Stones' great disappointment, were closed off for repairs).
After lunch we concluded our day by walking through different fields including multiple quite steep hills which tested our physical skill and team cohesion, however we yet again pulled through as a strong team.
When we reached the campsite (in daylight this time) after the 7 hour journey we were glad to discover that we were the first to arrive at the campsite (and thus had first choice of where to set up camp!)Our third and final day started off better than the second. The night was much warmer and the anticipation of being on the last day of the assessed expedition improved everyone’s mood. Yet again we cooked and packed away tents before getting ready to set off for the final 14km of our expedition.
We started the day more pumped to go than on any of the other days; this was only added to by the beautiful scenery we walked through (that being the other half of the valley that we missed on the day before). At the start of the valley we came across a cave in the hill which contained a perfect cooking area as well as amazing wind cover and even better views.
When we left the valley we encountered a road at which we had to wait in order to catch up on timings due to how early we were. We decided that a road wasn’t the best place to stop and so to get off the road to a safer place we moved further along our route to try and get to the next checkpoint where it was safer before contacting our assessor. However, the further along our route that we travelled the colder, wetter, and windier it became so we agreed to power ahead until we reached somewhere more suitable for stopping. After about an hour of walking we found an old tunnel which provided wind cover for both us as well as the cookers we used for our lunch. Although at this point we realised a grave mistake, as we were over an hour ahead of schedule and had to inform our assessor that we were in the wrong place for the time we were at.
After lunch we set off again with the thought of being home soon at the forefront of our minds; but from now on we stuck to our timings much better than before. With about 1km left to go we arrived in a village for our final break before finishing the expedition. Following a short debrief and evaluation of our weekend we got to try some fresh Keswick apples which gave us more energy to power on until the end.
The final stretch seemed to be over in an instant as we walked quickly and kept each other entertained the whole time. We reached the end point shortly after staff who took us back to the Academy to clean up and head home for food and a well-deserved rest.I found the whole weekend to be very enjoyable and not something you would normally be able to do. I got to see some great sights and my team helped make it not only fun but also helpful in improving the skills I had been taught as well as teaching me new things.
Macmillan Coffee Morning
We are delighted to be able to announce that this year the Boarding House’s MacMillan Coffee Morning combined with Mr Goffe’s cake sale raised over £550 for MacMillan cancer support.
Boarders and staff combined to create an amazing array of culinary delights from savoury dumplings, quiche and sausage rolls to banoffee pie, baked raspberry cheesecake, chocolate cake, lemon drizzle cake, cup cakes, mocha cake, brownies, flapjack, rocky road, cookies and much more.
Thank you to all the staff and students who supported us on the day.
Netball Success and Football News
U19 Friendly
On Wednesday 26th September the U19 netball squad took on Carres in a friendly warm up fixture before their district tournament that takes place in a few weeks time (Thursday 11th October). Some of the girls have not played since last season and we had a few new students representing the Academy. Before the game Carres had mentioned their recent victories over Stamford High School who always feature at the county round of the tournament and they seemed extremely strong whilst warming up.
The girls from our Academy immediately got into their rhythm and dominated the first quarter. The girls played some fantastic netball, demonstrating fluency on court and there was excellent defending play throughout the match. Even with changes at each quarter the girls continued with speed on court and extended their lead. A comfortable victory 33-17.
Well done to all the girls who played.
Y8 Netball V QEHS
On Thursday the Year 8 netball team travelled to QEHS Gainsborough. The girls who last year lost out to a strong QEHS side were nervous but anxious to get on court and play some netball. The girls went out strong in the first quarter and with some lovely link up play between Freya and Stephanie in the attacking circle and with Tilly dominating at our defending end the girls were leading by the end of the first quarter 9-3. In the second quarter Parie worked hard in the defending circle to keep up with the GS and marked her out of the game, working well with Evie who consistently picked up interceptions into their attacking circle. We went into the third quarter 14- 6 up and the girls were playing with confidence. They continued to dominate in defence and just kept intercepting the ball and attacking well. With some lovely link up play from Freya B who controlled the game in centre court alongside Freya C who had now moved from GA to GD. Coco and Maddie both played well in mid court and Niamh made a switch to WA in the final quarter and made some lovely moves into space around the circle to feed the ball to the shooters. Leah made some good options around the circle in a WA position and then she moved to partner Stephanie in the circle. All the combinations worked so well and the girls were an absolute credit. They worked hard together and absolutely deserve their fantastic win!!
A brilliant victory 22-6.
Well done to all the girls who played.
Y9 Football
The match tonight against Queen Elizabeth HS was a solid match with every player trying their hardest. I believe that we played as a team and even though we lost, we can try again next match. It was a great goal from Olly with some good build up play. We had some highlights which were good and hopefully we can continue this throughout the match next time.
It was the team’s first game playing together. Although we suffered a loss, the attitude and character the team showed was brilliant and they were exemplary.
The teams will be training weekly so we hope to see great improvements over the next few fixtures.
Well done to the boys who played.
Sixth Formers spread the word.
As a result of our academy library fundraising, money was raised to buy several copies of the book ‘The Lost Words’. This book contains the words that no longer exist in many junior dictionaries and have been replaced with computer-based words such as lol and google. The book aims to prevent the words from disappearing from use by celebrating them and highlighting them.
We collaborated with the Wildlife Trust in order to promote the book to local primary schools. On Tuesday 25th September, we went into seven local primary schools and donated the book to them. We went into several Year 3 and Year 4 classes to talk about the ‘lost words’ and develop understanding of these words.
Our academy library has a copy of this beautiful book. Read it and look at the ‘Lost Words’ wildlife display we have there.
Boarders tackle NCS adventure weekend
This weekend eighteen boarders embarked on the first stage of their National Citizenship Scheme with an action packed adventure weekend. As many people will already know, the NCS is a nationwide personal and social development programme which supports young people to develop new skills whilst undertaking worthwhile social action activities in their local community. NCS includes challenging activities, away-from-home residential experiences and self-designed social action projects. It is a fantastic opportunity for young people from all backgrounds and ability levels to come together to build confidence, meet new people and to make a positive difference.
Musical Theatre Success
KS5 student Alyssa has had a hectic time this summer with appearances in five dance shows at the LPAC and appearing as Cosette seven times in Les Miserables at The Drill Hall, along with four days of dance and musical theatre festivals .
Les Miserables was a wonderful production and was sold out for all seven shows - a great experience for Alyssa.
This was followed by four days of festival competition in which Alyssa had her best year yet winning seven trophies - four for dance and three involving singing, notably a classical song and dance routine inspired by Phantom of the Opera and she gained the highest marks in the festival for her rendition of 'Time to say Goodbye'.We look forward to hearing and seeing more of Alyssa's performances.
Lincolnshire Badminton Association Champion
A Priory Academy LSST student has had an outstanding season in badminton. Alicia has competed in the Lincolnshire Badminton Association Championships, winning a number of titles. Alicia won the U14 Girls' Singles, U14 Girls' Doubles, U14 Girls' Mixed Doubles and U16 Girls' Doubles and was Runner Up in the U18 Girls' Doubles. We look forward to seeing further successes from Alicia in the future.