Events
News
Curry and Quiz Night
Thursday 31st January saw the Academy’s second fundraising Curry and Quiz Night, this time to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. Our Year 12 House Ambassadors worked hard to put on this event and came up with a variety of quiz rounds, some of which stumped even our most knowledgeable members of staff! There were rounds including a film and TV round, a space round and an art round. Miss Heckford’s music round proved popular again and many teams were baffled by the round which asked them about the previous jobs staff had done.
Overall, £176 was raised for Teenage Cancer Trust. The Maths team came in third with the SLT team ‘The Uninspired’ coming in second and a very well done to the Year 12 team who won. We hope you enjoy your cinema vouchers. Thank you to all who attended and supported.
Cyber Centurions - Final Round
On Friday 11th January, the Cyber Centurions team took part in the third and final round of the Cyber Centurions Competition.
The competition relies on the organisers sending us multiple images (in this context, also known as virtual machines) and a specification for each one. Each specification included a multitude of general policies which need to be enforced on the image, as well as two or three forensics questions. The more policies enforced based of the specification, the more points you would gain.
The team started by familiarising themselves with the operating systems which involved reading the specification of what the accounts were for. This is usually something like an office company etc. Then the team went though the forensics questions which usually had check file or account properties and gather information on the user.
Next the team went though account settings making them more secure and easy to use. This involved changing passwords, changing administrator permissions etc. The team also had to remove inappropriate software like games and update software. Some software included…
- Chess;
- Chrome;
- Firefox;
- Windows Defender;
- Microsoft Edge;
- Solitaire.
The overall score for the competition was 507 placing us at a great finishing position of 47 out of almost 200 teams.
Art and Photography Trip to Florence
The Art and Photography study trip to Florence set off early on Tuesday 29th January. After a long journey we arrived at the beautiful Hotel Donatello and after checking in walked to a local restaurant where students filled themselves up with the local cuisine.
The following day we began to explore Florence where the museums, palaces and churches house some of the greatest artistic treasures in the world. Students were lucky enough to visit the Ufizzi gallery where some of the most renowned works by Giotto, Botticelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Raphael can be found. Students were able to draw and photograph statues and art work as well as recording the amazing views over Florence from the roof terrace. 
After a quick lunch stop in Florence we made our way to Pitti Palace, a famous home of the Medici family. Students toured the palace and took in inspiration from the historical décor and beautiful artwork and ceiling decorations. Part of the palace has been renovated into a museum for Costume and Fashion where we were lucky enough to see the new exhibition “Animalia Fashion”. This was a stunning exhibition showing works of designers such as Galliano and Christian Dior. Student were keen to fill their sketchbooks up with drawings of fashion garments and accessories.
On Thursday students visited the Galleria dell’Acedamia where they finally saw the statue of David Michelangelo and a wide range of Renaissance art work.
In the afternoon we walked through the winter rain, across the famous Ponte Vecchi bridge, a large number of stairs, finally arriving at Piazzale Michelangelo for a spectacular view of Florence.
Friday morning we were up early and packed ready for the journey home. Once our cases were stored we had a final walk across Florence to the Boboli Gardens where students completed their sketchbooks with drawings of sculptures, statues and beautiful views. A final lunch of pizza and gelato before heading back to the coach. All students thoroughly enjoyed the trip… even in rain, sleet and snow!
