Trialling New Technology in the Classroom

Churston has been lucky enough to take part in a trial of some fantastic new technology – a 75inch Interactive Multitouch Whiteboard. We are one of the first schools in the South West to trial this state-of-the-art learning tool.

The board is being used by many different subject areas during the trial period – to see how it engages students to be more interactive when learning within the current curriculum, and allows staff to teach concepts in new and exciting ways.

In this morning’s Year 7 maths class on 3D shapes, students could spin, move and turn the shapes bringing the usual 2D shapes we see on a normal screen or within pages of a book, to life. And as a result the students were able to grasp the concept of surfaces, edges and vertices in an alternative way.

The students then went on to take part in an interactive quiz game with multiple users, challenging and testing what they had just learnt.

As a school we are always looking for new technology that benefits students’ learning and is compatible with our current systems and to take part in a trial like this is beneficial for all.

Top Marks

Churston Chemistry Student is the Best in the U.K.
Ex-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.

Alice in Wonderland Success

On behalf of the production team of Alice in Wonderland, I would like to say how extremely proud we are of our fantastic cast and crew.  They have performed three shows, two of which were sell-outs and have done a fantastic job.  Thank you to all who came along and supported us.

Year 9 – Geography trip to the Eden Project

By Lucy Hull, Faye Julyan, Ruby Toy, Isabelle Smith, Millie Blondell ~ 9S1 (Pictures by Charlie Singh)

When we arrived at Eden we were about to embark on a journey of discovery through the World’s Biomes.

First, we explored the Rainforest Biome. The heat was intense and made you realise just how cold it is in Britain, especially compared to the Rainforest. We travelled around the dome observing all of the fascinating plant life and vegetation. We had certain plants and exhibits that we had chosen to find and once we had found them, we noted down interesting facts about our chosen plants. The wildflowers were of extraordinary beauty and there was a range of fruit that was growing. Some of our group tasted the smoothies in the Rainforest Biome, the majority thought they were interesting.

Language Leaders 2017

A huge well done to the nine year 12 students above from Churston Ferrers Grammar School who are well on the way to qualifying for the Languages Leaders Awards.

Churston Ferrers Grammar School is proud of its strong links with primary schools in the bay: French and Spanish workshops are offered at Churston on a fortnightly basis for children aged eight to ten; sixth formers play a big part in this connection too! The picture above was taken on Thursday 21^st September 2017 at Shiphay Academy where year 12 students taught French, Spanish and Italian to year six children.

All nine students were a credit to Churston, they delivered well -paced, fun and interactive. The sixth formers deployed an array of games and engaging activities to enthuse young children and help them develop further their interest in language learning. The activities were “maravillosas” and needless to say that it was heartbreaking for the children to say “au revoir ” Teachers at Shiphay academy were really impressed by the level of professionalism of our students, it was a pleasure to see them teach the children.

Isabelle V Bright

Head of MFL at Churston Ferrers Grammar School

Reflecting on the day

“I really enjoyed the experience and I believed it went really well. I would definitely recommend it as it is a great opportunity to show your ability to be organised and ability to interact with younger people. It is good for your confidence and I have learnt that I can be organised when put my mind to it. I really appreciated the experience” Adam Reed

“I thought the workshop went really well, the kids seemed to enjoy themselves and learn a bit of Spanish” Joe Goodall

“I think it was an amazing experience. I had a great time with my friend doing the PowerPoint and at the same time it’s been a really interesting experience. Being a “teacher” for an hour helped me to understand how it feels being on the other side because I wasn’t just sat at my desk listening to the lesson as usual, but I was speaking in front of a class of children trying to entertain them with activities and games but at the same time trying to teach them something.  From this experience I’ve learnt that teaching it’s not as easy at it seems and that a lesson is not good if the students are not involved. It always has to be a dialogue, not a monologue where it’s only the teacher speaking but everyone has to feel part of the lesson, sharing their own ideas and opinions. “ Alessandro Saba

“I think the workshop was a great success. It was a really good way to use my French amongst the community. I also enjoyed the enthusiasm that the kids displayed; it really made the whole experience worthwhile. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who really wants to use their French in a more creative manner. From this experience, I have learnt that I enjoy teaching young children. In fact, I have even started considering being a French teacher one day.” Rhianon Bowles

More Photos