Press Release – Churston Ferrers Grammar School

Bronze DofE Award – a record achievement!

Posted on 15th November 20227th March 2023 by Paul Radmore

63 of our Y10 students have now completed their Bronze DofE Awards, and their success has been celebrated in assembly with the presentation of certificates and Bronze badges. This is a record breaking year group for Churston, with more completed awards still to come too – well done everyone, we are very proud of you!

Any Bronze Award holder has applied a lot of effort to become one, and this is very well recognised by employers, universities and in the wider local community. The impact that this has within the school as a whole is immeasurable, through involvement in clubs and activities, giving time to help with events or mentoring younger students and a general positivity within the year group in particular – it is a real community builder, through individual effort and achievement.

Our Bronzes could not have achieved what they have without the time and encouragement of people who have taken on the role of section assessors – either adults in school, or involved in a local community group or organisation. The summer expeditions also rely hugely on school staff giving up their own time to support on checkpoints and in camp overnight, as assessors and supervisors. DofE runs on volunteer power, from the participants and the adults involved in every section and at every level – thankyou!

Julia Lewis

Strategic Lead for Enrichment & DofE Manager

Churston Staff Cause a Racket!

Posted on 11th October 2022 by Paul Radmore

At Churston we consider staff wellbeing a crucial component in creating a successful educational environment. Both teaching staff and support staff can face pressures and challenges during their day to day work and so it is important to take breaks whenever possible. Afternoons dedicated to relaxing and playing some sport can help us do just that.

Our Whole School Wellbeing page can be accessed on our website here: https://churstongrammar.com/information/wellbeing-wholeschool/

Macmillan Cake Sale at Churston!

Posted on 4th October 20224th October 2022 by Paul Radmore

Last Wednesday morning at Churston Grammar saw the hall bustling with students all taking part in a cake sale for Macmillan. Much cake was bought and swiftly eaten and over £470 was raised!

Every single piece of cake was sold and both students and staff enjoyed some terrific baking. All money raised has gone toward MacMillan Cancer support, one of the largest charities in Britain providing care and services for those living with cancer. Churston is grateful to have have taken part in this fundraising event for MacMillan and will continue to embrace those opportunities to do so.

Whether you baked and brought in cake yourself or purchased a slice or three, a huge thank you goes out to all those who took part!

Food, Feedback and Discussion for the Future

Posted on 3rd October 20223rd October 2022 by Paul Radmore

Churston is extremely pleased to have held a very successful annual gathering of cultural visitors and external students who joined the Sixth form this year. As a welcome and as an opportunity to give feedback on their first few weeks, they were each provided with a hot lunch and encouraged to speak their minds on matters academic and otherwise.

Around 30 new students and visitors joined members of staff, Deputy Head David Lewis and the Student Presidential Team to enjoy a meal and a dessert together. Topics of conversation ranged from the Italian elections, to the joys of sweet treats, to why English people often struggle to pronounce foreign names.

Head of Sixth Form Adam Killeya said: “It was lovely to hear lots of positive feedback, but also to give students the chance to let us know how we can make it even better for new students next year. It was also great to have lots of our cultural exchange guests with us to add an international flavour!”

Thomas’ Sailing Success

Posted on 12th September 202212th September 2022 by Paul Radmore

Over the last year, Thomas in Year 8 has been getting up to a great deal. What follows is an exciting update detailing all that he has been doing.

During his Year 7 at Churston in 2021-2022, Thomas was fortunate enough to be selected by 2 dinghy sailing squads and participated in regular weekend training sessions at locations across the UK, all of which greatly supported his personal progression in dinghy racing. In July 2022, he completed the final national series event, held in Leicestershire, where he won 1st place overall in the 4.2 (a smaller sail for smaller sailors) in his Topper Dinghy!

Next, over the Summer, Thomas took part in the International Topper Championships in Lake Garda in Italy. Here, he showed a massive amount of determination and perseverance racing in some very windy conditions six hours a day and for six days total. After which, his terrific effort was rewarded with a 4th place overall in the 4.2 International sail.

With just a week’s rest, Thomas then took part in the National Championships, held at the national Sailing Academy in Weymouth (where the 2012 sailing Olympic events were held.) The conditions were very hot with only light winds and yet again, Thomas showed real stamina and willpower to achieve brilliant results of coming in the top 1,2 or 3 in every race over 5 days.

The racing was closely fought against great sailors all of whom were very competitive. However Thomas held his nerve and achieved 1st place! Throughout the week, the sailors in the top places displayed great friendship and comradery while on shore. With many smiles shared, jokes told and hugs given, they truly wished one another ‘good luck’ and really exemplified the RYA’s values for sailing.

Both Thomas’ family and we at Churston are immensely proud of him for all the hard work (and Wintery miles driven!) invested by himself and many others over the last year. Sailing can be a hard sport for a child to pursue as it can seem alien to both friends and teachers. It can also put friendships to the test as you are away most weekends so socialising with school friends is difficult, as is keeping up with school work. He received lots of messages from his school friends whilst at the Nationals and has been supported by both his friends and teachers emotionally and academically.

So what next? Thomas is going to take the leap and make the transition to the bigger sailing scene. He is hoping to be selected by the RYA Training Group (coaching/ training squad) again this year. As he is ‘moving up’ he will not be part of the 4.2 training squad weekends across the UK but he continues to look for other coaching opportunities.

His next big event is the ‘Endeavour Trophy’ at the Royal Corinthian Yacht Club in Burnham on Crouch, Essex 7-9th October, which is legendary for dinghy sailing in the UK. Only National Champions are invited to take part. He will be one of the only children involved and will be racing alongside Sailing Olympians. He will take part in a day’s training for all competitors on the Friday led by an ex Olympic Coach. This is due to the fact that they will all be sailing in a new category of boats; a double handed, larger dinghy, very different to his Topper!

Churston looks forward to hearing more from Thomas and his family and where his sailing takes him next!

Churston GCSE Students achieve great success in their GCSEs!

Posted on 25th August 202225th August 2022 by Paul Radmore

Year 11 students at Churston Ferrers Grammar School have enjoyed incredible success in their GCSEs despite an exceptionally challenging few years.

Individual stories behind the results were inspiring and, overall, academic standards were outstanding – 65% of grades awarded were at 7 or above.

Head of Year, Gemma Longhurst said, “We are tremendously proud of our young people, and what they have achieved. Over the last few years students have responded with fortitude; their ability to dig deep, take a mature approach and support each other has resulted in them achieving fantastic grades.”

Among those celebrating the results of their hard work, Freya Caskey-Sutton, Ethan Lovell and Awen Pringle achieved grade 9s in 10 or more subjects, including Further Maths. Whilst Leah Brown, Nina Keen, Lauren Lock, Sam Popham and Joe Yates achieved 8 or more grade 9s.

Headteacher, Kieran Earley was buzzing with pride, “Year 11 students deserve heartfelt recognition for their endeavours during their GCSE years. To achieve this level of success and academic excellence is testament to hard work, resilience and the commitment of our staff. I am incredibly proud of our school.”

Churston A Level Students achieve great success!

Posted on 18th August 202218th August 2022 by Paul Radmore

Sixth Form students at Churston Ferrers Grammar School have enjoyed great success in their A Levels despite an exceptionally challenging year.

Amongst those celebrating the results of their hard work, Dominic Sloper has secured a place to read Medicine at Oxford University, having achieved A*s in Biology, Chemistry and Mathematics.

Several other students – Edward Brown, Scarlett Howard, Ella Knapman, Max Pritchard, Felice Riley and Caristine Ross – also achieved 3 A*s, whilst another six students achieved 2 A*s and an A.

In total 40% of the grades achieved by Churston students were As or A*s, and nearly 70% were A*-B.

Head of Sixth Form, Adam Killeya said, “We are immensely proud of every single one of our young people and what they have achieved. A Levels are challenging at any time and to have come through two such difficult academic years, and to have achieved this level of success, is testament to both the hard work put in by students and the support given by staff.

As well as our outstanding performers, we have many other students who achieved well despite particularly challenging personal circumstances. Every single student has something to be proud of.”

Lily’s international essay achievement

Posted on 16th August 2022 by Paul Radmore

A massive congratulations to Year 12’s Lily, who is now set to attend an awards ceremony at Oxford University come September!

Having entered the John Locke Institute Essay Competition in June, Lily’s response to the question “Why Would God be so Coy?” had her shortlisted from over 500 international entries.

The response given was cogent, captivating and insightful.

Well-done Lily!

Cambridge Chemistry Challenge 2022

Posted on 5th August 20224th August 2022 by Paul Radmore

A group of dedicated students from Year 12 recently formed the Curious Chemists’ Club, with the aim of sharing their enthusiasm for the subject and extending their chemical knowledge. The team have now been extremely successful in the Cambridge Chemistry Challenge. This competition is designed to stretch the best Chemistry students in the country and is so difficult that certificates are only awarded to the top two thirds of entrants. Despite the odds, all of our students were successful. Copper awards were achieved by Owen, Hannah and Jake. The top quarter of candidates nationally received a silver certificate and this included Lottie, Sophie, James and Heather. Special congratulations go to Hannah and Riley who were rewarded with gold certificates for being in the top 8% of students in the UK.

The questions were particularly tricky this year, requiring our students to understand the structure of some really complex molecules. These included the deadly poison digitalis (from foxgloves) and a human-like molecule called “Dame Bond 008”. Many congratulations to all our students for their fantastic performance.

Dr Hall

Ambra’s scholarship success!

Posted on 4th August 2022 by Paul Radmore

A Sixth Form student at Churston Ferrers Grammar School has been rewarded with a scholarship for her outstanding effort and achievement during her A Levels.

Ambra received the award, granted by The Reading List Foundation, which provides a grant to cover the costs of books for her university studies.

She was chosen for the award based not only on her outstanding results, but on the challenges that she overcame to achieve those results

Ambra is awaiting her A Levels results in Geography, French, Sociology and Italian, and has an offer of a place to read Modern Languages at the University of Exeter.

Head of Sixth Form, Adam Killeya, said “We are very proud of what all of our students have achieved this year, but Ambra particularly stood out for this award for her outstanding attitude and achievement. She is an extremely worthy winner, and we are very appreciative to the Reading List Foundation for offering this award”