Our Sixth formers designed and ran a STEM workshop for Year 4 as part of their electives programme. The theme given was forces and they designed a workshop where Year 4s had to build a capsule for their alien eggs to land safely. . The Prep pupils were put into groups and each given an egg, which would be dropped from the top of our Sixth Form Centre.

The girls used lots of different materials – from bubble wrap and bin liners to feathers and pipe cleaners – and despite the large drop, we were pleased to report that all the eggs made it. Great teamwork girls!

Our Gold Duke of Edinburgh group recently returned from their canoe expedition in Totnes. Their first task was to practise rescues which was somewhat challenging given the low tide and a battle with a muddy bank. By the time they returned to camp, two students were miraculously dry while the other seven resembled shipwreck survivors. The next morning, dodging obstacles, they paddled downstream, taking turns to navigate before stopping at a scenic spot for lunch and first aid training. The day’s real challenge came later—200 metres of waist-deep mud thanks to the low tide, forcing them to paddle an extra half hour to the nearest slipway. The silver lining? A seal sighting! The final morning, they were tested by strong winds and tides. They learned new techniques like rafting together to form an arrow, and even squeezed in an acorn music session and a stone-skimming contest. Nature threw one last curveball—a tree ambush leaving seaweed in someone’s hair—but Tormead spirit triumphed. The group powered through the turbulent waters and crossed the finish line in style.

Before the summer holidays, we held our annual Tormead Art Exhibition showcasing the work of our GCSE and A-Level students, as well as pieces by our art scholars. Guests were invited to view the artworks which counted towards the students' final exam grades. With 100% of our Art A-Level students achieving A*-B grades and 85% of our GCSE students achieving 9-5 grades, the quality of the artwork on display spoke for itself. We are looking forward to meeting our next generation of art scholars in January at our 11+ scholarship day – who knows it could be your work showcased here next year?