Welcome to TaSMAT

This week's Celebration Assembly was extra special. This was because as well as recognising and rewarding each class's Reader of the Week we also had a special certificate for one pupil who had completed the Marvellous Maker Summer Reading Challenge 2024 by reading six books over the summer holiday. We are very proud of this pupil's achievements and it was wonderful to celebrate their reading success with the whole school!

Year 7 had a very exciting trip to Battle Abbey.

As part of our commitment to improving pupils’ physical health, and increasing the range of sporting activities on offer at the school, we have recently introduced cycling to Torfield. A group of children visited Hastings Cycles to help pick out new bicycles for the school and, of course, helmets! The children really enjoyed their special visit and were given lots of support and advice by the friendly staff at Hastings Cycles. One pupil was even offered a job fixing bicycles when they are older. We are starting our bicycle lessons with a small group of pupils to begin with, but plan to offer this to all pupils in the future.

At Torfield observing and understanding seasonal change is a topic which runs throughout the year. Each class has chosen an outdoor environment which they will visit four times throughout the school year so that they can compare the differences which come with each season. Last week Oceania class had a wonderful adventure to St Helen’s Wood and carried out their observations of the wood in autumn.

Earlier this term year 11's went to Little Canada at the Isle of Wight. They took part in various activities including including climbing, abseiling, zip-wire, archery, giant swing and axe throwing. 

As a special school, we alternate between a Year A and Year B curriculum so that all of our pupils enjoy a breadth of study and avoid repeating topics and core texts. This year we are learning from our Year B curriculum and you can get an overview of every subject your child will be studying at our website here: https://www.torfieldschool.org/curriculum/your-childs-curriculum/class-overviews  

Building on the success of our music curriculum at Torfield we have exciting new opportunities for our pupils this academic year.

Flu vaccinations for pupils at EYC and Croft Road, will take place on 3rd October 2024.

We hope you have all enjoyed reading your child’s end-of-year report which came home with them today.  As a school, we think it’s very important to share a report with you that covers all the subjects covered at Torfield as well an overview of your child’s year.  We also really value your comments so if you would like to share them please complete and return the enclosed form. If you would like an extra copy or an electronic version, please contact the school office and we will arrange that for you.

Today Year 9 pupils went to Plumpton College for a careers STEM event. They had a wonderful day and experienced animal management, floristry, baking and soil management.

Please don't worry if you saw a fire engine at Torfield today. It was a specially arranged visit from the fire brigade who came to Torfield to talk to the children about fire safety and how to pursue a career as a firefighter.

Year 11 have now officially finished their time at Saxon Mount School. We have had a lovely 7 days, since their exams finished, to celebrate their hard work and them moving onto the next stage of their education and lives. We have been bowling, to the park, swimming, to the cinema and held a Leavers' Prom and Leavers' Assembly. We are very proud of all our leavers and wish them the very best in their new adventures. 

From dirty to shiny, clean car! Some of the Duke of Edinburgh pupils hoovered, polished and washed cars inside and out yesterday to raise funds for the ‘Young Minds’ charity. We will do some more cars next Tuesday. The valet service included a pick up and drop off, courtesy of Ms Turner.

3/4EC and 3AS enjoyed a trip to Herstmonceux Science Centre as part of their learning on Materials and Ecosystems in Science. We took part in an interactive materials show to learn about different substances and chemical reactions, followed by exploring the Space Centre and water area. The students enjoyed learning about life cycles with the help of the koi carp pond, and learnt about forces by getting involved with the many interactive exhibits. Students in 3/4EC and 3AS should be very proud of themselves for their excellent behaviour whilst out on the trip - well done!

Year 8 went on a really interesting trip to Hastings Police Station, they had a lot of fun and were able to try on uniforms, sound the sirens and meet the Police Dogs. It was a very informative day.

Our year 11 GCSE art students had their work displayed this week in preparation for our moderation visit. Our pupils enjoyed seeing all of their hard work presented and were really proud of their efforts. Well done year 11!

3JB and 3LM enjoyed a trip to Drusillas on the 12th June as part of their learning on the topic of Ecosystems in Science. We learnt all about food chains and how animals are adapted to live in different environments. Students enjoyed getting hands on with some animals in the Discovery Centre, to learn about what they eat and how they survive. A huge well done to everyone in 3JB and 3LM for behaving so sensibly and trying their best throughout the day.

On Wednesday Balfour Beatty brought some large construction vehicles onto the school site. Our pupils were able to learn about construction careers and how the vehicles are serviced. The aim was to extend pupils’ knowledge of local labour market opportunities and inspire them to begin thinking about their next steps for year 12 and beyond. Our visitors commented on how engaged and polite our pupils were. Well done everyone.

We are really excited to launch our new PE homework bags! Each class will have two bags and the children will each have the opportunity to take one home. We would love to see the creative ways you use the homework bags so please share these with us on dojo. There are some important safety points to note before using the bags. So please take the time to read these through. Torfield's PE bags were inspired by Leechpool Primary school in Horsham and we are grateful to them for sharing their wonderful ideas!

Thanks to Miss Inkster making contact with Hastings Adventure Golf, Torfield was able to enter this year’s Hastings Inter-School Golf Tournament. Our team, the Torfield Tornadoes, really did us proud and demonstrated the values of our Rainbow Awards throughout the competition. This was the first time these pupils had competed against children from other schools and they were great sports from start to finish. We are grateful to Mr Dobson, Miss Booth and Miss Abraham for supporting the children and keeping score. Mr Dobson even represented Torfield in the Teacher’s Competition!