In the year 9 Big Ideas in Physics topic, the pupils have been learning all about where our domestic electricity comes from as well as useful tools like how to wire a plug, how a fuse box works and how to calculate your energy bills! Needless to say some were quite shocked how much money it costs and how much energy is wasted by keeping your games console on when in school. Hopefully they’ll be making some more sustainable choices from now on!

Year 7 and year 8 are celebrating an amazing success in the UK Maths Trusts’ Junior Maths Challenge. Two weeks ago students completed an hour long set of maths challenges in exam conditions and have now received the awards. Our students did fantastically, achieving 2 Gold certificates, 4 Silver certificates and 12 Bronze certificates! Congratulations to everyone who took part who all walked away with a certificate of participation. And especially to those who earnt one of the three awards.

Bronze awards were achieved by:

D.Cartwright-George 7A1

L. Connolly 7B1

L. Ellis 7B1

E. Griffiths 7B1

C. Jones 7B1

J. Smith 7B1

W. Bates 8T1

D. Daio Viana Da Conceicao 8T1

J. Davies 8T1

J. Dunsmore 8T1

K. Hussain 8T1

C. Murphy 8T2

Silver awards were achieved by:

G. Thomson 8T1

M. Walker 8T1

A. Williams 8T1

A. Abaker 7B1

And the 2 gold awards were achieved by:

R. Singh 8T2

O. Aboukharroub 8T1

Now is also our chance to celebrate the success of the year 9 students who took part in the main UK maths challenge a couple of months ago; specifically J. Choi 9A1 and S. Scott 9A1 who each achieved a bronze award. 

Congratulations and thanks to J Boyle, A Dunmore and O Flannagan in Year 11 for attending a voluntary period 6 revision session today. We looked at essential topics that could be on the listening and reading exams on May 14^th. The students worked extremely hard and were treated to some French snacks for their efforts. We wish all Year 11 French students the best of luck on Tuesday and look forward to the revision sessions on Monday.

Period 6 sessions will take place on Wednesdays until the final French exam on May 24^th. All students are welcome to attend.

Two cadets from Year 10, accompanied by Mr. J Kelly, visited the church to retrieve a donation as a gesture of gratitude for the support the school had provided them throughout the past year. The congregation of the church had been instrumental in various forms of assistance to the school, such as attending school events and hosting gatherings in the warm space, and on the school premises. During the latest gathering, they interacted with choir members and Music pupils who, following their performance, joined them for tea and shared their experiences from a recent trip to Oxford University.

We have been very much enjoying the quality of composition and creativity evident in Gothic stories written by Year 8s over the past two weeks.

For their mid-term ‘Key Piece’ in English, each student has been tasked with writing an introductory descriptive paragraph to a Gothic story. The results have been stunning, not to mention sinister, Devilish, ghoulish and creepy. Like this from L. Thompson-Clarke (8T1) who finds ‘the crackling of leaves’ sending ‘a shiver down’ his ‘spine’ as he ‘approaches a dark, gloomy abandoned mansion’ when suddenly ‘a light flickers on’ and he ‘hears light footsteps faintly in the distance’.

There are many fine examples of students using tricks, techniques and structures that will help them develop into confident authors by the time they finally arrive at GCSE. At this stage, though, the students clearly find writing in a creepy Gothic style as much fun as they do hard work. Like L.Cullen (8T1) who finds the ‘breeze is cold and harsh,’ his ‘cheeks numb and ‘his eyes dry’ as he approaches his ghostly mansion, the ‘isolation’ of which ‘he finds unnerving’. He moves ‘on to one of the steps leading up to the door but immediately retreats’ when he hears ‘a loud unsettling creak.’ He then ‘regains his composure’ and heads on into the house to face the horrors within.

These are just two, but there are many such examples of young Stephen Kings in the making, all of them creating a classically scary atmosphere – enough to give an English teacher – tasked with marking them – nightmares!

WELL DONE!

Embarking on a journey beyond borders can be a transformative experience for students, offering them a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in different cultures, languages, and traditions. Recently, a group of 35 adventurous pupils from across Matrix Academy Trust had the incredible opportunity to explore the city of Stockholm, Sweden through the Turing Scheme. This government-funded scheme enables pupils to experience other cultures. 

Our first activity was a visit to the Paradox Musuem, which offers an engaging exploration of optical illusions. Visitors are invited to pose for some great pictures as part of these illusions, before walking to the Avicii Experience, where our pupils enjoyed DJing alongside the groundbreaking DJ and producer, experiencing his music in a unique and immersive setting. 

Later that afternoon, our students had the opportunity to visit Gamla Stan, Stockholm’s charming Old Town, exploring landmarks such as the Royal Armouries. They also delved into the world of Nobel laureates at the Nobel Prize Museum, learning about the importance of science, literature, and peace in shaping our world.  

On our second day, we visited the Vasa Museum in Stockholm. As you step into the museum, you’re greeted by the Vasa ship, a preserved warship that sank on its maiden voyage in 1628 and was salvaged centuries later. Our pupils also enjoyed exploring Lego versions of the world’s most famous shipwrecks. 

Following this, our students had the pleasure of exploring the iconic music of Sweden. At the ABBA museum, they were immersed in ABBA’s iconic costumes and memorabilia, exploring interactive exhibits and singing and dancing along to timeless hits.  

On day three, we paid a visit to the Tekniska Museum of science, technology, and innovation. Here the pupils enjoyed interactive exhibits, followed by lunch at Max Burgers – Sweden’s (significantly better) answer to McDonalds.  

In the afternoon, we took a scenic boat tour around Stockholm’s archipelago, where we got to see the city’s iconic landmarks from a unique perspective. And in the afternoon, the competitive natures of staff and pupils kicked in with an outdoor escape room adventure around the historic town. Divided into teams, pupils navigated their teams and their teacher through the narrow cobblestone streets, solving clues and unravelling mysteries, where only one of our groups solved the clues to find the final code! 

On day four, our pupils had the opportunity to visit Töjnaskolan, a Swedish school located in the suburbs of Stockholm. Stepping into the classrooms of Töjnaskolan, our pupils were struck by the differences between British and Swedish educational systems. Aside from being instant celebrities, they noticed smaller class sizes, a longer lunchtime and no school uniform. The visit sparked discussions between both sets of pupils about the different educational models, encouraging our students to reflect on their own learning experiences and cultural perspectives. 

On day 5 was a visit to Skansen, the world’s first open-air museum, showcasing Swedish life from centuries past to the present day. Our students were delighted to explore the native animals of Sweden, with the highlight of the visit being the opportunity to hand-feed some of the friendly birds that call Skansen home. 

On our final day, our pupils experienced an adrenaline rush at Skypark Vaxholm, an exhilarating outdoor adventure park. They navigated treetop obstacle courses, zip-lined across forests, and conquered thrilling challenges, pushing their limits and building confidence. 

As our pupils bid farewell to Stockholm and boarded their flight back to London Heathrow, they carried with them memories that will last a lifetime. The trip embodied Matrix Academy Trust’s ethos of Education without Exception. Through experiences like the Stockholm trip, we empower our students to open their minds to endless possibilities and shape them into compassionate, informed global citizens. 

In March, pupils across Matrix were invited to enter a Maths competition to celebrate Pi Day. Pupils were asked to use their imagination to bring Pi to life and to illustrate a real life example of Pi. We received entries from Smestow Academy, Etone College and Turves Green Boys School. M Harris from Smestow was our overall winner and has received a £30 Amazon voucher. C Bettison from Etone College and E Keegan from Turves Green Boys’ School received a £10 Amazon voucher for runner up prizes.

Huge congratulations to all three pupils!

This week science club were carrying out experiments around pressure. Dr Patchett demonstrated how to crush a can without touching it using the pressure created by steam – steam takes up 1,600 times the volume of water!

We then used our new knowledge about pressure to figure out how to suck a boiled egg into a conical flask using boiling water. Have a look at the pictures and see if you can figure out how we did it.

Next week we will be carrying out experiments to celebrate British Science Week based on this years theme of “time”.

Year 7 and year 8 took part in the UK Maths Trusts’ Junior Maths Challenge. In exam conditions, with just a pencil and scrap paper students had an hour to complete 25 challenging questions.  The results will be back in a couple of weeks and students will receive their certificate for participating and any Bronze, Silver or Gold awards students managed to achieve.

In the meantime, why not have a go at some of the questions yourself:

Saltmine put on a fantastic performance for our pupils; the recent preventative education production and workshop that took place for KS3 pupils was informative and brilliantly delivered. The production focused on important topics such as social media use, sexual harassment, consent, cyberbullying, AI, and pornography.

The performance centred around the story of Samantha, a typical “IT girl” whose life revolved around TikTok dances, selfies, and staying up-to-date with the latest trends. Samantha had a large online following and big dreams. However, as the story unfolded, cracks began to form in her once unbreakable friendship group.

The production highlighted the dangers of the digital world, where truths can easily become distorted and personal images can be exposed online without consent. Samantha found herself in a situation where she had no control over the dissemination of an explicit image of herself. This led to a crisis where she had to decide whether to try and repair the damage to her online persona or watch everything around her unravel.

As the story progressed, it became clear that filters and illusions could no longer mask the mess that had been created. Samantha and her friends were forced to confront the issues in their own lives and deal with the consequences.

The performance served as a powerful reminder of the importance of responsible online behaviour, the need for consent in all aspects of life, and the potential dangers of social media and technology. It encouraged pupils to reflect on their own online presence and consider the impact their actions can have on themselves and others.

We are incredibly proud of our talented performers who brought this thought-provoking production to life. Their dedication and commitment to raising awareness about these important issues were truly commendable.

We hope that this production has sparked meaningful conversations among our pupils, leading to a greater understanding and empathy towards the challenges faced in the digital age.