As we come to the end of the first term we are celebrating the efforts of those pupils using Mathswatch over the last 8 weeks.  Since September pupils across all year groups have been putting in the time and effort outside the classroom to complete homework and additional independent practise online.

Pupils have spent a combined total of over 727 hours (that’s 30 days) completing over 21,000 homework questions and even more independent learning questions. Our highest scorers are Toby (Year 7), Daniel (Year 11) and Khalidou (Year 8) who have got the most individual marks in their questions.  With Martia (Year 11), Toby (Year 7) and Joshua (Year 11) spending the most time on the website answering questions.  A true reflection of being Self Motivated to achieve by all of them.

Not only have Year 11 being completing their homework online but as they are currently in the middle of their mock exams many pupils have been using Mathswatch to attempt online past exam papers to give them a flavour of what might come up when they get into the exam hall.  With Mathswatch marking and grading everything they do it is a fantastic resource to use.

The Maths Department is extremely proud of all pupils who have engaged so positively this term.  Mathswatch continues to be an invaluable tool in supporting learning, and we look forward to seeing even more success in the next term.

The science department would like to share with you all another brilliant series of lectures that the Institute of Physics is hosting at the University of Birmingham this year.  Last year, Cian and Patrick of 9S1 attended many of these and reported back how enlightening they are.  Below is a write up about one of the lectures the pupils attended:

“On the 3 December 2024, me and a friend went to the University of Birmingham for the public physics lecture, led by Dr Anjali Piette. The topic was called ‘What’s the weather like on alien planets?’, and was about how weather works on different exoplanets, and how we can discover what different atmospheres are made of.  

As we walked into the science department, we went upstairs and into the guest area. There were complimentary hot drinks, as well as mince pies for snacking on. At 7.30pm, we went into the lecture theatre and got seated. Dr Anjali Piette first discussed the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), and how it launched on the 25 December 2021, at 12.20pm GMT. She discussed that our solar system has 8 planets: 4 are known as rocky planets, 4 are known as gas giants. We found out that every star has at least 1 exoplanet orbiting it. With this in mind, there must be hundreds of thousands of exoplanets in space.

We learnt that exoplanet S78S has a temperature range from as low as -175°c all the way up to 2000°c. We were also told that the first exoplanet to be discovered was called 51 PEGASI B, discovered in 1995. If you could see 51 PEGASI B from earth, it would be like looking at a tennis ball all the way on the moon!  

For indirect detection methods, we can look at stars in deep space, and whenever the light from the stars will be fainter than usual, we can tell that an exoplanet is passing in front of the star. Sometimes it can take years to observe exoplanets, as the speed it takes for the planet to rotate its star can differ from other planets. Another way of indirectly observing an exoplanet is by looking at its star. Planets emit infrared light, which cannot be seen by the naked eye, whereas stars emit visible light, which is why they are visible at night. When an exoplanet passes behind the star, the star glows brighter under an infrared lens, as you can also see the light of the exoplanet.

We also discovered that to observe the elements in an exoplanet's atmosphere, we can go to a lab and see what elements absorb certain colours. If we find that carbon dioxide absorbs the colour red, we can use an advanced light sorter spectrum on the exoplanets light, and if a certain shade of red is not there, we know that there is carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.  

Dr Anjali Piette began to discuss other exoplanets. She spoke about the planet WASP 18 B, and how it was like an ultra-hot Jupiter. WASP 18 B’s temperature can go as high as up to 2700°c, whereas Jupiter is at 110 °c. We can observe that there is water vapour on WASP 18 B, as there is a bump on the “fingerprint pattern”, which means that there is water vapour. This could indicate that there was water on this exoplanet, which could also be a sign that life could have once inhabited this planet, before its extreme temperatures.

As we came to the end of the lecture, we were handed QR codes, which led us to a survey. If we completed the survey, we were put into a prize draw to win a custom UOB umbrella. Unfortunately, I did not win, but I still had an enjoyable time.”

Our reading rewards vending machine continues to be a focal point of our weekly celebrations on a Friday lunchtime in the new year. Pupils from all year groups are considered and selected for a range of approaches to demonstrating our TURVES Values, representing the school and attendance at extra-curricular clubs.

20/10/2025

Winners this week include:

Year 7: Jayden - for his hard work and his wonderful enthusiasm towards school.  

Year 8: Charlie - shout out from Dr Patchett: “He showed great enthusiasm for every single workshop.  He wowed me in the first when he very quickly told the mentors that he thinks electrons behave like particles and waves, during a session on coding he showed a huge enthusiasm.  He owns a Raspberry PI at home where he does coding himself and he worked hard to calculate the probability of getting two questions in a row right in the maths session, including volunteering to be a gameshow contestant in front of the group and another school.  He showed great enthusiasm and model behaviour the whole time and it was great to get to hear more of his ideas and interests, especially in STEM.”

Year 9: George - a hardworking, focused and hardworking pupil who shows outstanding effort in ALL of his lessons.  

Year 10: Justin - has shown a real mature approach to the start of GCSE studies.

Year 11: Harry - showing a determined and focus approach to his mock exams.  

10/10/2025

Winners this week include:

Year 7: George - has had an excellent start to TGBS, demonstrating many of our values each day and working hard in all of his subjects.

Year 8: Ollie - a polite, respectful pupil who demonstrates our Turves values in all that he does.  

Year 9: Abdullah - a polite, hardworking pupil who puts in 100% effort into everything.

Year 10: Jamie – a quiet but hardworking young man who has started year 10 off outstandingly.  

Year 11: Charlie - for his excellent start to the year and determination shown across all subjects. Charlie has really shown he is ready to work hard to get the grades he deserves

03/10/2025

Winners this week include:

Year 7:  T Mitchell – understated and determined.  He will smash his work and is being nominated by multiple members of staff.  Keep it up!  

Year 8: G Deeley – a polite and respectful young man that has made a really positive start to year 8.

Year 9: J Sibanda - a quiet, polite, hardworking pupil who has settled in tremendously since starting TGBS.  

Year 10: Y Khan – excellent start for this young man who came from a different house and has been a great addition to the Austin roster.  

Year 11: A Kilburn has turned it around after a shaky start to Year 11, well done!

26/09/2025:

Winners this week include:

Year 7: A Slotta – polite, respectful, hardworking. He has made a real positive start at TGBS.

Year 8: L Brown –  a hardworking, considerate, and respectful young man who exemplifies our values on a daily basis.  

Year 9: M Jinks - for an excellent performance in the Matthew show.  

Year 10: T Fox- his efforts do not go unseen in the classroom, there has been many good things said about his work ethic particularly in English  

Year 11: O Perret – an excellent performance playing Miss Trunchbull in Matthew show.

12/09/2025:

Winners this week include:

Year 9: D Hawkins – great start to September

Year 10: L Taggart – fantastic approach to KS4 & GCSEs.  

Year 11: A Burton: Approaching year 11 with a great mindset. A polite, respectful, hardworking young man.  

05/09/2025

Winners this week include: 

Year 7: Alfred L - Amazing start to TGBS, showing many of our Turves values each day. 

Year 8: Archie M: Has started year 8 with an excellent approach, one that I would expect nothing less than. Always a polite and respectful young man who lives our values. 

Year 9: Lamar L Has come back to school a new person. Polite, mature and focused. Has had an outstanding first week back. 

Year 10: Doubra P great start to KS4 

Year 11: Noah T mature start to Year 11