The school basketball team produced a thrilling performance on Monday 9February holding on for a dramatic 41–37 victory in a game that swung wildly from start to finish.

TGBS came out firing and looked in complete control early, racing to an incredible 21–0 lead. Tight defence and quick ball movement left their opponents struggling to find any rhythm, as the onlookers watched the scoreboard climb without reply.

However, the momentum shifted as the game wore on. The opposing team regrouped after the opening shock and slowly clawed their way back into contention, tightening the score across the second and third quarters. What once seemed a runaway contest turned into a tense battle, with every possession carrying weight.

In the closing moments, the score stood delicately poised. With time nearly expired and the pressure at its highest, the winning team showed composure beyond their years. As the buzzer loomed, a last-second three-pointer was launched - and dropped cleanly through the net by Shanrique - sealing the 41–37 victory and sending the bench into celebration.

The win was a testament to a fast start, resilience under pressure, and the confidence to deliver when it mattered most.

We are thrilled to announce that this summer, our school will be putting on the beloved musical “The Wizard of Oz”! Join Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Tin Man, and the Cowardly Lion on an unforgettable journey down the Yellow Brick Road.

Auditions are coming up!
Pupils who are interested in performing can collect an audition pack from Mrs Haynes or Miss Harrison. Auditions will take place after half term, so make sure to pick up your pack and start preparing your part!

Whether you love singing, dancing, acting, or simply being part of a fantastic team, there’s a role for everyone. Don’t miss this chance to be part of a magical production that promises fun, excitement, and memories that will last a lifetime.

Stay tuned for more details about rehearsal schedules and performance dates. We can’t wait to see your talent shine on stage!

Step into the magic – see you on the Yellow Brick Road!

The Tigers group recently visited Kings Norton Construction College as part of their intervention, where they were introduced to a range of opportunities within the groundwork and construction sector. Staff at the college provided an overview of different career pathways and the skills required to succeed in the industry, giving the group valuable insight into real-world construction environments.

During the visit, the boys took part in a practical block paving activity, allowing them to gain hands-on experience and develop practical skills. They approached the task with enthusiasm, worked well together, and demonstrated positive attitudes throughout the session. All the boys were brilliant, representing the group extremely well and making the most of the learning opportunity.

This year the Department for Education has launched its National Year of Reading Campaign, due to the number of children reading for pleasure falling at an alarming rate. 

Annually, we take part in the Book Trust’s ‘Bookbuzz’ initiative which aims to promote reading for pleasure in Key Stage 3. At form time in October, pupils were shown a range of short clips from award winning authors talking about their books for this year’s round. Each pupil has a personalised bookmark on which they selected their top 3 books. Our Year 11 prefects worked hard to sort all the individual books and had the privilege of handing these books out to pupils in the final week of school as our Christmas ‘gift of reading’. 

As part of our ongoing commitment to raising the profile of reading, we have ensured that each pupil in KS3 has their very own book to read at home over Christmas that they have chosen themselves. Staff and pupils were delighted to receive, discuss and above all, start reading their new books in their dedicated form time reading session. Along with their Accelerated reader books, pupils are well equipped to embrace the year of reading initiative!

The popular game has become a key part of our break time at TGBS! Thanks to Mr Rawlings, pupils can meet in A1 with their Beyblades and compete against one another. The boys enjoy mini tournaments and cheering each other on.

The Tigers group recently attended a local boxing gym, Anderson’s Boxing Club, as part of their intervention programme, stepping into an environment that challenged them both physically and mentally. Under the guidance of an experienced boxing coach, they were introduced to the basics of boxing, learning correct stance, movement, and controlled techniques. Alongside this, they took part in circuit training that pushed their stamina and strength, encouraging them to keep going even when they felt tired. The gym setting provided a structured and focused space where effort and respect were expected from the outset.

Throughout the session, the emphasis was placed on resilience and self-discipline rather than competition. The boys were encouraged to manage their emotions, listen carefully to instructions, and support one another through demanding exercises. By persevering through the challenges, they began to understand the value of self-control, determination, and personal responsibility. The experience helped them to recognise that resilience is built through consistent effort and positive choices, lessons they could carry beyond the gym and into their everyday lives. Well done to the boys – they worked incredibly hard and were a real credit to TGBS!

Last week Year 9 pupils enjoyed their second visit from researchers at the University of Birmingham to analyse the particle traps that have been hung around school since the end of October.

We recapped what air particles are, why we are interested in them and how they can affect people’s health by getting into their lungs and even bloodstream. After a brief practice at using the mini microscopes people were then able to analyse their samples, counting the number of particles that were trapped on their grids and calculating a mean value.

We hung traps in history and art, science rooms, the canteen, reprographics and DT and results are shared below (as many staff have been asking!)

What impressed staff most was the number of pupils who used the workshop as a fresh look at science and asked intelligent questions and reflected critically on our method, suggesting ways we could improve the validity of our results.

Many thanks to all the staff who supported the day by covering classes and supporting sessions, providing our guests with refreshments and hosting our traps in your classrooms and well done to all Year 9 who made the most of this exciting opportunity.

We are incredibly proud of the commitment shown by our Year 9 and Year 10 pupils who have taken on the role of peer mentors, as well as our Year 7 pupils who have engaged so positively as mentees during recent attendance mentoring sessions.

This programme reflects our whole-school commitment to developing successful, resilient and confident individuals. By working together across year groups, pupils have helped to create a supportive environment where younger pupils feel listened to, encouraged and valued, and where older pupils are able to demonstrate leadership, empathy and responsibility.

Our Year 9 and 10 mentors have approached their role with maturity and care, offering reassurance, guidance and positive role modelling. In turn, our Year 7 mentees have shown openness, courage and a willingness to engage, which has been central to the success of the sessions.

The peer mentoring programme plays an important role in strengthening a caring culture within school. It promotes a sense of belonging and collective responsibility, helping all pupils to feel part of a community where wellbeing and attendance are supported through understanding and encouragement.

We would like to thank all pupils involved for their enthusiasm and commitment. Their participation highlights the positive impact of pupil leadership and peer support in building a school community where everyone feels seen, supported and able to succeed.

This year in Period 6 for science Year 11 pupils are focussing on “tricky topics” that pop up in GCSE Science. These are topics that have been identified nationally by exam boards as key areas where pupils commonly make mistakes therefore are great topics to help us pick up extra marks and close the gap between where we are now and our target grades. Groups have worked on command words like “compare” - where we know we can draw a table to make sure we are drawing comparisons or “explain” where we know we should be using link words such as “because”.

We have also been drawing attention to our practical skills, knowing that in exams a labelled diagram and accurately naming equipment can start us off with some marks in those long answer questions.

Last week Dr Patchett’s group drew links with their practical skills and knowledge of the structure of cells by extracting DNA from strawberries. We recapped the structure of a plant cell and used our knowledge of the other layers – the cellulose and cell wall and fatty cell membrane to break open the cell. We recapped the names of key equipment including, pestle and mortar, test tubes and pipettes. The results speak for themselves! Well done to all the pupils who took part in this task.

The Science department rounded off the winter term with a wonderful trip with 45 of our most hard working Year 7 scientists. Pupils travelled to the University of Birmingham for a campus tour and festive lecture given by Jon Wood where he spilled the beans on the science and engineering behind Christmas food.

We voted for our most essential part of Christmas dinner (roast potatoes of course!) and took part in a heated debate about the most appropriate meat. We also learned about why sausages contain bamboo fibre, why some people REALLY hate sprouts and what it means when our food packaging says, “stored in a protective atmosphere”.

Our pupils were as enthusiastic as ever, sharing ideas and thoughts during the lecture, braving the December weather with good cheer. We also got to enjoy the incredible Aston Webb building, which looked particularly impressive decorated for Christmas. Staff were even treated to various renditions of Christmas Songs performed by pupils in preparation for the talent show on the way back to school.

Well done to our pupils who made us proud representing the school so wonderfully and a special thanks to Mr Turbill, Mr Hawkes and Miss Abbott, who drove and supervised the trip making this experience possible and enjoyable.