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.

This Christmas season has truly shown the power of community, kindness, and generosity. Our annual Christmas Food Drive was an incredible success, thanks to the overwhelming support from parents who gave so freely to help others during the festive period.

We are especially proud to celebrate Boulton House, whose outstanding generosity shone brightly throughout the campaign. With the highest number of donations collected, Boulton House has been officially crowned our Christmas Community Champions! This remarkable achievement reflects not only enthusiasm and teamwork, but a genuine commitment to supporting those in need at the most important time of the year.

Every donated item represents a thoughtful act of care, helping to bring warmth, comfort, and festive cheer to local families. The friendly competition between houses added excitement to the drive, but the true victory belongs to our whole community, who came together with compassion at its heart.

Thank you to everyone who contributed, organised, and supported this initiative. Your generosity has made a real difference and perfectly captures the spirit of Christmas. Congratulations once again to Boulton House—and thank you all for proving that, together, we can make this season brighter for everyone. 🎄✨

Year 8, you deserve real praise for the focus and maturity you have shown while studying Animal Farm this term. You approached a challenging and thought-provoking text with curiosity, resilience, and a willingness to think deeply. Your discussions showed growing confidence as you explored characters, themes, and the powerful messages behind Orwell’s writing. Many of you demonstrated impressive focus when analysing language and symbolism, making thoughtful links between the novel and ideas about power, leadership, and fairness.

You listened respectfully to different viewpoints and supported your ideas with evidence, which is a key skill you continue to develop well. Your written work reflected care, effort, and an improving ability to explain ideas clearly and thoughtfully. Most importantly, you showed that you can stay engaged with complex ideas and rise to academic challenges. Keep this focus and determination going - you should be very proud of the progress you have made this term.

We are extremely proud of Ayaan in year 11 who has earned a Blue Peter Music Badge following the submission of a piano performance he recorded.

Ayaan has frequently shown us his incredible technical skill and musical performance, so it is no surprise that the Blue Peter team has rewarded him with this prestigious badge. Not only that but they have also invited him to perform on the show. This is an incredibly fantastic opportunity and a significant accomplishment. We hope with how busy he is with his Year 11 studies he will be able to find the time to attend.

The Blue Peter Music Badge is awarded to young musicians who demonstrate talent, dedication and creativity and there is no better person to award it to than Ayaan and his hard work and commitment to music.Well done Ayaan on this exciting success and we look forward to seeing where your incredible music talent leads you.

In the last two weeks of this Christmas half term our 30+ strong school choir has taken part in several carol concerts across the local community sharing music, joy and goodwill with a wide range of audiences. The choir have performed in several venues including Saxon Court, Longbridge Baptist Church, Austin Rose Care Home and Limes Care Home as well as a special performance at Turves Green for a small number of staff and pupils.

These performances have not only given the boys an incredibly opportunity to perform and sing in the real world to help develop their confidence, team work and professionalism, but it is also incredibly important to show our community spirit and commitment as a school; especially during this festive season.

The concerts were all warmly received with audiences praising the choir’s enthusiasm and respectful conduct. With this being the third year of these carol concerts it is becoming a staple of the festive season for the local community.

We are incredibly proud of the boys for representing our school and involving themselves with our continued community work through music. Their maturity and generosity reflect their strong commitment to the Turves values and the meaningful impact our young people have on the local community.

Turves Green Boys’ School hosted it’s second annual Young Musician competition. An evening to showcase the outstanding musical ability and dedication of our pupils. The night was run as talent competition where pupils have the opportunity to present themselves professionally performing to a live audience.

16 students competed in the night with a wide range of performances with a variety of different instruments pupils have been learning in their music lesson, peripatetic lesson and at home with their own practice. The event was attending by parents, staff and fellow pupils who all came together to support the performers.

Our panel of judges, including Miss Harrison and other musicians from the Birmingham area, had a hard time picking a winner looking at each performer’s professionalism, musical talent, fluency and expression through each performance.

First place went to Alfie in Year 11with his incredible vocals closely followed by Oscar on the saxophone and Jacob on the drums (both in Year 11). A final special mention also goes to Oliver (Year 11) for his vocal and guitar performance.

The judges praised all the competitors for their professionalism and commitment to learning and performing with their chosen instrument. The evening was a tremendous success and really celebrated the musical talent within our school, and we look forward to next year.

Our Year 11 Prefects have been developing their pupil leadership roles this year by supporting the library and our annual National Literacy Trust Bookbuzz Reading initiative.  Each year, we ask pupils in KS3 to select a book from a list of bespoke top selling books for children.  These books are ordered, and our Prefects have been an incredible help this term by sorting them into individual pupils' form and gift bags.  They will help to deliver these books at the end of term as gifts from TGBS to demonstrate our ongoing commitment to improving reading for all pupils and fostering a love lifelong love of reading.  2026 is the National Year of Reading, our pupils at TGBS are ahead of the game in terms of progress made in reading, but all support at home is welcome!