On Wednesday 11 March the Maths department began its early celebrations for Pi Day 2026! Every year on 14 March, mathematicians and enthusiasts around the world celebrate Pi Day, honouring the infinite number π and its crucial role in mathematics and engineering. And as a bonus it is also Einstein’s birthday.

Pupils took part in a hidden question hunt, searching for multiple-choice maths questions placed around the building. Each question tested their knowledge of Pi and circles. Correct answers provided a letter, and once all were found, they had to be rearranged to spell the surname of a teacher.

A massive congratulations to all participants, especially Charlie in 10A2 as well as Ethan and Yisehaq in 8T1 who were the first to hunt down Miss Harrison and deliver the code. Each pupil has received a special Pi day 2026 coin as well as positive points for their house.

On World Book Day this year we welcomed local Young Poet Laureate Damani Dennisur! Every year group had the opportunity to see Damani perform his poetry, take part in his interactive sessions and create and perform a poem for their year group. The pupils loved listening to and creating live poetry and had their views of poetry challenged and expanded. Pupils really enjoyed the sessions and are keen to have more.

Our lucky 16 by 16 readers had the opportunity to take part in much smaller, bespoke and personalised workshop in the library during which Damani worked them individually to develop their own extended poetry. 

On the 4 March the Warhammer Alliance made their annual visit to Warhammer World in Nottingham, the home of all thing Warhammer.  After arriving by minibus and the obligatory selfie by the rhino tank outside the shop we headed inside to start our day of hobby.

Pupils visited the exhibit halls which host the largest display of dioramas and models from across the Warhammer universes.  These dioramas display some of the epic battles of Warhammer as well as showcase the incredible models painted by the ‘Eavy Metal’ team or paint the official miniatures for the website and box art.  Pupils were inspired to take their own pictures competing in a photography competition kindly ran by Callum in 10A1.  He kindly volunteered some models he no longer wanted as a prize for the competition and acted as the judge.

When pupils were not in the exhibit, they spent the time playing Warhammer on the tables in the giant castle themed gaming hall.  Lots of pupils also visited the shop, and with Warhammer World celebrating its 29^th anniversary pupils like Oliver, 11A1, took the opportunity to purchase some of the limited time celebration models.  Lots of pupils also got some free gifts with their purchases of some badges and shiny green metal dice.

As always, a fantastic day out for our pupils and they are already looking forward to going again next year.

During the first term of this academic year, pupils from across our Trust came together for a special creative project celebrating the theme of community. Hosted at Turves Green Boys’ School, pupils from each of our schools collaborated to design and create a vibrant collection of artwork that reflected what community means to them, their classmates, and their individual school environments.

Working side by side, pupils shared ideas, stories, and artistic styles to produce individual pieces. Following the event, the artwork has now been transformed into signage and distributed to every school within the Trust. This means that each school now proudly displays a piece of the collective mural, ensuring that a small part of every school community is represented across all of our sites.

These displays are now proudly showcased in various locations around each school, celebrating creativity, collaboration, and the shared values that unite our Trust. The project not only produced beautiful artwork but also created lasting connections between pupils and schools, reinforcing the importance of belonging, respect, and community.

We are incredibly proud of all the pupils who took part and the creativity, teamwork, and thought they brought to this project. The pieces stand as a lasting symbol of the spirit of our Trust – many schools, one community.

Year 9 pupil Ashton's hard work paid off again as he won his most recent fight, earning the well-deserved title of Midland Counties Junior Champion 2026.

Up against powerful opposition, Ashton came out strong in all three rounds to gain the unanimous decision.

This is Ashton's fourth Midlands title and he goes on this week to fight in the Pre-Quarter round of the England Boxing National Junior Championships. These Championships have been running since the 1930s and are a breeding ground for some of the country’s future boxing stars. 

Best of Luck!

Many of our Key Stage 3 pupils had the opportunity to enter poems for the ‘I Have a Dream’ poetry competition, run by the charity Young Writers. Boys were able to write a poem about their dreams and enter it for the possibility of publication. Many boys worked incredibly hard and their entries were subsequently fantastic. Here are some pupils from 7X/En2 whose work was published in the book and who now own their very own copy! There are also copies in the library to peruse. Well done to all who entered and keep your eyes peeled for any future Young Writer competitions in which to participate...

We had a lovely first half term to 2026! Our diligent Eco Committee members participated in this year’s Big Bird Watch and submitted their results which is helping the RSPB estimate whether populations are growing or declining across the country. We spotted gulls, tits and sparrows as well as one little wagtail that likes to visit outside of the school reception in the morning hours. They have really had a valuable contribution to monitoring and encouraging biodiversity across the site.

We also spent some time learning how to make seed snails. We know that not everyone has access to a massive garden or allotment, so we practiced how you can sow seeds in a smaller space so that you can grow your own veg on your window ledge! These space savers are great for starting seeds off and then when they are big enough, you can transfer them to pots that can also sit on your window ledge if you don’t have an outdoor space. Well done everyone for a fantastic first half term to 2026! We’re hoping to plant their tomatoes, cucumber, carrot, aubergine and watermelon by Easter so they can settle in over the holiday.

Cian has very kindly provided us with another write up from another very interesting lecture at University of Birmingham.  This ties in perfectly with electricity and magnetism unit our Year 8’s are currently studying.  Thank you again Cian for sharing what you have learned with us so we can all benefit.  He certainly embodies each of our Turves Values.

“Fundamental things to universe- atoms (electron, proton, nucleus)

Human beings- brain, heart, skeletal muscles, peripheral nerves- there must be a magnetic field involved. There are magnetic fields that control things like heart, muscles

Why do animals migrate- a sea turtle can go back to where they were born, even after swimming alone for 10,000miles for 1 year- not just turtles, birds, butterflies, bugs- all sense earth's magnetic field. Earth could be considered one giant magnet. Inside earth, outer core, molten iron, charged particles, we experience this as a magnetic field. Every 300,000 years, the magnetic field flips. We don't know when it will happen next, could be 100,000 years.

Earth's crust is constantly recreated- magma pushes up, solidifies, makes new rock layer. Especially in ocean.

Earth's magnetic field protects us from the solar storms that the sun emits. All planets are magnetic, so we can assume that all space objects are magnetic. most magnetic thing is a neutron star. There is a vast empty space between galactic clusters. So empty that if you travel in straight line, you will only occur 1 particle every few km. Despite seeming empty, it is full of strong magnetic fields. Magnetism links to everything, from tiny atoms to giant neutron stars

A famous person believed the earth was a giant magnet. He made a giant magnetic sphere and got a needle. He moved around it, always pointed north. Micheal F came up with the idea of magnetic fields.

In low temp, atoms/electrons are straight, so are magnetic. In high temp, thermal waves disrupt them, not magnetic.

Transparent, shiny, pink magnetic crystals. Each different crystal material, the atoms are arranged predominantly in one direction. Some of the crystals are arranged in 2d. The layers are too far apart, so the atoms can’t communicate together.

All the different phenomenons over 100s of years have helped us understand magnets as they are today

MRI machines save hundreds of thousands of lives a year. It runs from a superconductor, a giant magnetic field 10,000 times that of the earth*.

Technology like the HDD use magnets.

There are lots of magnetic implications in everyday life. A microphone, a speaker, an auto-focusing and image stabilisation camera al use a neodymium magnet. So does the haptic engine, magsafe, and charging the phone.

Wind turbines and engines also use magnets, but it leaves a big carbon footprint. To get neodymium, lots of mining is done, which destroys our earth, and releases lots of bad chemicals into the air.

Why don’t we recycle neodymium? At UoB, they try researching it. But car companies don’t want to recycle their engines, as it can give away the designs of them. Outcome is very significant. The human race had been significantly changed by magnetism and the research of magnetism.

For more info, visit MagneticBirmingham.com”

Throughout this half-term I have had the pleasure of coordinating our peer mentoring sessions. The commitment shown by both mentors and mentees demonstrates the positive impact of pupils working together to strengthen our school community.

These packed sessions reflect our shared understanding that improving school attendance is a collective responsibility. By building supportive relationships across year groups, pupils are helping to create a culture where everyone feels encouraged, valued and motivated to attend each day - while having the opportunity to take responsibility to overcome any barriers to good school attendance.

Our mentors have continued to show maturity, empathy and leadership, providing consistent encouragement; acting as positive role models and embodying our Turves Values. Equally, our mentees deserve recognition for their willingness to participate, reflect and take meaningful steps towards improving their attendance. Their openness and effort are central to the success of the programme.

Peer mentoring is more than an attendance strategy; it is an investment in developing resilient, confident and successful individuals. When students feel part of a caring and connected community, they are more likely to thrive both socially and academically.

This week pupils from Year 9 and 10 got their results back for the UK Maths Challenge. The challenge was issued to the top set of each of the two-year groups and is an internationally recognised award to identify mathematical talent from pupils all across the UK.

Declan, Connor, Louie, Charlie and Llemari in Year 9 as well as Tyshae, Yahya, Aiden, Kamron, Jamie, Teo, Zack, Logan and George in Year 10 all achieved bronze awards.

Alfie in Year 9 achieved that year groups only silver award with Charles, Duarte, Sebastian and William in Year 10 all getting silver awards

And then for his second time at TGBS Remee in Year 10 achieved a gold award. A young man with some super mathematical talent.

Congratulations to all of those who took part. The UK Maths Challenge is an incredibly tricky test and shows a lot of resilience and skill to even attempt. Year 8 and Year 7 will get their chance to try the junior one in the next few months.