Turves Green Boys' School held a series of assemblies this week focused on Mental Health Awareness Month, where pupils were educated on the signs, conditions, and ways to look after themselves when it comes to mental health. The assemblies provided valuable insights and raised awareness of the importance of mental health, teaching pupils how to recognise the signs of mental health struggles and seek help when needed. Pupils were encouraged to prioritise their mental health and were provided with practical advice on how to care for themselves and others.

Overall, the assemblies were a valuable opportunity for pupils to gain a deeper understanding of mental health and to feel supported in their own mental health journeys.

At our school, we take great pride in our comprehensive Pupil Support Services, which include three dedicated Heads of House, a School Social Worker, a Student Social Worker, a Mental Health Practitioner, an Intervention Lead, and an Attendance Manager. These compassionate professionals are available to provide swift and comprehensive wrap-around care and support to our pupils whenever they are needed.

A Year 7 headteacher commendation award recognises a pupil's outstanding effort and achievements in their academic and personal development during their first year of secondary school. The commendation award is a testament to the pupil's dedication, hard work, and commitment to excellence.

The pupils of this award have demonstrated a strong sense of responsibility, maturity, and dedication throughout their first year of secondary school. They have set a high standard for themselves and their peers, and have shown that they are capable of achieving great things through hard work and commitment. The Year 7 headteacher commendation award is a well-deserved recognition of their achievements, and we look forward to seeing them continue to excel in their academic and personal development in the years to come at Turves Green Boys School. 

Names: 

A. Singh 7B1

M. Al Jemaa 7B1

K. Hooper 7A1

T. Rose 7T1

M. Scarf 7B1

R.Biddle 7B1

B. Mallett 7T1

O. Hinton 7A1

On Wednesday 03^rd May 2023  we held reward assemblies for all pupils in year 7 and 10 and handed out over 300 certificates for various achievements.  

Firstly, we had our subject rewards where pupils were recognised for OUTSTANDING BEHAVIOUR, HIGHEST ATTAINMENT and BEST EFFORT. These subject awards were really important for seeing the fantastic work our pupils put into the classroom and the dedication to meet the highest expectations day in day out.   

Secondly, we had our attendance rewards, where pupils were recognised for EXCELLENT attendance and OUTSTANDING attendance (100%). 

Thirdly, we had our recognition for commendations and our 100 club rewards, we had pupils achieving Bronze, Silver, Gold and Headteacher certificates for commendations in their planners and these will have weighting towards house points and prizes at the end of the academic year. We hope to see more and more pupils getting their Bronze, Silver, Gold and Headteacher badges that pupils will be wearing on their blazer lapels.  

Our final awards were for pupils achieving certificates for their accelerated reading. Where pupils completed quizzes and reading of 1/2 million and a million words.  

Please see below some pictures from the reward assemblies and thank you to staff that supported with the running of these rewards assemblies. 

A huge congratulations on the exceptional community engagement efforts shown by O Stokes 10T1. His dedication to making a difference in the lives of those around him is truly inspiring, and it is clear that he has made a significant impact on the community of Longbridge. He has been recognised with a pride of Longbridge certificate for his commitment to his community. 

The commitment to volunteering, fundraising, and other activities is a testament to his character.  His willingness to give his time and energy to help others is a shining example of the kind of leadership and generosity that we should all strive to emulate.

His efforts have not gone unnoticed, and I am certain that his contributions will be remembered and appreciated by the members of the Longbridge community for years to come. Turves Green Boys' school are proud to have him as a pupil, we have no doubt that he will continue to make a positive impact on his community and beyond. 

Once again, congratulations to O Stokes on his fantastic community engagement. He is an inspiration to us all at Turves Green Boys' school. 

Thursday 4^th May was the third in Year 9’s series of visits from the ChemBAM team from the University of Birmingham. Five chemistry researchers joined us to carry out an experiment where pupils used their analytical skills to try to figure out what items were hidden inside 7 black boxes (without opening them!) items included salt, citric acid, washing powder and a mystery object.

Pupils applied their knowledge of physical and chemical properties to collect data on the items and piece together the evidence to form their conclusions. We were then given an MRI image of the item in the mystery box to help us guess it’s identity.

Pupils finished the session by discussing the visitors research with them. We learned about everything from how batteries are being researched to be able to fly aeroplanes to using boxes full of noble gases to stop reactions from exploding.

Many thanks to outreach Officer Rachel Green and her team of scientists from the University of Birmingham for running such enjoyable and interesting activities.

Matrix’s first ever cross-trust pupil awards event, held at Millennium Point on 20^th April, was a fantastic success.

Pupils were recognised for exemplifying our trust values of creativity, resilience, selflessness, enthusiasm and continuous improvement. There were also awards for exemplary members of our Cadet Forces.

With more than 7000 pupils across our trust schools, it was really difficult to choose the 46 award winners. Those who did receive the awards should feel deservedly proud of their achievement.

The awards-giving was punctuated with several fantastic performances, including DJs from Barr Beacon, a piano virtuoso from Year 4 of Bloxwich Academy and Etone’s ‘Mega Band’. Before the event, we had over an hour of performances from pupils across our trust schools, all of who had been selected to perform after a trust-wide talent competition, which had more than 100 entrants.

The evening started with a video relating the story of our trust up until the end of 2022. Our CEO Ms Draycott then spoke about the two newest schools, Smestow Academy and Wednesfield Academy, who joined the Matrix family this year.

 There was also a special video explaining ‘what a makes a Matrix pupil’, starring a teacher from each of our schools.

Here is what some of our parents and carers have said about the event:

“The awards ceremony was fantastic. It was great to see pupils getting their awards and the fantastic performances from across the Matrix Academy Trust schools.”

“It meant so much to see all the pupils being awarded for life skills rather than academic achievement. The head teachers giving a little speech about each pupil was a lovely touch and really personalised it.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening.  It was very special to see everyone receiving their awards.”

“Thank you for a special evening celebrating the achievements of pupils.  We are especially proud of our daughter!”

“Tonight was simply amazing!” 

Ms Draycott and Director of School Improvement Mr Lowbridge-Ellis introduced each of the awards and our headteachers explained who they had chosen and why. Trustee Sir Mark Aspinall bestowed the awards on the worthy winners.

On Wednesday 26^th April, 50 of our Year 7 students visited the University of Birmingham and had the opportunity to experience what life is like at one of the UK's top universities. Pupils had a tour of the impressive campus, experienced a sample lecture and learnt about the range of exciting courses and extra-curricular clubs on offer at the University. A particular highlight for many of our boys was sampling the food on offer at the university! For most of our pupils, this was their first experience of University life and has broadened their horizons about their future career pathways. For the Year 7 pupils who did not attend this trip, there will be a further visit to the University of Birmingham going out later this year so that all pupils can learn about what university life is like. 

On Friday 28th April 2023 we held reward assemblies for all pupils in year 8 and 9 and handed out over 300 certificates for various achievements.  

Firstly, we had our subject rewards where pupils were recognised for OUTSTANDING BEHAVIOUR, HIGHEST ATTAINMENT and BEST EFFORT. These subject awards were really important for seeing the fantastic work our pupils put into the classroom and the dedication to meet the highest expectations day in day out.   

Secondly, we had our attendance rewards, where pupils were recognised for EXCELLENT attendance and OUTSTANDING attendance (100%). 

Thirdly, we had our recognition for commendations and our 100 club rewards, we had pupils achieving Bronze, Silver, Gold and Headteacher certificates for commendations in their planners and these will have weighting towards house points and prizes at the end of the academic year. We hope to see more and more pupils getting their Bronze, Silver, Gold and Headteacher badges that pupils will be wearing on their blazer lapels.  

Our final awards were for pupils achieving certificates for their accelerated reading. Where pupils completed quizzes and reading of 1/2 million and a million words.  

Please see below some pictures from the reward assemblies and thank you to staff that supported with the running of these rewards assemblies. 

On April 17^th  year 10 Hospitality and Catering pupils celebrated the end of Eid by making and sharing a selection of traditional Eid celebration food.  Miss Khan ran an after-school session on making samosas and pupils had a go at making authentic Chicken Biryani. Pupils then served these to all year groups during lunch time.  Everyone thought they were absolutely delicious.  Eid Mubarak.

On Wednesday 22nd March, Pupils from our Warhammer Club went to Warhammer World in Nottingham.

Pupils  started the day in the exhibit hall looking at all the professionally painted models that are used on the website as well as the massive battle displays the design studio has made. One of the pupils’  favourite bits was looking at the ‘Battle of Angelus Prime’ diorama which is the largest Warhammer display in the world. There if you find the hidden assassin figure and tell a member of staff they will give you one for free.

Pupils then went into Bugmans Bar, the fantasy themed restaurant for lunch. Then, had an afternoon of gaming, painting and building in the castle courtyard themed gaming hall. The pupils then had the chance to go to the shop and buy some models which they could build whilst they were there and in Warhammer alliance club sessions in the future.

On the way out, the staff in the shop gave pupils some tournament packs to have their own tournaments in school as well as making sure everyone walked away with a space marine pin badge.

This is what some of the pupils had to say:

‘The exhibition hall was my favourite, I liked all the massive models and the hidden assassin which we couldn’t find. But it was fun to look for it. It would have been even funnier if we found it.' -Tyler C

‘I liked the games in a big place made for it that was all castle themed’ - Taylor F

‘I liked trying to find the assassin’ -Richmond I

‘My favourite part was looking through the shop at all of the models on display’ -Oliver H