On Monday, 6 of our Year 7/8 students participated in their inaugural indoor cricket match against King Edward VI Five Ways. As part of this format, students have a maximum of 10 overs with 6 balls an over to score as many runs as possible without getting out. Our boys batted first and with some brilliance from Jack and Myles, they managed a respectable 45 runs before going all out. It was then our turn to field and after a shaky start, Jensen had an amazing over where he managed bowl out 3 batsmen bagging himself a hat-trick. Unfortunately, the opposition was too strong and managed to get 46 runs with only 5 outs.

The boys should be really proud with their performance against such a county player filled opposition and I know they are looking forward to their next game on the 5^th February.

At Turves Green Boys’ School, we take pride in recognising the achievements and efforts of our pupils, and the Autumn Rewards Assemblies provided an excellent opportunity to do just that. Held for all year groups, the assemblies allowed us to acknowledge pupils’ contributions across various areas of school life.

It was encouraging to see so many pupils being recognised for their dedication, hard work, and achievements—not only in their academic studies but also through their involvement in the wider school community. From academic progress and participation in extracurricular activities to their commitment to upholding our core TURVES Values, our pupils demonstrated commendable efforts throughout the term.

The assemblies featured a positive atmosphere, with pupils and staff sharing moments of pride and celebration. Highlights included the applause for award recipients and a series of light-hearted challenges undertaken by Senior Leaders. From karaoke to eating challenges, these added an element of humour and showcased the sense of community we value at Turves Green Boys’ School.

These assemblies not only celebrated individual successes but also reinforced the importance of building a strong and supportive school community. We are proud of the commitment our pupils have shown and grateful to the staff who worked hard to make the events run smoothly.

As we look ahead to the Spring term, we remain confident that our pupils will continue to strive for excellence and uphold the values that define our school.

Congratulations to all award recipients, and thank you to everyone who contributed to these memorable assemblies.

The Turves Green Boys' School Talent Show 2024 was an unforgettable evening filled with music, drama, and breath taking performances. Students showcased their incredible skills across a variety of categories, leaving the audience and judges in awe.

One of the night’s standout performances was an energetic and synchronized dance routine, which earned third place. The dancer impressed with their precision, creativity, and enthusiasm, lighting up the stage with vibrant moves and infectious energy.

Second place went to a powerful rap performance that had the crowd cheering and clapping along. The young rapper delivered impactful lyrics with charisma and confidence, proving that spoken word can be just as electrifying as any melody.

The grand winners of the evening were a sensational singing duet, who claimed the top prize—the prestigious Turves Got Talent Trophy. Their harmonious voices and heartfelt rendition of “Count on Me” by Bruno Mars, brought the audience to their feet in a standing ovation. The duo’s chemistry and talent shone brightly on stage. 

Head of School Mr Walker praised all participants, saying, “The talent and dedication displayed here tonight are truly inspiring. Every performer should feel proud of what they achieved.”

The event, organized by the school's Creative Arts Department, proved once again why Turves Green Boys' School is a hub for budding artists. Congratulations to all the performers and especially to the winning duet for a well-deserved victory!

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.

Winners over the last fortnight include:

Year 11: Matthew F: For showing a consistent mature approach to his studies. He has made a great start to the spring term already.  

Y9 George C: Most positive praise points this week.

Year 7: Callum B Putting in great effort and progress this term already, consistently achieving the most amount of praise points each day within Boulton.

Year 8: Jensen M A polite and respectful young man who consistently demonstrates our values but often goes under the radar.

9: Yahya K excellent manners and respect, wonderful work produced across all subjects.

Year 10: Tyler G Has made a great start to his time here at TGBS. Consistently showing the values and meeting the expectations in lessons and around school.  

11: Liam Ricketts making a great start back to Year 11 studies.

This week we hosted our first ever trust wide football competition between all our schools. The competition was hosted at Etone College and utilised the outstanding facilities and Football Academy provision to implement a very competitive and fun filled event. The day consisted of high quality and competitive football from Year 8 pupils from each of our schools. Our pupils showcased sportsmanship of the highest quality and their passion for football shone through as pupils enjoyed playing and meeting people from across the trust.

It was evident as soon as the group stages started, the games were going to be decided with a bit of magic, an error, or the dreaded penalties. The group stages ended Bloxwich Academy, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury, Etone College and Turves Green Boys’ School progressed to the semi-final stage.

The 7th and 8th placed playoff was a competitive affair which saw the Etone B team victorious over Wednesfield Academy on penalties. The 5th and 6th placed game saw Barr Beacon win the game 1-0. In the semi-finals there was very little difference between the four schools in what was a very competitive high-quality game and again the dreaded penalty shoot-out came into force, Etone College and Bloxwich Academy progressed to the final and Turves Green and Dame Elizabeth went into the third and fourth playoff game

The 3rd and 4th playoff game was a very exciting game that saw both teams miss chances and played some free-flowing exciting football, unfortunately both keepers were to remain unbeaten, and Dame Elizabeth took the third place on penalties. The final consisted of Bloxwich Academy and Etone College in which was anyone’s to win after the two teams had played out a 0-0 draw earlier in the day. Etone started quickly and scored an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner to make it 1-0, Bloxwich to their credit competed fiercely and played some fantastic football and deserved their equaliser to make it 1-1. With both teams going for the win Etone caught Bloxwich on the break to open them up and scored 3 late goals to take the game and the title 4-1.

A huge well done to all pupils and staff involved and a big thankyou to all those that contributed to the event. We are looking forward to getting the next event booked into the calendar to see where the shield will end up next year.

Mr Hawkes said: On the 16^th January, 9 year 8 boys went to Etone College to represent TGBS in a trust football tournament. The boys were incredible showing the highest of standards on and off the pitch. The first part of the day were the group stages, drawn in that group were local rivals DEC. Our first game however, was against Barr Beacon which ended in a draw. Our second game was against Etone B team. Pressure from results in the other games in the group meant we needed a win to keep our hopes alive in getting to the final. In the first 5 minutes, Jack scored a wonder goal, the ball leaving his foot like a rocket straight into the top left corner of the goal. From there on we held our own and won the game putting us 2^nd in our group. Our final group game was against local rivals DEC. This game was our toughest challenge yet. With Barr beacon winning their final game, it meant we needed to draw or win, a loss would have knocked us out of the tournament. The game started, nerves kicked in for all, DEC had a strong side winning all their games so far in the group stages. Connor, Matthew and Morgan were like the great wall of China.... solid in defence their performances placed confidence across the whole team. DEC were given no chances to shoot and it was a tight game. The final whistle blew and the game ended in the draw we needed; we were through to the semi-final stages. The semi-final games were against Etone A team and their game record was the same as ours, 2 draw 1 win so, both teams going into the game evenly matched. The games now lasting 20 Minutes, we kicked off and the game started scrappy both teams were clearly nervous. TGBS were clear on top in the first half shot from Jack and Connor were saved but then.... in the last 2 minutes of the half, Jenson came from the midfield area it was Barcelona like passing from TGBS building up an exciting attack, the ball came in from Cameron and Jenson was there to slot a calm finish into the bottom left corner. Etone were stunned! When the second half started Etone started to find their feet hitting the cross bar and making Preston work in goal for TGBS. As the second half played it felt like a life time, there were two minutes left to play and we were going to be in the final! BUT..... Goal for Etone in the last 60 seconds of the match, TGBS boys left devastated. The game went to penalties, three penalties to each team only our player selceted stepped up scoring 2 out of the three. Etone players stepped up also scoring 2 out of the three. This meant sudden death, TGBS lost on penalties Etone denying us the chance of our first final! 

Overall, we finished 4^th following a play off for third place against DEC- we lost this game for third place on penalties also! 

Do you have a special talent you wish to showcase at our next big live event? You will have the chance to perform on stage in front of a live audience in Birmingham in the state-of-the-art theatre at Millennium Point on Thursday 15th May 2025 at our annual pupil awards evening. Whether it be singing, juggling, stand-up comedy or anything in between, we want to see all your wonderful talents. Dance entries will be accepted this year and will be entered into another competition to perform at our next outdoor trust wide summer event.

How to enter:

• Have one of your performing arts teachers record your performance (or film it yourself and email to your teacher).
• A snippet of your performance can be submitted. Please do not worry about submitting a performance in its entirety.
• Your teacher will be able to submit your performance video to the judging panel.
• Finalists will have the opportunity to perform at our next big trust event and some school events this year.
• Solo entries and group entries are welcome.

Submit your entry by 4pm on Friday 21st February 2025

A look back at last years event where our winning acts will have the opportunity to play can be seen below.

Year 7 pupils had an exciting opportunity to visit the University of Birmingham for a thought-provoking lecture titled "How Does Santa Know? Data Collection, Cookies, and Your Online Presence."

For many, this was their first visit to the university and their first experience participating in a lecture.

The pupils thoroughly enjoyed the day and gained valuable insights into university life.

A big well done to Year 7 for making the most of this fantastic experience!

This year, students and staff at our school embraced the GCHQ Christmas Challenge, testing their problem-solving skills and creativity with the intelligence agency’s annual brain-teaser. The top sets in Years 7, 8, and 9 tackled the puzzles during their lessons, diving into a series of challenging tasks designed to stretch their logical thinking and teamwork.

The puzzles, released annually by GCHQ, are renowned for their complexity and connection to real-world skills such as codebreaking, problem-solving, and pattern recognition. Students worked collaboratively to decode clues, crack ciphers, and solve riddles, channelling the same critical thinking skills used by intelligence professionals.

Participation wasn’t limited to lessons. Other students, staff took on the challenge in their own time. The collaborative spirit across the school was inspiring, with participants sharing ideas and working together to conquer the puzzles.

This event highlighted the importance of resilience, creativity, and teamwork, qualities that align with the values we aim to foster in our school community. Congratulations to everyone who participated, in particular: J, Choi 10A1, O. Perret 10A1, A. Hannon 10B1 and O Warrilow 9T1 who where the first group to finish the challenge.

This week, we have additional awards for pupils who have exemplified TURVES Values in the community. Our reading rewards vending machine continues to be a focal point of our celebrations on a Friday lunchtime. Pupils from all year groups are considered and selected for a range of approaches to demonstrating our TURVES Values., contributions in the community and extra-curricular efforts.  

Year 7: J Hockell ‘Bossing it’ in multiple lessons and putting in serious shifts in his effort/homework/valuable contributions.    

Year 8: P Curnew and a fellow pupil, on behalf of Miss Mansell “These two absolutely warm my heart and remind me of exactly why I love my job. They have attended 2 of the UOB evening lectures off their own back and have come back brimming with information and excitement. Their thoughtfulness and attention not only to their studies but also those around them fills me with pride. There is no accolade in the school high enough for these young men as every day they show the best of what Turves has to offer”.   

Year 9: T Rose for having the most positives in his year group in Tolkien for two weeks running. Well done for working hard and meeting our expectations each day. 

Year 10: N Simon for significant improvement in attitude to learning and showing guests superb manners.  

Year 11: H S Hughes & C Thomas awarded a prefect ties and token for improved attitude in Year 11.  

On Thursday 28th November all the schools from across Matrix Academy Trust came together to celebrate the Performing Arts. It was a spectacular display of talent, showcasing their skills in dance, drama, and music. This event was a celebration of creativity, hard work, and the vibrant spirit of pupils who have worked hard over the past few months to showcase their performances.

This event emphasised the importance of the performing arts in shaping well-rounded individuals. The confidence, discipline, and teamwork required in these artistic disciplines provide invaluable life skills that extend far beyond the stage.

The success of this event is a testament to the thriving performing arts community within our Trust schools. It’s clear that the future of dance, drama, and music is in good hands. With such incredible talent on display, it’s exciting to think about the future performances and productions that will emerge from these talented young artists.

Thank you to everyone for their involvement with the event.