On the 11 December we hosted our annual Christmas Jumper Day. Pupils and staff were invited to wear their Christmas jumpers to get into the spirit and take part in our Trust initiative. There was an impressive array, but the Grinch was the overwhelming winner!

In a bold and imaginative twist on a modern classic, Turves Green Boys' School brought Roald Dahl’s beloved Matilda the Musical to life this September, but with a clever reimagining that made it uniquely their own.  Enter Matthew the Musical a heartfelt, humorous, and high-energy adaptation that swapped the precocious girl genius for a bright, book-loving boy, delivering both a crowd-pleasing spectacle and a powerful message about resilience, kindness, and the courage to stand up for what’s right.

While the core of the story remained the same a young child misunderstood by his family and mistreated by a tyrannical Headteacher, who discovers the power of his mind and his voice the shift to a male protagonist brought fresh perspective and allowed for a deeper connection with the all-boys pupil body. The character of Matthew felt immediately authentic: a quiet thinker, a lover of stories, and a champion for justice.

Matthew's journey resonated strongly with both performers and audience members, reflecting the school’s commitment to fostering emotional intelligence, literacy, and confidence in young individuals.

Year 8 pupil A Moore gave a standout performance in the title role, bringing emotional depth, humour, and vulnerability to Matthew. With clear diction, expressive acting, and strong vocals, A Moore captured the audience’s hearts and carried the show with impressive maturity.

Supporting roles sparkled as well: J Choi as Mr Honey brought warmth and charm to the role of Matthew’s caring teacher, while Year 11’s O Perrett gave an unforgettable performance as the fearsome and hilarious Mr Truncheon the school’s formidable Headteacher. His booming voice, exaggerated physicality, and comic timing had the audience in stitches.

The ensemble cast delivered energy and enthusiasm in every dance number, with choreography adapted to suit the talents of the cast while maintaining the dynamic feel of the original West End show.

This production was a true collaborative effort across departments. From tech crews to set builders, costume designers to usher who all took part in the making of Matthew the Musical, supported by a passionate team of staff.

Mrs Haynes Director of Creative Arts, shared:

“We wanted to create something that felt personal and empowering for our boys. Adapting Matilda allowed us to explore themes of individuality, courage, and education and Matthew became a character that the boys could see themselves in. The response has been overwhelming.”

At its heart, Matthew the Musical was more than just entertainment. It was a celebration of student voice, creativity, and empowerment a reminder that brilliance can come from anywhere, and that the quiet ones are often the ones with the most to say.

As the final bows were taken to thunderous applause, it was clear that this was a performance no one would soon forget. Turves Green Boys' School didn't just put on a show they made a statement.

Social Media Awareness experts, ‘Positive Social’ gave an informative talk about the pitfalls of social media, online bullying and how to ensure privacy settings are protecting them. Rachel spoke to them candidly about Snapchat, Tik Tok, Facebook, RoadBlox, and Instagram.  

Year 8 and 9  were very open about their social media use and all admitted to learning something that they did not already know about how they’re privacy setting can be compromised. Pupils all wrote a pledge at the end about how they will limit and control the hold some social media platforms have on their social time.

We have continued our weekly Friday rewards, during which SLT select pupils who have been nominated by their Heads of House for exemplifying our TURVES Values and positively promoting themselves and our school in the wider community.

7 J Joynes He often goes unnoticed, but he upholds the highest standards for himself and continues to meet our turves values each week!

8 C Jones: Positive referral from GMA: “CJ has to be one of the most consistently lovely pupils I teach. Never fails to use manners, always willing to help others. He has historically just kind of coasted through in the background slightly, but I am seeing him become more outgoing in class and confident in his abilities.”

9 F Earl For is excellent effort in lessons and having the most positives this week.

10 S Jones: A pupil who continually gets things right, day in, day out. He shows an excellent attitude towards his work in all lessons.  

11 J Hartnell: For consistently working hard, having a great focus on his upcoming mock exams to be prepared himself to achieve what he deserves (famous Rogers quote).

7 T Maxted: An excellent pupil who is consistently polite, respectful and hardworking and has been since day 1 of starting here at TGBS.

8 A Abaker: A polite and respectful young man who consistently demonstrates the Turves values in all that he does.

10 Kilburn – Work in Tigers programme, so far this academic year.  

11 Hartnell: For consistently working hard, having a great focus on his upcoming mock exams to be prepare himself to achieve what he deserves

7 – C Farrell – for continued excellence across the curriculum as well as making huge progress in his music lessons.

8 - J Morris for displaying Turves values across the school in academic and extracurricular activities.

9 D Whild A polite and respectful young man who consistently demonstrates the TURVES values in everything that he does. This has continued into 2025 and has made an exceptional start to the year.

10 A Burton – Requested by the catering staff for always helping them. Specifically with IT issues this week.   

11 C Hatch: Has shown a real mature shift in his attitude towards his GCSE’s and is showing excellent efforts in all lessons.  

Following his motivational talks last World Book Day, TGBS welcomed back local author and leadership consultant, Errol Lawson. This visit was particularly special as Errol was launching his brand new book: 'How to Become Unstoppable: A Guide for Teens' inspired by our very own pupils! Some of our boys had reviews the book ahead of going to print. He was proud to share that his most recent book had been inspired by the questions and ideas presented by our boys last year.

His sessions included awareness of county lines, substance abuse and knife crime. Our pupils are currently learning about these issues in PSHE. As part of County Lines Awareness Week, it was important to raise the profile of these issues for our pupils from someone who has experienced it first-hand.

Pupils were invited to take part in a Q&A and some pupils even got the opportunity to give a motivational speech to their peers. The boys were rewarded with signed copies of the new book.

Pupils who have read the most of our 16 by 16 books and made rapid progress in their reading were selected to take part in a workshop focusing on making goals for the future and considering careers building in their curriculum work this week as part of Careers Week.

Year 11 received a motivational assembly ahead of their mocks and the reviewers were given an insight into the publishing industry during an invite only session in the library after school.

An incredible day of enrichment for our pupils.

We are incredibly proud of our pupils for their hard work and dedication this half-term, celebrated in our Awards and Acknowledgment Assembly. A huge well done to those recognised by their Head of House for consistently demonstrating our school values!

A special congratulation to our Head of House Award winners:

🏆 Austin House (Mr. Brennan): A Starmer, Year 10 & J Allabush, Year 8
🏆 Boulton House (Mr. Stafford): A Moore, Year 7 & E Hevey, Year 10
🏆 Tolkien House (Mr. Kelley): Y Embaye, Year 7 & B Shahzad, Year 9

On January 18^th Year 7 went on a visit to The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry. Pupils saw the 'Dippy' the diplodocus fossil which is touring from the Natural History Museum in London and they made some detailed drawings of the skeleton. There was also an exhibition of art from the Coventry archives which included a wonderful selection of paintings, sculptures and natural objects. There were some samples of 'scents' and 'fragrances' based on such delights as 'essence of penguin and fish oil' which the boys enjoyed trying out!  Pupils were able to try on medieval helmets and chain mail, and practice weaving.   There was also an interactive digital exhibition called 'Microworlds' which enabled pupils to interact and create their own digital art. The pupils had a thoroughly enjoyable day and many members of the public and museum staff complimented them on their enthusiasm and good behaviour. 

Year 9 and year 10 are celebrating an amazing success in the UK Maths Trusts’ intermediate Maths Challenge. Two weeks ago students completed an hour long set of maths challenges in exam conditions and have now received the awards. Our students did fantastically, achieving 4 silver certificates and 11 Bronze certificates! Congratulations to everyone who took part who all walked away with a certificate of participation. And especially to those who earnt one of the three awards.

Bronze awards were achieved by:

O. Aboukharroub 9T1

S. Stevens 9T1

G. Thomson 9T1

S. Ahmed-Danfulani 10A2

J. Choi 10A1

T. Clarke 10T1

C. Hatcher 10A1

H. Mackcracken 10A1

S. Scott 10B1

D. Shi 10T1

G. Vann-Richards 10A1

Silver awards were achieved by:

O. Ames 10A1

S. Fazlisheshbluki 10A2

L. Gittus 10T1

And

Y. Khan 9T1 (who also achieved the highest score in the school)Congratulations to all who took part, and we look forward to the year 7s and 8s taking part in the junior maths challenge later in the year.

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 this week include: 

Y7 – R Pazirofteh excellent student that works hard and always has a smile on their face. Nominated by FT as he has been a real helping hand.   

Year 9 – K Jones picked by other staff not HOH as he has been a head and shoulder above the rest and has really fixed up this academic term. Very mature young man.   

Y10 T Farrell  - excellent support of the wider school in the library and helping others. 

Year 11S Faultless - A hard-working pupil who is showing a great attitude towards his GCSE’s.   

As we conclude the Spring 1 half-term, we are proud to celebrate the achievements of our pupils in our end-of-term Awards and Acknowledgment Assembly. This event is a fantastic opportunity to recognise the hard work, dedication, and commitment our pupils demonstrate each day.

A special congratulation goes to the pupils who received the Head of School Award, personally acknowledged by Mr Walker, Head of School. These pupils have consistently embodied our school values through their outstanding attitude, perseverance, and contribution to school life.

Head of School Award Recipients:

⭐ Year 7: J Melling

⭐ Year 8: P Wright

⭐ Year 9: T Cham

⭐ Year 10: S Scott

Well done to all of our award winners and to every pupil who has shown dedication and determination this half-term. We are incredibly proud of you!

We look forward to seeing everyone after the break, ready for another term of learning, growth, and success.