On Wednesday the Warhammer Alliance held an exciting painting competition, giving students the opportunity to showcase their artistic talents in two categories: Recruits and Veterans. The competition saw 11 participants, 4 of whom were new joiners who were entering some of their first painted models. These budding hobbyists entered the Recruits category, while the more experienced members competed in the Veterans category.

The judges, Mr. Woodall, Miss Woodall, Mr. Walker, Miss Harrison, and Miss Brooker, were tasked with evaluating the impressive array of painted models. After much deliberation, the results were announced.

In the Recruits category, Z. Franklin (7A1) claimed first place, with H. Jackson (7B2) securing second. Z. Franklin's creativity earned them a new Space Marine model and a Leagues of Votann model to further their collection. H. Jackson, whose entry was also highly praised, received a delicious reward of a free cookie for their efforts.

In the Veterans category, S. Scott (10B1) emerged as the winner with their beautifully painted Space Marine Terminator, earning a unit of Inceptors for their Space Marine army. T. Clarke (10T1) took second place, and also received a free cookie.

All participants, regardless of placement, received queue jump passes for lunchtime as a thank you for taking part and contributing to the event’s success. The competition was a fantastic opportunity for students to bond over their shared passion for Warhammer and develop their artistic abilities.

We are proud to celebrate the creativity and enthusiasm shown by all participants, and the winning models you can see in the pictures below showcasing their impressive designs. Congratulations to everyone who took part!

Sam deserves immense praise for his hard work and dedication in preparing for his English mock exam. His commitment to revision has been nothing short of inspiring. Sam has demonstrated an exceptional work ethic, dedicating himself to reviewing key texts, analysing themes, and mastering essay techniques. His attention to detail showcases his determination to achieve excellence.

What truly stands out is Sam's ability to stay focused and disciplined throughout his revision. He hasn't just gone through the motions of studying; instead, he's approached his preparation with a genuine passion for learning and improving. His perseverance, even when faced with challenging scenarios, shows his resilience and drive to succeed. Sam has also been proactive in seeking feedback, asking insightful questions, and making the necessary adjustments to ensure he's fully prepared.

Beyond his individual efforts, Sam has been an excellent role model for his peers, often offering advice and support to those around him. His willingness to help others reflects not only his knowledge but also his generosity and leadership qualities.

Sam’s dedication will undoubtedly pay off in his exam, and regardless of the outcome, his effort and attitude are commendable. His work ethic is a testament to his character and is something that will serve him well far beyond this exam. Well done, Sam!

It has been lovely to speak to so many of our new Year 7 parents and to learn more about how we can best support the students both to enjoy and progress at Turves Green Boys’ School. We have had a busy half term launching all of our Form Time Interventions and it has been lovely to see everyone coming down each morning to attend their small group support session. So far, we have seen excellent attendance and some really Valuable Contributions in our sessions, which range from ‘Numeracy Support’ and ‘Read to Succeed’, to ‘Handwriting Workshops’ and ‘Zones of Regulation’. Well done to everyone who has taken part so far, and if you have not yet been involved in one of the additional support sessions and would like to take part, please don’t hesitate to come and see me to enquire about a place for next term!

We are also extremely lucky to be able to offer extra support for our parents too. As part of our continued efforts to ensure a strong home-school partnership, I am delighted to share details of our first SEND coffee morning of this academic year, which will be taking place on Thursday 28^th November 2024. This informal session will provide an opportunity to meet with me; share any concerns or queries and discuss with the SEND department any further adaptations we could put in place for our students. If you would like to learn more about the Graduated Approach and the SEND Department at Turves Green Boys’ School, you are very welcome to attend the session from 9.30am – 11am on 28^th November. 

Finally, I am pleased to be able to share that the Birmingham Parent Carer Forum (BPCF) have recently launched its new website. BPCF have asked us to share this with parents:

Wishing you all a restful half term and I look forward to meeting up with more of you in the run up to Christmas.

Year 11s visited MakeUK Future Makers Show which included a presentation about engineering apprenticeships, a tour of the site to look at the facilities, meet the tutors and gain an understanding of the range of the engineering pathways.

There was a practical activity to emphasis personal qualities that are required for a career in engineering such as communication, team work and problem solving.

Year 11s also had the opportunity to meet with employers:

Sertec

Whale Tankers

Weiland

Severn Trent

Shaftec

Today, Year 11 students received their CGP Edexcel Maths Revision Guides, a key resource to support their preparation for the upcoming GCSE mock exams. With the first Maths mock paper scheduled for the 21st of October, students are already deep into their revision, incorporating practice through starter activities at the beginning of each lesson. These revision guides will provide students with focused content tailored to the Edexcel syllabus, offering clear explanations, worked examples, and practice questions to reinforce their learning.

In addition to the revision guides, students have also been given two crucial documents highlighting high-frequency topics for both the Foundation and Higher tier papers. These documents provide a detailed overview of topics that have appeared frequently in recent years, giving students a clear indication of which areas to prioritise in their studies. For example, topics such as proportional reasoning and percentage of an amount feature prominently for the Foundation tier, while more advanced topics like trigonometry and circle theorems are frequent in the Higher tier.

These resources will help students tailor their revision effectively by focusing on the most likely areas to appear in their exams. The data-driven approach of the high-frequency topic lists, combined with the comprehensive CGP guides, ensures that students are well-equipped to approach their revision with confidence.

Our reading rewards vending machine continues to be a focal point of our weekly celebrations on a Friday lunchtime. 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: 

Year 7 

T Dudley for the most positive praise points in his house. 

Year 8 

S Jimale for being the student that consistently has great work ethic. 

Year 9  

R Imran – Continuing to set high standards within his form and involving himself in most facets of school life. 

Year 10 

S Scott – For demonstrating the turves values each day.   

Year 11 

C Caldicott & Z Reid Exceptional exemplification of our TURVES Values in supporting a struggling student. 

The University of Birmingham are hosting FREE Physics lectures in conjunction with the Institute of Physics! Please see the attached flier which is also placed around school. These would be great for our GCSE Physics pupils and anyone looking at studying Physics at A Level.

We are very pleased to welcome our new Foreign Language Assistant to Turves Green Boys’ School. Mr Bugnet has joined us from Lyon in France and will be working with pupils at our school. He will be helping pupils in all year groups to improve their spoken French which will in turn help them with their listening and writing in the French language. Mr Bugnet will be here with us until the end of May 2025. He has prepared a presentation that he will deliver to pupils this week and is a huge sports fan. He is a keen gymnast and also enjoys football.

 Bienvenue, Monsieur Bugnet!

Reading is the core priority for Year 7s at Turves Green, whether it be through the Accelerated Reader Programme, Classroom readers, Library readers or the 16 x 16 programme or – best of all – boys enjoying a book of their own because they love to read a good story. Literacy is at the heart of all our learning. But what if you live in a place where books are banned? During Banned Books week – which runs through the last week in September - Year 7s have been taking the chance to learn about where and why books have been banned both in countries as far apart as the United States and China.

Boys have been surprised to learn that much-loved stories, such as ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ have been banned in some places for what they reveal about the difficult issues of racism and injustice. They have also discovered that a key Year 8 text, ‘Animal Farm’ was once banned in the Soviet Union for what it seems to say about Josef Stalin. Most shockingly of all, they have discovered that not only ‘Witches’ by Roald Dahl, but even the Harry Potter series have been banned in some countries for promoting witchcraft.

Luckily all these books are available to our boys, helping them not only to immerse themselves in great stories and enjoy the fantastic worlds of imagination to which they can be transported by a writer, but also to understand the complexity of human life and experience by thinking about some of the issues which spurred the writer to create them in the first place. Year 7, who are currently reading ‘Ghost Boys’ paused their reading for a lesson or two this week to consider the reasons behind censorship and the implications while some have been exploring the displays and activities on this vital topic in the library.

Year 7 students have been learning how to heat and mould plastics. They have used CAD software to design a logo, using a laser cutter to engrave their designs onto phone holders.

Year 8 students have been learning about lamination and experimenting with different categories of wood. They have also been using forging techniques to bend metals.

Year 9 students have been learning about electronics and how to solder PCB circuits. They are currently learning about the different units of power for electronics and the various types of circuit.