Year 7 took part in an interactive assembly this morning, hosted by our Careers and Enterprise Advisor Carol Codner. 

The "guess my job" assembly was aimed at challenging stereotypes and getting our pupils thinking about perceptions that we may have about people in specific roles, but also what jobs are available to us in our local area.

We met a range of employers from Wolverhampton including those involved with:

• midwifery
• quality surveyance 
• social work
• operations management 
• entrepreneurship 

Thank you to all our visitors for your support today.

ANNOUNCING OUR FIRST EVER TRUST-WIDE SPORTS DAY 2025!

We are thrilled to announce a landmark moment in our trust’s calendar — the very first Trust-Wide Sports Day, bringing together more than 3,000 pupils from across Matrix schools.

Venue: The iconic Alexander Stadium, Birmingham – home of the 2022 Commonwealth Games

Date: Wednesday, 9th July 2025

This incredible event will be a full day of competition, celebration, and community spirit. As part of our Healthy Competitions Initiative, the day will showcase the power of sport in promoting teamwork, resilience, and ambition. Schools have now completed their in-school heats and successful participants will receive letters to notify them of their involvement as a participant. Additionally, this event provides a unique opportunity for pupils to showcase their talents in front of athletics club scouts, potentially opening doors for future athletic opportunities.

What to Expect:

• 456 student athletes battling it out in a range of exciting track and field events
• Live performances from our talented performing arts pupils to energise the crowd
• A cheering audience of 2,600 spectators from Years 7 and 10, supporting their teams with pride and passion (details will be shared In a letter in the coming weeks)
• A chance to claim the prestigious title of Trust-Wide Sports Champions 2025

Parents and carers of participants are warmly invited to attend and spectate this exciting event! With over 2,000 spectators expected, the day promises an electric atmosphere — and your support will make all the difference to our pupils. A full schedule of events is below so you can plan when to attend to cheer on your child. Spectators will be seated in the East Stand. Tickets are available via Eventbrite at £3 per person. All proceeds will be donated to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, our Trust charity for the year.

So you can plan when you would like to arrive and watch a particular event - a schedule of events will be confirmed on the trust website HERE closer to the event. Follow us on social media for the latest timings.

Book here: https://bit.ly/matsportsday

This is more than just a sports day — it’s a celebration of talent, teamwork, and trust unity. Whether you’re competing, performing, or cheering from the stands, get ready to be part of something unforgettable.

Let the countdown begin.

Well done to the Year 10 students who have been preparing for their GCSE mock exams which begin next week. Pupils have been revising the three themes covered so far and have been practicing the role plays at a doctor’s surgery, a cinema, in a restaurant and at a leisure centre. Pupils have also been describing photographs and recycling the key phrases that will be the most useful. 

Year 10 French students, please see the link below and check your email for more revision support. 

Merci et bonne chance !                                                

https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/examspecs/zhkvkhv 

https://qualifications.pearson.com/en/qualifications/edexcel-gcses/french-2024.html

Year 5 pupils from Bhylls acre Primary School came on Monday to Smestow academy to experience what it is like to be a forensic scientist investigating a crime that was committed. Pupils took part in the following activities; 

• Chromatography to match inks
• Flame tests 
• Using hand lens to observe hair and clothing fibres

All pupils were well engaged and demonstrated excellent investigative skills to conclude who had done the crime. 

Smestow staff were really impressed with the impeccable behaviour shown by pupils. 

Our budding chefs have been busy preparing, creating, and baking their own delicious pizzas and they did not disappoint! From practising kneading and perfecting their dough, to choosing the perfect toppings, they’ve mastered every step with creativity and care.

Swipe to see some seriously tasty results. 

#FoodTechFun #PizzaMasters #Year7Chefs #HomemadePizza #TastyLearning 

The Maths department are launching a Maths at work poster competition.  This is a national competition being run by www.mathscareers.org.uk with a £100 amazon gift card for the overall winner and further prizes of a £30 amazon gift card.

Here is the brief:

• Choose ONE career to focus your poster on.

• On your poster explain how maths is used in your chosen workplace.
• Choose A4 size – you can use a computer, draw it by hand or use a mixture of methods.
• Make sure your poster looks attractive; it is meant to inspire Young People!
• Make sure it is all your own work – no copy and pasting text.
• If you use any digital images, make sure they aren’t copyrighted. Look for images that have a ‘Creative Commons Licence’ and provide a credit/link. (Or you may want to include your own drawings.)

The deadline for entries is 13^th June and please hand in or email to Mrs Oakley.  Good luck and I look forward to seeing your creative and informative designs.

UPDATE:

SCHOOL OPEN TO ALL YEAR GROUPS

Smestow Academy will be open to all year groups as of Thursday 22nd May.  The water issue has been fixed.

Thank you for your support and understanding today whilst we rectified this problem.

We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow!

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UPDATE:

SCHOOL OPEN TO YEARS 11 and 13 ONLY

Whilst significant areas of school remain closed, we are able to open to Years 11 and 13 to allow exams to take place on site and prep sessions to run in support of exams this afternoon and tomorrow.

School will re-open to students in Years 11 and 13 at 11.10am this morning.  All students are expected to attend as if they do not have exams, they will have prep sessions that it is imperative that they take part in.

Thank you for your support this morning.

Please do continue to monitor WeDuc and socials for further updates.

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Due to a major water leak overnight and having to close parts of the school, Smestow Academy will be closed today.

Provision is still available for Year 11 and Year 13 exams due to take place today, so those sitting GCSE French (Listening & Reading), A-Level Psychology and GCSE Religious Studies are still expected in school.

There will be a contingency plan in place for exams from tomorrow onwards if we are not able to remedy this issue quickly.

We are hoping to issue a notice for Year 11 and Year 13 students to come in later today for prep sessions once we know the extent of issue.

Please can we ask parents and carers to keep an eye on the WeDuc messaging service and our socials for updates.

They have been introduced to a range of techniques inspired by Frantic Assembly, focusing on how movement can communicate emotion and narrative. This week, pupils worked on creating chair duets to represent themes of friendship.

Year 8 have shown fantastic creativity and collaboration, making great progress in this area and devising some truly impressive chair duets that reflect strong emotional connections and storytelling through movement.

This term, Year 8 pupils are focusing on the concept of trust as a foundation for their practical work in dance. Developing trust is essential as they begin to explore Swansong by Christopher Bruce—a professional repertoire piece that powerfully explores relationships through contact work and lifts.

Through a series of carefully structured tasks, including counter balances and trust falls, pupils have made impressive progress in building and demonstrating trust with their peers. This focus not only supports their physical development and safety but also enhances their understanding of interpersonal dynamics within performance.