Teams of 6 pupils from each of our Trust schools recently enjoyed a football-related language learning enrichment activity with a company called Futbol Lingo at Barr Beacon School. 

Owner Pierce Kiembi is an inspirational football coach and linguist, who aims to inspire future linguists and open young people’s minds about the wealth of opportunities for people who speak other languages and also understand other cultures in the football industry. 

Pierce has a wealth of experience in the football industry as both a professional player and a coach and worked  with Year 8 pupils from across the trust. There was a motivational talk on the value of languages followed by a practical football session conducted in French/German!  

With the aim of gaining points for participation throughout the day, in competition with the 6 other schools in our Trust, our pupils showed excellent teamwork in preparing and delivering a presentation on why their Francophone or German speaking country should host a football tournament. 

Presenting to a group of French & German teachers, conversing in French as well as English did not daunt our pupils, who spoke confidently about their country's food, transport links, stadia and star players. 

Then out on the pitch, our football fanatics collaborated with their peers from other Matrix academies, demonstrating their football skills whilst collecting vital coaching tips from Pierce and improving their languages as they competed. 

Our overall winners for this year were Turves Green Boys School who have taken home the Matrix trophy for this year. Congratulations to all the pupils who took part in the event and to the Year 9 pupils who represent Smestow Academy. 

From 1st – 5th July, pupils from all Matrix Academy Trust schools, including Elmwood School who are joining the Matrix family in September, embarked on the final International trip of the 2024–2025 academic year. The 55 children experienced an unforgettable week in the heart of Italy.

During their time in Italy, students explored some of Rome’s most iconic landmarks, including the awe-inspiring Colosseum and the Pantheon. A hands-on gladiator school experience gave everyone a taste of ancient Roman life — a highlight for many, even with the heat!

Adventurous spirits were tested on the high ropes course, followed by visits to the Spanish Steps, Trevi Fountain, and the lively Piazza Navona. Although a planned trip to the Vatican was sadly cancelled due to a metro line closure, spirits remained high. Instead, the group enjoyed a sunny afternoon on the beach at Ostia, where paddling in the sea proved the perfect way to end a packed itinerary.

The behaviour of all students was exemplary throughout the trip — a real credit to the Trust and to their schools. The final trip of this year was a resounding success, leaving everyone with memories that will last a lifetime – and a lot of enthusiasm to participate in next year’s adventures!

🎬✨ Lights, camera, PROM! Our Year 11s shone like stars at their Hollywood-themed prom at the Molineux on 26th June 2025. A night of glam, laughter, and unforgettable memories! 🌟
#HollywoodProm #Year11Magic #MolineuxMoments

On the 23rd and 24^th June we hosted our new Year 12 pupils for their Sixth form Induction day. The two days consisted of subject taster sessions where pupils carried out a locust dissection, joined our current Year 12 students in their maths and sport lessons and explored the careers available to them with an IT or Business qualification. We look forward to seeing all of our pupils on results day to celebrate some amazing results.

World Population Day takes place today on 11th July. It's aim is to raise awareness of world population issues. Here at Smestow Academy, we have taken the opportunity to celebrate the population of our school with Year 9 form groups researching into and creating displays around 10 countries that our children come from.

Pupils have demonstrated our school motto of "success achieved together" in preparing these.

Our displays can be seen around site - we hope you enjoy learning about these countries, as much as we enjoyed creating them! 

The winning form will receive an extended lunch...stay tuned to find out who are the successful form!

#SmestowAcademy #SuccessAchievedTogether #WorldPopulationDay #Diversity 

Here are our fantastic Year 10’s completing their fieldwork enquiry at Carding Mill Valley in Church Stretton, Shropshire, as part of their Geography GCSE. Pupils were asked to study the river characteristics of the Ashbrook from source to mouth and collect a variety of fieldwork data at various sites after a long walk up the narrow gorge to the waterfall. A wonderful day was had by all and the weather stayed warm too!

As part of our Lost Words project, Year 7 pupils enjoyed a fantastic poetry workshop with freelance writer, novelist and performance poet, Emma Pursehouse. Emma was Wolverhampton’s first Poet Laurette and is a poetry slam champion.

All pupils worked with Emma to write some amazing poems on the theme of nature, looking at poetic devices and writing techniques resulting in each class producing their own acrostic poem. 

Some pupils were also selected for an additional workshop on writing a poem to be entered into the Birmingham City University competition, Future Writers, in celebration of the life and work of Benjamin Zephaniah.

Things in nature that matter to me

See the King of the river, hear the creatures,

Making sounds, the t’whoo of the owls in the tall trees, the cackle of sharp toothed foxes,

Electrified kingfishers sparkling blue, and magpies steeling sandwiches,

Ssssssssslithers the adder wiggling into the undergrowth, slither, slither....

Trees, oak, ash and silver birch, our wonderful woods and trees,

Owners of the sky the buzzards souring, circling,

Wonderous, wonderful wood peckers tapping out messages in code.

#Smestowacademy #Lostwords #EmmaPursehouse 

What a fantastic day we had this week thinking about some of the nature words we are losing with Manda and Chris from EKO (Educating Kids Outdoors).

A small handful of the children were a little reluctant to begin with but still had a go and accidentally found themselves having lots of fun. 

We are so fortunate to be surrounded by a wonderful nature reserve and have so much nature on our school site, event the butterflies, bumble bees and buzzards were joining us on the field today.