Our Stockholm Turing trip was an exciting and memorable experience for our year 8 student from all Matrix secondary schools, giving pupils the opportunity to explore a new city, develop their independence, and experience Swedish culture firsthand. 

The trip began with travel from their school to Heathrow Airport before flying to Stockholm and getting settled in their rooms before heading to dinner. Pupils enjoyed buffet style dinner and together getting to know each other across the different schools. 

Throughout the week, pupils visited many of Stockholm's famous attractions. They explored the Paradox Museum, took part in an interactive Scavenger Hunt through the historic streets of Gamla Stan (Old Town), visited the Avicii Experience, and discovered fascinating exhibits at the Swedish National Museum of Science and Technology. They also enjoyed a visit to Djurgården, where groups explored the Police Museum and Sports Museum. They explored the famous group of ABBA though their museum and also spend the day at Skansen, experiencing Swedish history, culture, and wildlife. 

One of the highlights of the trip was spending time in Stockholm's vibrant city centre. Pupils walked many miles throughout the week, exploring different districts, parks, shopping areas, landmarks and food choices. This gave them a real appreciation of the city while encouraging resilience and independence. A key achievement for many pupils was confidently using Stockholm's excellent public transport network. They quickly became familiar with travelling on the Metro (Tunnelbana), buses and trams learning how to navigate the city safely and efficiently. For many pupils, this was also their first experience travelling on a public boat, with ferry journeys providing a unique way to see Stockholm's beautiful islands and waterfront. 

Alongside the educational visits, pupils enjoyed eating out together, park evenings, shopping, games at the hostel, and time to socialise with new friends made on the trip. They represented Matrix Academy Trust exceptionally well throughout the trip, showing respect, maturity, and enthusiasm at every venue visited, which many commenting on how well behaved and polite our pupils were. 

Pupils returned with wonderful memories, increased confidence, new friendships, and a greater appreciation of another culture. The trip was a fantastic success and provided experiences that many pupils will remember for years to come. 

As part of our ongoing commitment to promoting positive mental health and wellbeing, our Smestow Wellbeing Ambassadors have been working in partnership with the Wolves Foundation Health Champions Campaign on an exciting student-led project.

Last month, our ambassadors and Ms Buparai, Mental Health Support Worker, attended a health and wellbeing event at Molineux Stadium, where young people explored the issues affecting student wellbeing. Through discussions and workshops, bullying was identified as a key concern.

Inspired to make a difference, the students developed the idea of creating an anti-bullying awareness video promoting kindness, inclusion, respect, and the importance of seeking support. They then presented their idea in a Dragon's Den-style pitch to representatives from the Wolves Foundation and partner organisations, receiving high praise and support to bring their vision to life.

Following their successful pitch, the Wolves Foundation visited Smestow Academy to work with our students on filming the campaign video, giving our Wellbeing Ambassadors the opportunity to share powerful messages about the impact of bullying and the importance of positive relationships.

Join us in raising awareness and creating safer, more inclusive communities:

Our Science Department has been bringing learning to life with two fantastic Discovery Days packed with exciting, hands-on practicals. Students channelled their inner wizards during Harry Potter Day, making magical slime, carrying out spectacular flame tests and creating incredible methane bubbles. Then, on Forensic Scientist Day, they became real-life investigators, using scientific techniques to solve mysteries and analyse evidence.

Two unforgettable days of curiosity, discovery and fun – proving that science really is magical!

Another Bronze Duke of Edinburgh complete and what a couple of days it was. 22 YR9 pupils embarked on two days of walking over at Cannock Chase for a challenge that they probably hadn’t faced before. What an excellent job they did, sticking together in their walking groups and motivating eachother when it got tough resulted in all 22 pupils passing. From walking across streams, building their tents, cooking fajitas and roasting marshmallows on the night, everyone did fantastically well in challenging heat conditions.

All pupils were commended on their attitude and resilience throughout the two days and even members of the public approached Mr Webb and said what a credit they were to our school when they were out on the chase making their way from Milford to Beaudesert.

The Smestow values were more than withheld from everyone and they really did achieve success together

A huge well done to all our pupils who took part in answering science questions on KayScience! It was fantastic to see so many pupils challenging themselves, building their scientific knowledge, and showing great enthusiasm for learning.

Congratulations to the pupils in each year group who answered the most questions. Their outstanding effort and dedication were recognised with a certificate and some well-deserved sweets! 🍬🏆

Keep up the amazing work!

We are so proud of every single pupil who took to the stage and worked behind the scenes to make this production such a phenomenal success. Their talent, dedication, teamwork, and enthusiasm shone through in every performance. A special mention must go to our pupils for performing with such professionalism and energy despite the soaring temperatures. Their resilience, commitment, and positivity were truly inspiring, and they never let the heat stop them from giving their absolute best.

A huge thank you to our amazing staff, families, and everyone who came along to support the show. Your encouragement means the world to our pupils.

Congratulations to our incredible cast, crew, musicians, and production team—you should all be immensely proud of what you've achieved. What a show!

Congratulations to Trisha and Amelia in Year 10 for writing these beautiful paragraphs during the pre-topic lessons of Year 10’s next topic, Mon Quartier (My Neighbourhood) just after their speaking mock exams. The effort they have put in their independent writing is a clear indication of their readiness to explore the new topic. At Smestow Academy, our pupils are ever ready to ‘make a difference every day’!

 We advise Year 10 to look at the interactive vocabulary list on Pearson over the summer and select the section on Neighbourhood. This will prepare pupils well in advance for September. Congratulations also go to Riley, Martin, Ala, Liam, Jannatpreet and Jevan for their outstanding performances on the French mock exams. 

Typing this in will immediately download the vocabulary list for pupils. It will be invaluable in terms of revision!

Short Story Competition

Stories must be 500 words or less and be their own original idea. Pupils can win House Points just for trying and there will be prizes for best story in each year group and overall best story. We will be sending out weekly tips for our budding authors over the summer holidays, please look out for them and share them with your child. Stories must be handed in by Friday 18th September. This can either be in person, or email to postbox@smestowacademy.co.uk, make sure it has ‘Short Story’ as the subject and is for the attention of ‘Mrs Birtwistle’.

Summer Reading Challenge

We are challenging all our current and incoming pupils to join in our summer of reading.

We have created 5 challenges that any pupil in any year group can easily achieve and start gaining House Points before the school year begins, there are other prizes up for grabs too!

Pick up your challenge sheet from the library today.

A huge well done to our Silver Duke of Edinburgh students, who successfully completed their assessed expedition last week alongside pupils from Wednesfield Academy.

Across the three days, the group demonstrated impressive determination and maturity. Their navigation skills were a real strength, with students confidently following their planned routes through fields, woodland, and unfamiliar terrain. Even when tiredness began to set in, they kept morale high, supported one another, and maintained a steady pace to complete every section of the route on all days.

The expedition wasn’t without its challenges. Changing weather conditions, long distances, and the weight of their full expedition kit tested their resilience, but every student rose to the occasion. They worked brilliantly as a team when setting up camp, preparing meals, and problem‑solving along the way. 

A standout aspect of the expedition was how strongly the group embodied our Smestow value of Success Achieved Together. Whether tackling tough terrain, managing heavy kit, or keeping spirits high in difficult weather, students consistently encouraged one another and shared responsibilities. Their teamwork was evident in every part of the expedition and played a huge role in their overall success.

We are incredibly proud of the attitude, perseverance and teamwork shown by all students throughout the expedition. Their commitment to the Silver Award was clear from start to finish, and they should be extremely proud of what they have achieved.