Smestow Academy are proud to work alongside Reflexions, the Mental Health Support Team in Wolverhampton.  Mental Health Awareness Week is taking place this week and Reflexions have invited parents and carers of our school to attend a series of webinars to support their child.  These are taking place on MS Teams over the half-term break.  If you are interested, please email the Reflexions team to register.

#SmestowAcademy #SuccessAchievedTogether #MentalHealthAwarenessWeek #MentalHealthMatters

During science club this term pupils from year 7 to 10 have to planned, built, and test wooden model houses designed to withstand a simulated tsunami. The planning phase involved researching tsunami impacts and applying basic principles of structural engineering. Teams sketched designs that considered stability, strong foundations, and how water would flow around or under the structure.

Once built, each model was tested against a wave of water designed to simulate a tsunami’s force. Students observed how their structures responded, identifying points of failure and success. This hands-on testing helped them understand the real-world challenges of designing buildings in disaster-prone areas. The pupils also tested the structures by adding masses to test the strength. Ultimately D. Mobolaji, E. Salami, S. Singh, T. Blundell and L. Morton built strong structures to withstand the rigorous testing.  Afterward, teams reflected on their results and collaborated with each other to discussed improvements they would make in future designs, reinforcing the importance of planning, collaboration, and testing in engineering. 

Our Headteacher, Mr Chamberlain led an assembly with our Year 11s this morning with some key reminders for them to "get it right" on examination days. This included how to prepare for the day ahead, remembering to read the command words in a question fully and looking after our mental health and wellbeing during this time.

Good luck to all our pupils in years 11 and 13 who are now entering the examination period. We commend you for all your hard work and wish you all the best!

Today, we have commemorated the 80th anniversary of VE Day in school with a presentation during form time, door displays in History, the national 2-minute silence at 12pm and a themed menu in our canteen.

We are grateful to all those before us who fought so that we could have the freedom and liberty we have today.

#SmestowAcademy #SuccessAchievedTogether #VEDay #activecitizenship 

This week staff at Smestow Academy have been enjoying cakes made by their colleagues  for another good cause. We have raised £97.50 for Holbeche House’s charity, Compton Care. Compton Care has been established for over forty years, offering specialist palliative and end of life care in Wolverhampton. It also offers patients specialist care in their own home, providing a valuable lifeline for those in need and their families. Holbeche House is proud to support this vital organisation. Look out for further fundraising events in the future! 

World Laughter Day was celebrated at the weekend (3rd May) and in light of this, we asked our pupils what their favourite jokes were to share with you.  We had lots of jokes submitted, but a few of our favourites were...

What did the potato wear to his date?  A jacket! 

Where does a pancake live?  In a flat!

What do you call something that has no body and no nose?  Nobody knows!

And the best joke has to be...

What do you call a blind dinosaur?  A do-you-think-he-saw-us?!?!

On Thursday 1^st May 60 pupils in year 7 and 8 took part in the UK Junior Maths challenge set by the UK Maths Trust. Every year pupils across the country sit the challenge in the hope of being awarded a bronze, silver or gold certificate.

The challenge consists of 25 multiple choice questions designed to make pupils think hard. The questions test pupils’ logic and problem solving skills and get increasingly difficult as the challenge goes on. Pupils had 60 minutes to answer as many as they can scoring 5 or 6 marks per question.

The top pupils nationally are awarded Bronze, Silver or Gold certificates and exceptional scores qualify for additional rounds of the challenge.

All pupils took the challenge seriously and worked incredibly hard throughout the given time. We are really proud of each student and look forward to seeing the results in the next few weeks.

We are thrilled to celebrate the incredible success of our very first Trust-wide Spelling Bee – a vibrant event that brought together pupils from all our schools, in a showcase of linguistic talent, nerves of steel, and community spirit.

Over 40 brilliant spellers from Key Stages 2 and 3 took to the stage, each tackling an impressive word list of more than 150 challenging entries. From phosphorescent to megalomaniac, cantankerous, chihuahua, frittata, and hieroglyphics, the competition tested not only vocabulary but also memory, focus, and composure under pressure.

The atmosphere was electric, with supporters gripped from start to finish, watching each round unfold on the edge of their seats. In an extraordinary finish, two winners were crowned – a testament to just how high the standard was. Huge congratulations to our co-champions: one from Etone College and the other from Bloxwich Academy Primary.

Both of them had to complete the tie breaker, spelling as accurately as possible a fearsome word which they had not been told in advance: ANTIDISESTABLISHMENTARIANISM. Both of them spelled it correctly!

This inaugural event marks the beginning of what we expect to become a favourite in the Matrix events calendar. A huge thank you to all the pupils, staff and supporters who made this possible. We’re already looking forward to next year’s Spelling Bee!

On Thursday 10th April, a squad of Year 9 pupils took part in the National T1 Rugby series at Wolverhampton Rugby Club. Following an unbeaten group stage, Smestow progressed directly into the final of the tournament. Unfortunately, we narrowly lost out to our opposition. The squad were captained brilliantly by J. Howells who used his Rugby experience to great effect in supporting less experienced players. The squad worked incredibly hard in extremely warm conditions to counteract fatigue when playing back to back games to ensure they topped the group. The squad demonstrated the Smestow values of success achieved together as well as equality and respect for all by tidying up the playing area following the tournament, shaking the hands of every opponent, and applauding the winning school.

On Tuesday, our Year 8 cohort had an amazing day out at the Black Country Living Museum 

As part of their study of Wolverhampton and the Black Country during the Industrial Revolution, students got hands-on with local history — exploring coal mining, nail & chain making, brick making, and more! 

A brilliant day full of learning, laughter, and living history. Well done to all our pupils and staff who made it such a success! 

#SmestowAcademy #HistoryInAction #IndustrialRevolution #LocalHistory