We are proud to be working with Vamos Theatre this afternoon here at Smestow!  Vamos Theatre is the UK's leading full mask theatre company, taking its funny and fearless brand of wordless theatre across the length and breadth of the country and beyond since 2006.

Vamos Theatre’s trademark style marries full mask with strong visual design and an original soundtrack. The company make accessible, humorous, human, and fearless work which is based on real life stories, and their productions are rooted strongly in social research.

Not only are a group of our Key Stage 3 pupils participating in a workshop with a member of the Vamos cast this afternoon, we are also going to watch the company perform at the Arena Theatre in Wolverhampton this evening!  This afternoon's activities will be a true example of all our teaching principles - sharing new ideas and concepts, reviewing what we already know, chunking new content, checking for our understanding of how this then applies to our professional practice!  

#SmestowAcademy #SuccessAchievedTogether #WelcomingandCaringEnvironment #STPs #VamosTheatre #ProfessionalCollaboration

The Final Countdown: Weekly Revision Topics

Stay on top of your exam prep!

Each week, we’ll share key revision topics to focus on as we count down to exams. Let’s make every study session count.

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Pupils in year 11 participated in a quick quiz on the Earth's atmosphere using their RAG cards in their planners. This demonstrated the smestow teaching principle of check for understanding and allowed the teacher to address any misconceptions pupils may have before moving on to introducing new content. 

This week to celebrate Childrens’ Mental Health week and to support children develop the Smestow Mental Health Top Tip of “Keep learning” the maths department have been providing puzzles. Puzzles are a fun way to relax and supports mental health by encouraging children to keep learning and build resilience. Problem solving skills support pupils to tackle all kinds of problems in their everyday life and are not only for the maths classroom.

Year 7 pupils have worked on the “St Ives” problem, the “coins in envelopes” problem and the “guitar” problem in their maths lessons this week.

Key Stage 4 French students celebrated Children’s Mental Health Week in their lessons this week with cupcakes baked for them by the MFL Faculty. The green represents the Mental Health logo and pupils were encouraged to enjoy a cake and think about the value of mental health. Year 10 pupils will soon be starting a unit of work for the new French Edexcel GCSE examination, which focuses on the importance of mental health and wellbeing. One of our Smestow Academy values is that we offer a ‘welcome and caring environment’ which is really important for everyone’s mental health and wellbeing. We really hope that everyone enjoyed their cakes!

We're on the front page of the Express & Star.

Headteacher's pride at once 'inadequate' Wolverhampton school which is now one of city's best

The headteacher of a once "inadequate" Wolverhampton secondary school which is now one of the top performing in the city has spoken of his pride at the turnaround.

Ian Chamberlain took on the role of head at Smestow Academy in Castlecroft in January 2023 when it became part of the Matrix Academy Trust.

The school, previously known as Smestow School, received a stinging Ofsted report in 2022 prior to joining the academy - with inspectors criticising its leadership and safeguarding standards - as well as having a succession of headteachers in a small number of years.

But the picture is now looking a lot rosier for Smestow, as Mr Chamberlain said the once "chaotic" school has made progress.

Mr Chamberlain said: "I just feel really proud, everyone has worked really hard and pulled together, both in our school and the trust - it has been a collective effort.

As part of National Careers Week, Aston University is hosting a Parents and Carers Evening for students in year 9/10 to provide information, advice, and guidance on Higher Education on Thursday 6th March 5pm – 7:30pm. Please note, parents can arrive up 5:50pm (there is an optional campus tour at the start).Parents can book their place via https://forms.office.com/e/AkQXzA48Rx or find out more via their website https://www.aston.ac.uk/sro/parents-and-carers. You are invited to join staff for an evening of discovery to learn more about future education pathways, career opportunities and the skills needed to succeed at GCSEs and beyond. Attendees will learn about the benefits of higher education, including the range of courses on offer and their entry requirements to explore the vast array of career choices available.

Programme Overview

Please note, light refreshments will be provided. Please make Aston University aware on the booking form of any dietary requirements.

We are very grateful to Aston University for inviting our pupils to this fantastic event.

#SmestowAcademy #SuccessAchievedTogether #Careers #AstonUniversity

Today, Sixth Form Health and Social Care students were able to meet with a member of our English department; Miss Wright, who before teaching was a Social Worker. 

Miss Wright discussed the university application process and what her degree was like when studying to become a social worker. She gave an insight into what the job was like and also what skills she has been able to transfer from social work to teaching.

Miss Wright is currently studying for her Masters degree whilst teaching, so she was also able to advise students of this process too.

Our Sixth Formers asked some insightful questions and will be apply to their new knowledge to our forthcoming coursework unit based on meeting individual care needs.

#SmestowAcademy #SuccessAchievedTogether #HealthandSocialCare #Careers 

As part of our careers programme, Year 10 pupils will be invited to take part in mock interviews with local employers. This is organised through our partnership with Carol Codner, our Careers and Enterprise Advisor. 

Activities such as these are great examples of how we support our pupils achieving Gatsby benchmark 5 which is about having positive encounters with employers. The interview will also provide personal guidance for our pupils which targets Gatsby benchmark 8.

This morning, Carol delivered an assembly to year 10 in preparation for their mock interviews. We discussed the importance of organising ourselves effectively for interview, body language and general presentation.

Year 10 will take part in mock interviews in February, so pupils have time to prepare themselves fully for their appointment.