Wow! The year 3 residential was a massive success. The children participated in many activities such as axe throwing, ziplining and canoeing. The children were split into small groups accompanied by an adult and listened attentively to the Woodlands instructors throughout their three days away.

It was lovely to see the children in an outdoor environment, enjoying themselves and laughing whilst developing their confidence and resilience. They thoroughly enjoyed sleeping in the same dorm as each other and eating their breakfast, lunch and tea as a group. Many children have pushed themselves out of their comfort zones e.g. by conquering heights when completing the ziplining, entering water (even though many of them can’t swim!) to complete the canoeing or entering the underground tunnel in total darkness.

As staff, it was a delight to witness their new experiences and hear the children expressing their excitement and amazement that they had completed an activity that they never thought they would be able to do.

All our year 3 children have many memories to cherish and should be very proud of their accomplishments, friendships and unforgettable moments that they can keep with them forever.

Matrix’s first ever cross-trust pupil awards event, held at Millennium Point on 20^th April, was a fantastic success.

Pupils were recognised for exemplifying our trust values of creativity, resilience, selflessness, enthusiasm and continuous improvement. There were also awards for exemplary members of our Cadet Forces.

With more than 7000 pupils across our trust schools, it was really difficult to choose the 46 award winners. Those who did receive the awards should feel deservedly proud of their achievement.

The awards-giving was punctuated with several fantastic performances, including DJs from Barr Beacon, a piano virtuoso from Year 4 of Bloxwich Academy and Etone’s ‘Mega Band’. Before the event, we had over an hour of performances from pupils across our trust schools, all of who had been selected to perform after a trust-wide talent competition, which had more than 100 entrants.

The evening started with a video relating the story of our trust up until the end of 2022. Our CEO Ms Draycott then spoke about the two newest schools, Smestow Academy and Wednesfield Academy, who joined the Matrix family this year.

 There was also a special video explaining ‘what a makes a Matrix pupil’, starring a teacher from each of our schools.

Here is what some of our parents and carers have said about the event:

“The awards ceremony was fantastic. It was great to see pupils getting their awards and the fantastic performances from across the Matrix Academy Trust schools.”

“It meant so much to see all the pupils being awarded for life skills rather than academic achievement. The head teachers giving a little speech about each pupil was a lovely touch and really personalised it.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening.  It was very special to see everyone receiving their awards.”

“Thank you for a special evening celebrating the achievements of pupils.  We are especially proud of our daughter!”

“Tonight was simply amazing!” 

Ms Draycott and Director of School Improvement Mr Lowbridge-Ellis introduced each of the awards and our headteachers explained who they had chosen and why. Trustee Sir Mark Aspinall bestowed the awards on the worthy winners.

We are thrilled to share with you the incredible experiences and adventures that our Year 4 children had during our recent residential trip. It was a memorable and educational journey filled with new challenges, friendships, and unforgettable moments.

One of the highlights of our residential trip was the range of thrilling outdoor activities that the children got to participate in. From team-building exercises to adrenaline-pumping challenges, our Year 4 children pushed themselves to new limits and conquered their fears. They enjoyed high rope climbing, archery, zip-lining, and even tried their hand at orienteering. The children showed great determination, resilience, and teamwork skills, supporting and encouraging each other every step of the way.

We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude to the dedicated staff at Woodlands Activity Centre for their expert guidance, support and hospitality. We are also immensely proud of our Year 4 students for their exemplary behaviour, positive attitude and enthusiastic participation in all the activities.

We hope that the memories and lessons from our residential trip will stay with our Year 4 students for years to come. It was a truly unforgettable experience that has enriched their lives and contributed to their personal and social development.

WORLD BOOK DAY! Wow!!!!!

What an amazing day Bloxwich Academy have had. Thank you to all our parents and carers for buying costumes of your child’s favourite characters or sending your child/ren into school in their pyjamas. The children all looked amazing.

I am over the moon at our many potato characters which have been brought into school. We had a Mr Bump, a school scene, a family of potatoes’, Sonic, a Super Mario character and many, many more- they were amazing! KS2 have brought in their own designs of a new book cover and blurb, and I was delighted to see so many entries which will be displayed in the Accelerated Reading area for all our children to see and read- well done.

Throughout the day, all our children had the chance to take part in the World Book Day Dance Workshops- Early Years performed through dance ‘The Three Little Pigs’, KS1 performed through dance ‘Handa’s Surprise’ and KS2 performed through dance ‘Matilda’. The children have been telling me that they have really enjoyed taking part and a Year 3 child said’ I enjoyed being moody like Matilda!’ This was an amazing opportunity for the children to express themselves and it certainly helped promote the love of reading.

Throughout the day, there have been many World Book Day activities taking place- from children making their own stories using ICT, children taking part in book quizzes and competing against each other’s knowledge, children creating their own book covers and blurb and many, many more. It has been a pleasure to walk around school and see our children engaged, happy and loving all the activities that they had the opportunity to complete today.

Please find attached many photos from our amazing day. I’m sure you will agree they are fantastic, and I can’t wait to celebrate World Book Day again next year!

Do you have a special talent you wish to showcase at our next big live event.

You will have the chance to perform on stage in front of a live audience in Birmingham at Millennium Point in their state-of-the-art theatre on Thursday 20^th April 2022.  Whether it be singing, dancing, juggling, stand-up comedy or anything and everything in between, we want to see all your wonderful talents.

How to enter:

• Have one of your performing arts teachers record your performance (or film it yourself and email to your teacher). 
• A snippet of your performance can be submitted, please do not worry about submitting a performance in its entirety. 
• Your teacher will be able to submit your performance video to the Matrix judging panel.
• Finalists will have the opportunity to perform at our next big trust event and some school events this year. 
• Solo entries and group entries are welcome. 
• Submit your entry by 4pm on Wednesday 15^th March.