Here are some of the pencil cases designed and made by yr8 rotation 1. They have designed pencil cases using crisp packets as a starting point. They have been taught the hand 'Applique' technique to decorate and add lettering and shapes. Then sewn their pencil cases together using excellent sewing machine skills.

A big thank you to all the organisations that supported with our careers fair. We had representatives from:

Walsall College

Barr Beacon Teacher training SCITT

Wednesfield Academy 6th Form

NHS Wolverhampton

Nova Training

Juniper training

West Midlands Police

Performance Through People

Althaus Digital

Higgs LLP

South Staffs Water Plc

Walsall Works

CCF and Armed Forces

Primary pupils from Year 5, and secondary pupils from Years 7-10 attended the event and asked our visitors lots of probing questions about their career, or the careers they are promoting. This enabled pupils to make the link between education and careers pathways. 

Friday 28^th February - Y11 Geographers visited Hunstanton, Norfolk to conduct their physical fieldwork. It was an early start, but our pupils were excited and ready to go. Pupils visited Hunstanton to evaluate the hard and soft engineering to focus on coastal erosion. We walked along the coastal front, with pupils commenting on geographical features and how the coast is formed due to erosion. 

Pupils conducted a bi-polar analysis on two different types of coastal engineering; a hard engineering sea wall and a manmade rock wall created by a 90-year-old, Michael Kennedy, who visits the cliff every day to add rocks to protect against erosion. Bloxwich Pupils took it upon themselves to add rocks to the wall to help protect against coastal erosion, commenting how important it was to help! We decided to have brisk walk (2-mile walk) to the sand dunes where another example of soft engineering could be seen by the pupil; focusing on environmental friendly ways to protect the coast. 

Of course, no trip to the coast would be complete without fish and chips, or a trip to the arcade before getting back on the bus. 

Our pupils behaved exceptionally well and really made the Academy proud.

Y11 history pupils spent the day at the Palace Theatre in Redditch watching two plays to aid their revision: Hitler on Trial and The Doctors Show. As part of the day, pupils participated in exam workshops to boost their understanding as well as recapping some of the main events and themes from their GCSE study. Bloxwich pupils were impeccably behaved and were a credit to the school throughout the day.

On 7th February 16 Year 9 pupils took part in a CSI event organised by “Generating Genius”. Pupils learnt about methods of forensic analysis and applied them to solve a fictional crime by analysing evidence. These include electrophoresis and blood type testing. Pupils also learnt about careers in forensic, their role in crime scene investigations, and how this evidence is presented in court. Pupils absolutely loved the experience and did a fantastic job at solving the crime.

Research suggests that 1 in 5 children are recognising their need for support with mental health. At Bloxwich Academy, we recognise the importance of educating pupils about their ability to acknowledge, seek support and where to get assistance with their mental health.

Place2Be’s Children’s Mental Health Week will take place from Monday 3rd February to Sunday 9th February. This years theme is “Know Yourself, Grow Yourself” and is in partnership with Here4You and Disney. Children across the UK are being encouraged to discover how getting to know who they are can help them build resilience, grow and develop. During this week, and beyond, pupils will be taking part in assemblies, form time activities and discussions to support their mental health.

If you have any questions relating to Children’s Mental Health Week, please do not hesitate to contact the school on postbox@bloxwichacademy.co.uk.  You can find out more on the following link https://www.childrensmentalhealthweek.org.uk/.

We have had a latest selection of books arrive in the iCentre, all of which are dyslexia friendly. All of the books are on Accelerated Reader and are available for pupils to borrow at breaktime and after school.

This week we hosted our first ever trust wide football competition between all our schools. The competition was hosted at Etone College and utilised the outstanding facilities and Football Academy provision to implement a very competitive and fun filled event. The day consisted of high quality and competitive football from Year 8 pupils from each of our schools. Our pupils showcased sportsmanship of the highest quality and their passion for football shone through as pupils enjoyed playing and meeting people from across the trust.

It was evident as soon as the group stages started, the games were going to be decided with a bit of magic, an error, or the dreaded penalties. The group stages ended Bloxwich Academy, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury, Etone College and Turves Green Boys’ School progressed to the semi-final stage.

The 7th and 8th placed playoff was a competitive affair which saw the Etone B team victorious over Wednesfield Academy on penalties. The 5th and 6th placed game saw Barr Beacon win the game 1-0. In the semi-finals there was very little difference between the four schools in what was a very competitive high-quality game and again the dreaded penalty shoot-out came into force, Etone College and Bloxwich Academy progressed to the final and Turves Green and Dame Elizabeth went into the third and fourth playoff game

The 3rd and 4th playoff game was a very exciting game that saw both teams miss chances and played some free-flowing exciting football, unfortunately both keepers were to remain unbeaten, and Dame Elizabeth took the third place on penalties. The final consisted of Bloxwich Academy and Etone College in which was anyone’s to win after the two teams had played out a 0-0 draw earlier in the day. Etone started quickly and scored an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner to make it 1-0, Bloxwich to their credit competed fiercely and played some fantastic football and deserved their equaliser to make it 1-1. With both teams going for the win Etone caught Bloxwich on the break to open them up and scored 3 late goals to take the game and the title 4-1.

A huge well done to all pupils and staff involved and a big thankyou to all those that contributed to the event. We are looking forward to getting the next event booked into the calendar to see where the shield will end up next year.

"Bloxwich Academy Year 8 Football team took part in the Matrix Trust’s first ever all day football tournament hosted by Etone College. Playing against some strong opposition within the Trust, Bloxwich managed to reach the Final of the competition. A superb effort! They lost in the final to the host School, Etone. The students really enjoyed the experience and conducted themselves in a fantastic manner throughout the event J.Lyons (Year 8, Stephenson) was awarded Goalkeeper of the tournament, and B. Lindop (Year 8, Watt) scored a freekick in the Final from 30 yards out and worthy of the goal of the tournament contender!"