The day finally arrived; the long-awaited Sports Day 2023!  Pupils and staff were prepared for all eventualities including the weather and despite the rain during the morning the call was made for the event to go ahead and we are really glad that it did!

Firstly, the PE department want to say how proud we all are of all the participants involved. Everyone was respectful, supportive of each other and behaved in a sensible and mature manner. The sportsmanship between houses, teams and individuals was superb and your spectator etiquette was commendable. The level of ability and enthusiasm in the track and field events was amazing to see and it shows the hard work the pupils have put in over the last year to create such a competitive day.

MANY CONGRATULATIONS TO KENILWORTH HOUSE FOR WINNING THE SPORTS DAY TROPHY!

Also, a massive thank you to all the staff who was involved, it truly was a fantastic day and to see so many people smiling was brilliant to see. A big shout out to all the teachers who took part in the teacher race and of course congratulations to the PE department (Miss Nash, Miss Morris, Mr Harris & Mr Parsons) for winning. 

The Friends of Wednesfield PTA group are delighted to announce that the Summer Fayre held at Wednesfield Academy on Saturday 15^th July 2023 raised over £1100. The event was a massive success and it was lovely to see so many staff, students, friends, family and members of the community coming together and having such a lovely time together – despite the weather!

The Friends group are keen to raise funds to support extra-curricular activities for the students and were delighted to spend some of this money on drinks, ice lollies and biscuits for all children on Sports Day. We are keen to recruit more members to the group so if you are interested in joining us, please get in touch via postbox@wednesfieldacademy.co.uk 

Year 11 prom at Molineux Stadium. 

The weather enabled some amazing entrances by the pupils including expensive cars, a horse and carriage and an amazing motorbike procession.  As the pupils arrived, we knew that we were in for a brilliant night! 

Inside the Hayward Suite pupils enjoyed a welcome drink and a 2-course meal before the party really started.  The DJ did an amazing job at keeping the dance floor full all night and both the staff and pupils took the opportunity to enjoy themselves with a dance off and a sing along. 

As the night progressed Mr Hill took to the stage to host the awards for the evening including best dressed and Prom King and Queen.  The crowd went wild as L Swinbourne and A Miles were handed their crowns as Prom King and Queen 2023 and T Grizzle and M Omar were awarded best dressed. 

The pupils’ behaviour was impeccable, another indication of how amazing this year’s Year 11 have been!  We are very proud of them and look forward to celebrating their results with them in August! 

A special mention to Mr Hill for organising such a wonderful event. 

We will be holding a few open events this year to give all prospective Year 7 parents and pupils the chance to come and visit us. These events will give you a little insight into what is means to be a pupil at Wednesfield Academy and give you the chance to ask any questions you may have.

Open Evening will take place on Thursday 21st September 2023 4pm – 7pm

Open Mornings will take place on Thursday 5th October and Friday 6th October 2023 9am-10am

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On Tuesday 27th June, all of our Year 12 students visited the UCAS Show in Birmingham.
Students were able to talk to a large number of universities to support them with planning their next steps after Sixth Form. The students had a brilliant day and not just because of the free pens and tote bags!

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.

36 Students from Year 8 and 4 members of staff, were selected to attend a visit at the NMA as part of the wider World War One topic. As a veteran of the Royal Air Force I believed it be important that the students understand the meaning behind the memorials and the sacrifice of those who served in World War One beyond the battlefield.

The students were presented with sources and replicas of Victoria Cross medals that allowed them to make the link between people and movement across our Empire, Women’s role, the youth and change in technology. This was then shown through the various memorials across the vast site of the Arboretum, including the moving memorial to the 306 soldiers who were executed during the conflict.

The students also paid a visit to the Armed Forces Memorial, which houses the names of 16,000 servicemen and women who have laid down their lives since the end of the Second World War. The students also carried out an act of remembrance, laying a wreath on behalf of Wednesfield Academy and the wider trust.

The students were fully engaged within the visit, which the staff at the Arboretum said: ‘Some pupils had very good knowledge and everyone was well behaved. We were pleased to hear that most of the class said they wanted to come back. There were some very interested pupils with very positive engagement in the classroom activities and their involvement in the Act of Remembrance was exemplary.”

One of our pupils said: “I had a really good day. I want to come again. I learnt about people who gave their lives for us, and I want to come back with my family to tell them what I’ve learnt.”

Two Year 12 Historians have had the opportunity of a life time as they have taken part in the ‘Lessons from Auschwitz project.’ Through this project they have been exploring this challenging history by taking part in an interactive, online seminar, and on Tuesday had the amazing opportunity to visit Poland for the day to experience the infamous Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial. The students had a wonderful experience. Here are some of the photos they have shared with us from their day.