🌍📚 World Book Day – Thank You! 📚🌍
A huge thank you to all the staff for the amazing efforts in celebrating World Book Day with our students today! The staff and student costumes were absolutely brilliant, and we loved seeing students embrace the "Get Comfy and Read" theme alongside some fantastic character outfits.

It was a very close competition, but congratulations to Mr. Oswald & Ms. Dawson for winning the student vote for Best Costume! Special shoutout to Mr. Oswald—our reigning World Book Day champion! 🏆 Your Deliveroo voucher is in your inbox! 

💙 Sharing the Love of Reading
One of the most heartwarming moments was seeing students not only choosing books for themselves but also swapping books to take home for family members

🙏 A Heartfelt Thank You!
Days like today truly highlight the incredible work that goes into building a Reading for Pleasure culture across the whole school. Thank you for everything you do! 

Year 7 & Literacy updates

From Ms Russell, Assistant Principal

📚Literacy Quiz Champions Announced! 📚

I hope your literacy groups had a blast taking part in the quiz yesterday! The competition was fierce, but the results are in, and we have our champions! 

🥇 Year 10 – Rams
🥇 Year 9 – Panthers
🥇 Year 8 – Raiders
🥇 Year 7 – Seahawks

Huge congratulations to all our winners! 🙌 Your prizes will be delivered on Monday—so get ready to celebrate! 🎁

Have an amazing weekend and keep that love for literacy and reading alive! 📖

College updates

From Mr Insley, Assistant Principal

Events are Back!

This half term marks the return of our exciting College Events, and there’s something for everyone to get involved in. Get ready for some friendly competition, brainpower battles, and community spirit!

Athletic Event – 7-A-Side Football

We’re kicking things off with 7-A-Side Football. This highly anticipated event will take place on April 9th, so start practicing and forming your dream teams now. Who will take the crown this year?

Intellectual Event – The Spelling Bee Returns

Our hugely popular Spelling Bee is back. Last year, our students impressed us with their incredible literacy and oracy skills, tackling some seriously tough words. Think you have what it takes? Start sharpening those spelling skills now.

Community Event – Supporting Our College Charities

For the first time ever, we’re launching a Community Event where each College will raise money for their chosen charity:

Central – Prostate Cancer UK
Midland – Women’s Aid
Mercia – Petsearch Rescue
Westerly – Crohn’s & Colitis UK

More details on how we’ll be fundraising will be revealed very soon—so stay tuned.

Get excited and get involved!

Year 11 updates

From Ms Bunger, Assistant Principal

A huge well done Year 11! 

A massive congratulations on successfully completing your mock exams! Your resilience, dedication, and hard work over the past two weeks have been truly outstanding.

From tackling assessments across a wide range of subjects to making the most of every revision opportunity, you have shown incredible commitment. It has been inspiring to see you support one another—whether during Literacy Time, break, or lunch—and push through every challenge with determination.

As you reflect on your efforts, remember that every step forward is a step closer to success. Take a moment to appreciate all you’ve accomplished, rest, and recharge.

Mock Examination results will be released on Friday, 28th March and we look forward to celebrating your achievements in these examinations.

We are so proud of you, Year 11—well done!

Personal Development Updates

From Miss Sandhu, Assistant Principal

This Week’s Assemblies: Ramadan & Lent 

This week's assemblies have focused on the core values of Ramadan and Lent. Students reflected on what these events mean to them and their families, exploring themes of abstaining from food, spiritual reflection, prayer, and charity—values that both religions deeply uphold.

Additionally, students discussed how these events connect to our LBS virtues of the half term: Self-Belief and Resilience, considering the strength and dedication required to observe them.

Teaching & Learning Highlights

From Mrs Davis Musabayana, Assistant Principal

In Mrs Thompson's History lesson there was a focused learning environment with clear questioning and positive student engagement. Well done Historians!

In Photography this week students were fully engaged with their coursework and articulated the skills they are using to edit photos.

In Drama there was an oracy-focused lesson where students continued to develop their communication and teamwork skills while rehearsing their drama performances.

In Y7 Gymnastics  students showcased remarkable strength skills while offering support and encouragement to one another.

We are so proud of the students as they develop so many different skills across the curriculum.

Safeguarding Updates

From Mrs Metcalfe-Molinari, Assistant Principal

At LBS the safety and well-being of our students are always our top priority. We continue to maintain a strong focus on safeguarding, ensuring that all students are supported in a safe and secure environment.

This term, we are continuing to reinforce key safeguarding messages with our students, including the importance of online safety, recognising the signs of bullying, and understanding the need to seek help when feeling unsafe. We have been working closely with external agencies and support services to ensure our policies are up-to-date and that our staff are fully trained to identify and respond to any concerns.

We also encourage parents to be actively involved in safeguarding their children by having open conversations about their experiences at school, monitoring their online activity, and reporting any concerns to us as soon as possible.

If you have any concerns or questions about safeguarding, please don't hesitate to contact our safeguarding team. Together, we can ensure a safe and supportive environment for all students.

Thank you for your continued support.

If you have any questions relating to safeguarding and need support, we have a very experienced team of Designated Safeguarding Leads in school, please get in touch using the contact details below:

• Mrs Metcalfe-Molinari, Assistant Principal/Lead DSL, d.metcalfe-molinari@lordswoodboys.co.uk

• Mr Richard Stanford, Deputy DSL, r.stanford@lordswoodboys.co.uk

NOS Updates 

The National Online Safety programme publishes a weekly #WakeUpWednesday update for parents/carers. This week's free guide offers advice on the digital tools available to enhance literacy by making reading more interactive and accessible. 

The way we engage with text has changed dramatically over the years. Whether reading captions on social media, instructions in a video game or an e-book on a digital device, technology plays a major role in modern literacy.

To help struggling readers, many digital platforms offer tools that enhance readability by making text more accessible and engaging. There’s also a broad range of accessibility features available, such as screen customisation and text-to-voice technology, which may help children and young people improve their literary confidence. This free guide offers ten top tips on how you can help young readers engage in text and foster a love for reading.

Pastoral updates

From Miss Williams, Director of Behaviour & Attitudes

🎯 School Target 96%

Secondary School National Attendance 91.8% 

LBS Whole School Attendance 94.3% 📈 

We are 2.5% above National - Well done everyone!

Dance, Performing Arts and Extra-curricular updates

From Mrs McKeon, Director of Learning of Foundations Studies and Extra-curricular learning

Sport fixtures and training schedules 

🏃‍♂️ Athletics Provision 🏃‍♀️

On Monday evening, Chelsea put the students through their paces, focusing on strength development through isolated activities. It was fantastic to see clear progress, with students demonstrating improved stability, balance, and endurance. Their dedication and effort in these sessions are truly paying off! Keep up the great work! 💪👏

🏅 Sports Leaders Award 🏅

On Wednesday, our Year 10 Sports Leaders took part in a Multi-Skills Workshop as they prepare to deliver a session to two primary schools next week.

With guidance, students carefully planned their sessions, considering key factors such as facilities, equipment, safety, engagement, and skill development. Their outstanding leadership was evident in the detailed planning and thoughtful approach to meeting the needs of the children they will be working with.

A fantastic effort from all involved—we can’t wait to see them in action next week! 👏

⚽ Year 8, 9 & 10 Football Update ⚽

Our Year 8 and 9 footballers were back in action on Tuesday for their weekly training sessions. Mr. McGowan and Mr. Oswald were particularly impressed with the maturity, decision-making, and game understanding displayed by the players—great progress all around!

Meanwhile, Mr. Mitchell’s Year 10 squad continued their preparations for two crucial fixtures this month as they look to conclude their league campaign on a high.

Fantastic effort from all the players—keep up the hard work! 💪⚽

⚽ Year 7 Football – A Hard-Fought Battle! ⚽

On Monday, Mr. Badu’s Year 7 team hosted Kings Norton Boys' School in a thrilling league fixture. Despite a tough start, the team showed incredible resilience, fighting back from 3-0 down to level the game at 3-3, before conceding late in a hard-fought 6-3 defeat.

Match Report – Assistant Manager Alfie Cutler

Lordswood and Kings Norton battled fiercely in a match full of twists, turns, and unwavering determination. Kings Norton dominated the first half, surging to a 3-1 lead, with Dantae’s superb goal keeping Lordswood in the game.

Lordswood came out firing in the second half, and Dantae completed his hat-trick with two fantastic goals to bring the match level at 3-3. With momentum on their side, Lordswood pressed hard for a winner.

However, Kings Norton struck back in the final 15 minutes, scoring three decisive goals to secure victory. While the result was disappointing, the team’s determination and teamwork were outstanding.

Man of the Match: Grayson – His tireless work rate and commanding presence in both defense and midfield earned him well-deserved recognition.

A tough loss, but a performance full of promise and fighting spirit—keep pushing, boys! 💪⚽

🎺 Year 7 Brass Workshops Have Begun! 🎺

Last Friday, our exciting Year 7 Brass Workshops kicked off with Class 7.1! Students spent an hour exploring brass instruments, discovering how to produce a sound, and learning about the different types of music and ensembles that feature brass. They even played a couple of short melodies—what a fantastic achievement! 👏

Next up, Class 7.2 will have their turn on Friday, 14th March. Get ready for an exciting session of brass-playing fun! 🎶🎷

Thank you also to Tinashe in Year 9, who supported the session and demonstrated the sounds of his Tuba to the class.

Well done to 7.1 for a brilliant start! 🎉

🎶 Music Ambassadors in Action! 🎶

On Wednesday, our incredible Music Ambassador team met to discuss all things music and have been a huge help in organizing the music practice rooms. A big shout-out to RJ, who led the entire meeting with true professionalism—well done! 👏

A massive thank you to the whole team for your dedication and support. Your efforts make a real difference, and I can’t wait for our next meeting!

🎸 Thank You, Abel and Phil! 🎸

A huge thank you to Abel in Year 10, who stayed behind after school on Wednesday to restring some of our guitars! Your time and effort in maintaining our instruments are truly appreciated—this is such an important task, and we’re grateful for your help. 🎶👏

🎸 Thank You, Phil! 🎸

A big thank you to Phil in Year 9 for sharing some really helpful advice on guitar maintenance with Mrs. Lowndes-Ford this week! Your knowledge and support are truly appreciated. 🎶👏

🎹 Exciting Keyboard Sessions! 🎹

This Friday morning at 8am, I had the pleasure of meeting two fantastic students from Year 9 and 10 who came to share their passion for keyboard music. A special mention to Jas, who has already started composing his own piece—I can’t wait to see how it develops after the advice he received! 🎶✨

I’m delighted that these students will be joining our early Monday morning Keyboard Club, running from 7:45 - 8:10am starting next week. Looking forward to making more great music together! 🎼

🎶 Well Done, Shiriam! 🎶

A huge well done to Shiriam this week for taking the exciting step of learning the keyboard by signing up for lessons! 🎹👏 Not only that, but he also attended our Pop Symphony Orchestra—great commitment to music! 🎼✨

A reminder that any instrumentalists are still welcome to join:
🎵 Pop Symphony Orchestra – Tuesdays after school
🎷 B Music Jazz Band – Wednesdays after school

Come along and be part of our amazing musical groups! 🎶