This week, some of our secondary learners took part in an assembly hosted by Seddon Construction. We met Sean and Joe, who are currently managing the building work at our Walsall Wood Campus. They taught us about the important jobs carried out on a construction site and the skilled tradespeople who complete them. We also had the chance to explore key items of workwear that builders use, learning why each item is worn and how it helps keep workers safe. Learners especially enjoyed trying on the safety helmet, hi-vis vest, and safety goggles.

During the assembly, we also explored some of the essential tools used on-site and learnt how they are used safely. To finish, we asked a range of questions to deepen our understanding of this important job role.

At the start of this week, we hosted our first ever Post‑16 Future Destinations Careers Fayre at Oakwood for the parents and families of our Year 10 learners. This event provided an invaluable opportunity to bring together a wide range of Post‑16 education and social care providers, offering guidance and insight to learners, families, and staff. The information shared will strengthen our understanding of the many pathways and opportunities available as we support learners in preparing for their transition into Post‑16 education and an exciting future.

Our Post‑16 Future Destinations Careers Fayre represents an important step in shaping our KS4 pathways and careers education, ensuring that our learners are equipped to secure ambitious and appropriate Post‑16 placements.

This week our lower secondary Year 7, 8 and 9 have taken part in their termly enrichment after school event and this term it was our ‘Spring Disco’. Throughout the half term our classes have been busy sharing some of their favourite songs and helping with the planning and organisation. We then came together on Monday to enjoy the wonderful event. It was a lovely to join as friends from different classes and have a great time. We shared all our best dance moves and also enjoyed some snack and treats that were prepared for the special event. As our disco came to an end we were collected by parents and shared how much we had enjoyed our evening. We are all looking forward to planning our next event.

This week some of our learners in ‘Upper Primary and Secondary’ went to Walsall Arena and took part in the ‘Food For Life Celebration Day’. Our learners took part in a range of workshops focused on healthy eating and developing important life skills. We also had chance to showcase and celebrate all our hard work that we have achieved over the last few years as we have worked toward ‘The Food for Life Award’. We are extremely proud of all our learners and staff who have worked hard to achieve this award!!

We ended our first half term with lots of Autumn fun in ‘Upper Primary and Secondary’. Each class took part in designing their own unique pumpkin as they took part in our ‘Autumn Pumpkin Competition’ and we had so many amazing creations. Our wonderful Foxes class helped judge our winners and we were really proud to announce our winners were Birch Class.
We are super proud of how hard all our learners worked to form their creations, there were so many wonderful designs and ideas that were brought to life.

As part of our secondary enrichment evening event some of our learners at our Pelsall Lane site took part in our ‘Summer Pizza and Picnic Evening’ after school on Tuesday 10th June. In preparation, our learners helped plan and select and purchase the pizzas that they would like during their weekly community visit to Morrisons. We then came together with our Year 7, 8 and 9 friends and set up our secondary playground and grassed outdoor area and cooked our chosen food, and then took part in a range of outdoor fun activities. We especially enjoyed listening to some music and singing and dancing along to some of our favourite songs. We finally ended our evening with helping tidy away whilst we shared ideas for our next after school enrichment sessions.

A small group of Year 9 learners were really excited to be invited to attend a work experience event held at ‘The Light Cinema in Walsall’. During our visit we had chance to learn about the important job roles that take place at the cinema and some of the tasks that they complete as part of their important job role. We had chance to see behind the scenes where tickets are sold, films are played, where people seat and also where the popcorn is made etc. We also had chance to watch and help make our own pizza lunch and learn all about how we serve customers. On return to school we discussed the jobs that we would like to complete in the future. This was a wonderful opportunity to support our secondary learners with experiencing and encounter the world of work.

As part of our secondary enrichment some of our pupils at our Pelsall Lane site took part in our ‘Summer Pizza and Picnic Night’ after school on Thursday. In preparation, our pupils helped plan and select the pizzas and outdoor activities that they would like. We then came together with our Year 7 and 8 friends and set up our secondary grassed outdoor area and cooked our chosen food, and then took part in a range of outdoor games. We especially enjoyed listening to some music and singing and dancing along to some of our favourite songs. We finally ended our evening with helping tidy away whilst we shared ideas for our next after school enrichment session in the Autumn term.

Over the summer term we have taken part in a very exciting project with The West Midlands Combined Authority. Midland Metro Alliance are doing lots of construction work in our area. They are building new lines for the Midland Metro. They asked for our help to build bug hotels so that insects and bugs have a safe place to live. Our entries were entered into a competition with other schools and we were invited to attend an awards ceremony at Wolverhampton Football Stadium. All bug hotels were judged by important people at Midland Metro Alliance…and we won two awards in Chestnut and Willows class, we are so proud of our secondary pupils! Our trophies was for ‘creativity’ and ‘Design and Planning’. A number of secondary pupils representing our secondary department at Oakwood collected and accepted our special awards. Well done team Oakwood. We would also like to thank the West Midlands Combined Authority and Midland Metro as they made our school feel very special. The trophies will be displayed proudly at school and everyone who took part received a medal for their participation.

This week we are please to announce the launch our one of our ‘Treat Trolley’s’ in our secondary department at our Pelsall Lane Campus. Over the last few weeks we have worked as a team to plan and design what we would like our trolley to look like and also the items we would like to sell and buy. The aim of our ‘Treat Trolley’ is for pupils to experience exchanging money for a chosen item including pencils, colouring books, sweets, play dough, bubbles and much more. We will also play an important role in restocking the trolley, as well as greeting and serving other visitors. Throughout the term we will also have some special themed events planned involving our ‘Treat Trolley’, so keep visiting our weekly blogs to see.

We are also excited to announce we are currently working hard on designing and bringing to life our next ‘Treat Trolley’ at our Walsall Wood Campus which will be opening very soon.