Blackminster Middle

𝗦𝗟𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗖𝗨𝗣 𝗢𝗡 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗥𝗢𝗔𝗗 🏆 Ahead of #TheSlaterCup at Villa Park, the lads have been in Birmingham & West Mids chatting to local school children about @premrugby, #4Ed and the big game on Saturday 28 March. Last week, Josh headed to Studley, whilst Kirill & Will visited @BMiddleSchool. 🤝 Get your tickets today 👉 bit.ly/4qCTxdP

@DavidHTower @BWareAuthor Did you mean to post this here, @DavidHTower ?

@BWareAuthor @BMiddleSchool Go away.

Thank you, Caroline, for organising my #FreeSchoolVisit to Blackminster Middle School @BMiddleSchool. And huge thanks to everyone there for making it such an awesome day!!! wordsofwarning.com/events/school-… Blazers seem to have magical properties, making their young wearers appear way ahead of their years. So, I found it a little daunting returning to Blackminster Middle School, where the Year 6, 7 & 8 pupils all look 18+. But whilst setting up for the first of my back-to-back assemblies, I spotted Ollie (who I fondly remembered from my previous year’s visit). Thanks to his great big smile, I was reminded that these pupils WERE still children… and weren’t, in fact, a world apart from those I meet during my junior and primary school visits. Blazers do seem somewhat restrictive, though, making their wearers unable to raise their arms to ask or answer any questions during an assembly. 🤣(Yes, I had a tough audience first thing!) But by the time my workshops began, my nerves had run their course, and the Year 7 students had woken up and warmed up in readiness for the activities I had planned. And what a creative group of Year 7 pupils this was!!! During my first session, the speed at which the pupils worked really impressed me. And I was pleased to see that, despite the lack of participation during my assemblies, these pupils were not only keen to join in, but they were eager to share their work with their peers. I particularly enjoyed Sofia’s story about a dragon having just eaten her grandma. And I thought Will’s comic strip did a great job of telling a story through pictures alone. My next session was just as productive as the first, with so many wonderful pieces of written work and artwork produced in no time that we ended up giving certificates to everyone in this class. Jessica and Rose both wrote chilling stories under the title There’s a Dragon Hiding Under My Bed. It wouldn’t surprise me if they have books of their own published one day. Then, it was straight on to my third workshop of the day. Once again, the pupils launched into my activities with gusto and came up with some really imaginative ideas. Including Connie’s witty story about a homework-eating dragon. I spent lunchtime in the library, handing out free stickers and bookmarks and selling signed copies of WARNING: Magic Can Be Dangerous! and WARNING: May Contain Dragons. And I have to say that the blazer-clad pupils in EVERY year group were all super polite and really chatty, making it an absolute joy to engage with them on a one-on-one level. Thank you, Ollie and Joe, for putting your wonderful organisational skills to good use in order to make everything run smoothly and efficiently. Your help was very much appreciated. My final workshop for the day was no different to the others, with engaged pupils scribbling their ideas down at a rate of knots, and the room in hysterics when students read their work aloud. Some of the girls wrote really clever complaint letters back-and-forth to one another. And I thought Lexi’s story did a brilliant job of building intrigue. Charlie’s story entitled A Dragon Just Ate My Grandma really tickled me, too. So, having walked into Blackminster Middle School a little trepidatiously – despite this having been my second visit there – I left with a huge smile on my face and many more fond memories. Middle schools aren’t full of scary pupils… they’re filled with wonderful, warm-hearted, polite, and talented children, and I can’t wait to return to Blackminster again next year! #blackminstermiddleschool #schoolvisits #authorvisits #freeschoolvisits #freeauthorvisits #headteachers #teachers #readinglead #KS2 #warningmagiccanbedangerous #warningmcbd #wordsofwarning #warningmaycontaindragons #warningmcd #cranthorpemillner #childrensbooks #middlegradebooks #kidlit

@JeremyClarkson - you made it. You got a student dressed as you for #worldbookday2025 🤣

@PhoenixEdSarah Thank you.

Spoken to him at 9am, then 11am and he is now getting help thanks to his sister who is with him and supporting

@nourishworkplce Ours are booked in, and shared on multiple occasions. They are still a surprise for some parents and staff 🤣

Secondary school staff, help me understand something. Do you have key events (parent's evenings, revision events, information events) mapped out from Sept but you choose to tell parents with a few weeks notice or are you only booking these things in yourself short notice?

@Headteacherchat All three. And some chocolate.

I can’t decide if what I need is a large coffee, a holiday, or two weeks of sleep.

@Headteacherchat We’ve gone to @Bromcom . It’s very different from SIMS and takes a bit of getting used to, but it’s really good!

Anonymous post: Hello everyone, We’re considering transitioning away from SIMS and adopting a new MIS. If you’ve recently made a similar change or have recommendations based on your experience, we’d greatly appreciate your insights. Thank you in advance for your help!

I'm doing a free giveaway to celebrate the publication of my latest book! Like and retweet to enter (UK only). Winner announced on Sunday. Link to find out more about the book below. #freebie #giveaway

@Headteacherchat KS3 science, head of science (twice), then back to part time teacher, then head of college (like a house), then AHT to cover a mat leave, then HoKS4, then DHT, now EHT.

What was your route into headship? What responsibilities did you take on during the formative years?

@missjredwards Yes, but your children won’t remember this. They’ll remember that you always gave your best to them and to your “other”kids and they’ll be grateful. Honestly.

@missmorton0 @Teacherglitter We couldn’t agree more! Many of our students come to us in year 6 from tiny first schools (one had 20 pupils…!) on their way to 1000+ high schools for year 9. We love and nurture, but definitely with an eye to them moving on. It’s a difficult balance, but it’s our specialism,

@Teacherglitter Middle schools were really good at bridging the gap

Whether we ‘moly coddle’ our year 6 children too much or secondary are ‘too hard’ something fundamentally needs to change. And me being kind and compassionate doesn’t need to be the change. I am sick of kids coming back to visit upset (over many years) including my own.

@MrEFinch If you want to go really fancy, some coriander is a good addition. What can I say - we are a bit low-brow but also quite bougie 🤣

@BMiddleSchool Sounds pretty good to me. No judgement here.

Thinking about preparing my kid for life at university. What are seven easy, cheap, tasty meals you can cook on a hob? 1) Pasta pesto

⚽️Over 150 KS2 children ready for today's football tournaments hosted by @BMiddleSchool . Good luck everyone @BengeworthCE @StBarnabasDB The Littletons, @TDMS_Evesham @BMiddleSchool Flyford Flavell @pinvinfed @StAndrewsWorcs Elmley Castle @AbbeyParkSchool ⚽️

@bennewmark Government guidance to headteachers is very clear about this. I just wish they’d issue the same guidance to parents!

Been thinking about the rise in parental complaints to schools. A thing I feel I've noticed from talking to people is more parents now genuinely believe schools need their consent to enforce rules and sanctions. This is creating more arguments and tension.

@nourishworkplce We’ll be in!

Would you be interested in this? A free 5 day challenge, I give you an action a day to implement in your school which will boost staff's wellbeing. They will be quick to do (so not impacting your workload), either free of very low cost, and will have a huge impact. Who's in?

Yesterday PC Prentice and PCSO Kempton attended @BMiddleSchool for a lunch time engagement session with any students that wished to attend. This proved very popular with lots of questions & engagement from students. #PolicingPromise #saferpeople 🏫

Yesterday afternoon PC Prentice & PCSO Kempton attended @BMiddleSchool to talk to students about Knife Crime & keeping themselves safe. Great engagement from the students & great feedback. #opsceptre #saferpeople 🔪

@EveshamCops It was great to see you - thank you!