This Week in the Academy - 15th May 2026 | King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls' Academy

Welcome to the academies weekly newsletter, rounding up the events of the past week and keeping you informed of coming events and information to support you and your daughter in school and beyond.

This week we have:

Good Luck
Mental Health Awareness Week
Gold School Games Mark 2025–2026
HPL Top Tips – Being confident
Water Safety on Holiday
Online Safety for Parents
What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Online Grooming

We hope you enjoy reading this weeks news!

Good Luck

As our Year 11 and Year 13 students begin their study leave, we would like to wish them every success as they prepare for their upcoming examinations. This is an important milestone, and we know how much dedication, resilience, and hard work has gone into reaching this point.

We hope the weeks ahead are productive and balanced, and that students feel confident drawing on all they have learned.

Good luck to all our Year 11 and Year 13 students – we are incredibly proud of you and wish you every success in the exam season ahead.

Mental Health Awareness Week

This week was Mental Health Awareness Week – a valuable reminder to look after our own wellbeing and to support those around us.

This year’s theme, “Action,” emphasises how even small, positive steps can make a real difference to our mental health, the wellbeing of our school community, and the wider world beyond our gates.

Whether it’s checking in with a friend, starting a supportive conversation, or simply taking time to pause and reflect, every action matters.

At King Edward VI Handsworth Wood Girls’ Academy, we are committed to nurturing a safe, inclusive, and caring environment. Together, we can continue to build a community where everyone feels supported, valued, and able to thrive.

Gold School Games Mark 2025–2026

We Did It – Gold School Games Mark 2025–2026!🏅

We are absolutely delighted to announce that King Edward VI Handsworth Wood School for Girls has won Gold in the School Games Mark 2025–2026 – a fantastic achievement and a true reflection of the high-quality PE, sport and physical activity opportunities we provide for our students.

This Gold award recognises our whole-school commitment to inclusion, participation, leadership and positive sporting experiences. We are incredibly proud to be fully re-engaged in School Games events, representing our school across the partnership and hosting competitions for primary schools – showing our commitment beyond our own gates.

A huge thank you to Team PE for their dedication, leadership and meticulous work in pulling together high-quality evidence and driving our involvement this year. Your impact has been felt across the school and wider community.

We’re proud of this achievement and excited to build on this success as we continue to create positive, inclusive sporting opportunities for all our students 💛👏

HPL Top Tips - Being confident

✓ Model being confident yourself by saying “I can” rather than “I can’t“. Or try saying “I can’t yet, but I will soon”.

✓ Encourage and emphasise the HPL philosophy ‘ that learning can be a struggle but is not permanent’ and that ‘everyone has the potential to be a high performing learner’. In this way you are encouraging a child to keep trying and thus improve their confidence.

✓ A person with intellectual confidence thinks: “I can do this. I will get there. It’s hard but I will keep going”. Be sure to model this approach at home with everyday things that you must tackle.

✓ Praise effort as well as the outcome.

✓ Don’t do things for your child that they can learn how to do. Children need to understand that they have the potential and the power to do things for themselves, they just need to have the confidence that they can do it.

Water Safety on Holiday

As families begin planning holidays, we encourage all parents and carers to take a moment to review important water safety information provided by the Royal Life Saving Society UK.

Please follow the link to help keep everyone safe around water this summer:

Water Safety on Holiday – Click Here

Online Safety for Parents

Online Safety for Parents

Staying safe online is more important than ever. We encourage parents and carers to review the following helpful resources to support conversations at home and ensure children are using technology safely:

These guides offer practical tips, clear explanations and supportive advice to help keep young people safe online. Please take a few minutes to explore the links and stay informed.

What Parents and Educators Need to Know about Online Grooming

Online grooming is a growing and deeply concerning threat, with thousands of offences recorded each year in the UK. This edition explores how offenders build trust with children through fake identities, flattery, gifts and group chats before exploiting that relationship. It also examines the rise of sextortion and how gaming platforms and social media can become gateways for harm.

Beyond sexual exploitation, the guide highlights criminal grooming and radicalisation, helping adults recognise that manipulation can take many forms. With practical advice on spotting warning signs, creating open conversations and understanding the platforms children use, this resource empowers parents and educators to intervene early and keep young people safer online.