It's a wrap on our school production Matilda the Musical JR. and we certainly went out with a bang! Both evening performances were absolutely brilliant, with a packed hall and an electric atmosphere. We were completely in awe of the children, who performed with such confidence and enthusiasm. Every single one of them shone on stage and made us extremely proud! It was wonderful to watch the students come alive on stage, fully relaxing into their roles and enjoying every moment of performing. Their energy, expressions, and sheer joy were infectious, bringing the characters and story to life! As a musical, Matilda Jr. is ambitious, and the songs are not easy! Have you ever tried singing "Revolting Children" without getting out of breath? Let's just say our children made it look and sound effortless! At the end of the final performance, emotions were running high, with tears of happiness and pure elation after months of hard work and dedication. It was a truly special moment that reflected just how much this production meant to everyone involved. What also stood out just as much was the kindness the children showed backstage. There was constant encouragement with high fives, team talks, mini mediation sessions, practicing lines, counting each other in and genuine support for one another. It made the staff incredibly emotional! It takes a huge team to bring a production like this together, so a massive well done to our incredible children, the dedicated production team, the whole staff team for their patience, all the supportive families at home, and the local businesses for their continued support. We are so proud of what has been achieved. If anyone has any photos of their child from last night, maybe after the performance, that they wouldn't mind sharing, please send them to mcope@jamesbateman.staffs.sch.uk. Please feel free to comment below with your memories. We'd love to hear your feedback!

On Wednesday 18th March James Bateman's year 7&8 girls footballers competed in the Staffordshire Moorlands football tournament at Leek Town. The girls fought well drawing their first match against Endon, losing 0-1 against Woodhouse Academy and drawing with Moorside. Well done to all the players who worked so well together.

Yesterday, the Year 5s took part in a TTRS (Times Tables Rockstar) Battle held at Langdale Primary School. We took three Year 5 students to battle against other Year 5 students across the trust in their times tables knowledge. It was an extremely close battle, and James Bateman came in second place! The children battled incredibly hard and represented our school amazingly.

Special Mentions Assembly A brilliant way to end the week at James Bateman Middle School with another Special Mentions Assembly. It's fantastic to see so many pupils being recognised for their hard work, positive attitude and contributions to school life. We love celebrating these moments each week and recognising the pupils who go above and beyond. A huge well done to all of today's award winners.

Well done to the Y5 and Y6 football team. They played in the middles schools competition tonight. Y5 came 2nd in their group, Y6 finishing 4th. Thank you for all the support.