Period poverty affects a staggering number of females across the country: 1 in 10 females of both school age and adult, have not been able to afford sanitary products at some point in time.

On Thursday 19^th October, our Year 7 girls had an assembly about this shocking fact. In the assembly we were able, thanks to PHS and government support, to provide our pupils with various sanitary products. In addition, we were able to talk about the matter of period management and how best to do this whilst in school. Sharing helpful tips and tricks about this was reassuring for our pupils and we reinforced the message that no one should ever have to live in period poverty, the school can support with this. It was great to see our young people being considerate to others and thinking proactively and positively and how to manage periods effectively.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you our new team of pupils who will work as Wellbeing Ambassadors in our school for 2023/24. These inspiring young people have volunteered their time freely to help support the positive mental well-being of the pupils within our community here at Barr Beacon School. Interviews were held for these positions, and every one of these pupils demonstrated our Beacon School Values; especially in their desire to help other children in the school to ‘Be Themselves’.

Over the coming weeks and months, the Wellbeing Team will set up drop-in sessions which other pupils can attend to receive tips on how to improve their personal sense of wellbeing. They will also hold fundraising events for various mental health charities and help give a pupil's perspective on mental health during World Mental Health week through delivering assemblies to the rest of the school. As the academic year progresses, this dedicated team will drive new ideas to continue raising awareness of positive well-being across our school community.

To celebrate World Mental Health Day 2023 Barr Beacon pupils listened to an assembly on this years global theme - ‘Mental Health is a Universal Right’. Within this assembly, pupils learnt about the Human Rights Act of 1998, in particular article 14 which states that people have the right not to be discriminated against. Pupils then learnt what discrimination was and the impact it can have on someone. Within the assembly, pupils saw the familiar faces of celebrities who have all experienced mental health. This highlighted the assemblies key point - that mental health doesn’t discriminate, so why should anyone discriminate against those who experience mental health? Finally, pupils learnt how to have positive conversations about mental health and what support is available for pupils at Barr Beacon School who might be struggling.

Within their form groups, pupils had the opportunity to try some calming mental health strategies such as breathing techniques and grounding techniques. Pupils also reflected on how they could improve their actions to be more inclusive of mental health. Form groups all created and agreed on a pledge to help raise awareness and decrease the stigma that surrounds mental health.

Overall, World Mental Health Day was a success at Barr Beacon as pupils learnt about their rights and how to speak about mental health without discriminating. Pupils also reflected on their own behaviour and set targets accordingly, to ensure that Barr Beacon continues to be a supportive environment that embraces diversity and follows the Barr Beacon values. 

Our pupils and staff raised a huge £638. 38 for Macmillan in our coffee morning at the end of September. Pupils were encouraged to participate in a inter-house cake decoration competition and produced some absolutely stunning results. There is certainly a large amount of cake-decorating talent within our pupil body! It was wonderful to see so many take part and proudly bring in their creations. Similarly, we were bowled over by the generosity and consideration for others shown by the numbers of pupils and staff contributing cakes to sell in our coffee morning. Thank you to all that were involved, including the sixth form charity leads, who did a marvellous job on the morning itself!

World Challenge 2025 – Year 10, 11, 12
Please keep an eye out on the school website for further information about World Challenge 2025.
Parents information evening will take place on Thursday 19th at 6pm (online via zoom)

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Today Year 7 were visited by the Performance in Education team delivering important messages about being careful by the roads.

Shockingly, road traffic accidents are in the top three killers for teenagers. Even more shockingly, most accidents happen in 30mph zones and between 3-4pm at night when pupils are walking home.

This correlation reveals that young people need to take greater care and ensure no distractions whilst walking. The presentation was about the dangers of using mobile phones whilst walking. Although we are a no mobile phone school, and pupils wouldn't be walking with phones on a school day, this is an important message about ensuring safety first at all times.

We are delighted to launch our themed menus for 2023/24 off the back of our very successful new menu for the academic year. 

These special days are an opportunity to celebrate events, festivals and cultures from around the world across all of the Matrix Academy Trust schools. Not only will these provide pupils with a wide range of food experiences but will also compliment our Personal Development curriculum and Theme of the Week.

Watch this space for more updates on our menus and the wonderful food that we will be offering as part of these events.

Pupils and staff join together on 29th September to celebrate Macmillan Coffee morning. We look forward to raising money together for this excellent cause! Pupils and staff will donate cakes for sale as well as taking part in our inter-house cake decoration competition!