We will be holding a few open events this year to give all prospective Year 7 parents and pupils the chance to come and visit us. These events will give you a little insight into what is means to be a pupil at Barr Beacon School and give you the chance to ask any questions you may have.
Open Evening will take place on Thursday 14th September 2023 6:00pm – 9:00pm
Open Mornings in October will take place on Friday 15th September 9:00-10:00am and Friday 6th – October 9:00-10:00am.
Over the past four months, 20 year 10 pupils have been completing their social action projects as part of the Diana Award. The Diana Awards Mentoring Programme works with schools and businesses to give young people an insight into the world of work and offer careers and citizenship skills training. Pupils are matched with a Mentor from the world of work, who work alongside the organisation’s Youth Facilitator to guide the group of pupils through the programme. Mentors also support the pupils to plan a social action project around a topic in their community or globally, of which they feel passionate about. Barr Beacon Pupils were extremely fortunate to work alongside Tom who is a senior advisor at the HSBC. Some of this year’s social action projects included: setting up a charity providing support for mothers, the impacts of the cost-of-living crisis on children and food poverty. All pupils were extremely passionate in their presentations and have successfully achieved their Award. Well done to all pupils involved.
We enjoyed celebrating with our Year 13 students at their Leavers’ Ball on Friday 7th July, marking the end of the examination period and the end of their journey with us. The evening was thoroughly enjoyed from the food through to the dancing into the early hours!
We are extremely proud of all that they have achieved over the last 7 years and we are excited to see what the future holds for them.
We are looking forward to celebrating with them again, as they receive their A level and BTEC results, on Thursday 17th August 2023. Then we will be ready to send them off, with our good wishes, to embark on the next leg of their journey!
As our Year 12 students continue to prepare for their future steps, they visited the Open Day at Aston University. They experienced a taste of life at university through attending lectures in a variety of subjects areas such as Computer Science, Psychology, Business Management, Nursing and Law, seeing the facilities that the university offers and meeting lecturers and student ambassadors. This visit gave them a fantastic opportunity to explore what university has to offer and to begin to make important choices about their future.
Nikita M: “I really enjoyed having the freedom to choose the lectures that I could attend and went to the Business & Management lecture.”
Yasmin C: “I enjoyed learning more about the courses and it gave me an insight into the university process and what you do in the 4 years. It also gave me clarity on the subject I want to study.”
Karum K: “I enjoyed the opportunity of attending a university when it is busy, experiencing the atmosphere and what it might be like full of students.”
Naran C: “I enjoyed the Accounting and Finance lecture as it was informative.”
Jude M: “I really enjoyed the tours of the university and experiencing all that university life has to offer.”
Head Student Team 2023 - 2024
Congratulations to our new Head Student Team on their successful appointments. We are looking forward to working with them as they bring their ideas to the role.
A message from our Senior Four
We are honoured to represent Barr Beacon as the Head Students. We see these significant roles as a great opportunity and privilege to act on behalf of our school.
We look back at our predecessors and recognise the high standards that they have set, their accomplishments and the manner in which they have upheld the Beacon Values. We realise that we are following in their stead and that we have a chance to continue their work. We will be collaborating with both staff and students to generate ideas and then drive them forward towards successful implementation.
With this in mind, we intend to create a safe community within the boundaries of our school, ensuring that everyone is granted the same opportunities, allowing them to develop and grow.
We will encourage and support students, across all year groups, to take full advantage of all the opportunities on offer, so that we can take our school to even greater heights of success.
Head Students: Jada and James
Taking on the role of Deputy Head Students is something that we will carry out with the upmost respect, as we work alongside the Head Students.
Our aim is to support fellow Sixth Form students, younger pupils and staff, to make continuous improvements to our school. We are looking forward to motivating and supporting others to be the best versions of themselves. With each of us bringing our individual ideas to the role, we hope that, as a group, these ideas will flourish and grow to create our legacy.
At Barr Beacon School, we pride ourselves on being ‘proud to succeed’ and as Deputy Head Students, we will take on all new challenges head-on and listen to every voice. We are honoured to not only support others on their journey, but also to finish our final leg at Barr Beacon, by being able to give back to the school that has given us so much.
Deputy Head Students: Isobel and Katie
Meet the team
Jada C – Head Student
In 2017 I joined Barr Beacon School with little idea of just how much I would flourish and excel under the vast array of opportunities that the school would provide. Resilience, conviction and independence are attributes I have gained as a result of my experiences, shaping me into the person that I am today. I feel indebted to not only give something back but also to leave a legacy that will withstand changes to come in the future and in turn, better the school community that I have grown to cherish.
As Head Student, I will promote diversity and establish a community that will work concordantly to consistently be a voice for the students at Barr Beacon. I want to ensure a continuity of the opportunities I have received throughout my years at school, as well as to encourage change, improving the experiences of others. Lastly, I hope to ensure that everyone is treated with the upmost respect and dignity in their learning and development.
I have grown a lot over the past 6 years under the roles of Prefect, Peer Mentor and School Council Representative and with this growth I have encountered many challenges. I truly recognise the nature of the role and cannot envisage a more rewarding and worthwhile challenge to embark upon, during my final year at Barr Beacon School.
James D – Head Student
Since joining the school in 2017, Barr Beacon has provided me with an amazing range of opportunities to develop my personal qualities and enhance my skills and interests.
Highlights of my time at the school include being selected, in Year 12, to participate in a trip of a lifetime to Japan (as part of the Turing Scheme). Prior to this, I embraced the opportunity of the Erasmus Project, hosting a student from an Italian school for a week.
I have represented the school both academically and through sport in a number of ways and have found them all fulfilling. Academically, this has included competing in the UK Maths Challenge on several occasions and the ‘Race to the Target’ event with the University of Birmingham. In sport, the school supported my proposal to enter a team into the England Schools Golf Championship. I was also successful in securing the prestigious role of Prefect during my time in Year 11.
From all the opportunities the school has presented me with, my confidence has grown to a level which I would not have imagined when I first stepped through the school gates in Year 7. Post Barr Beacon, the positive characteristics I have developed will fuel and help me to further success.
Isobel C – Deputy Head Student
From the first day I started at Barr Beacon, the school has been supportive, nurturing and given me opportunities to excel. I am proud to have been an ambassador for the Mayor of Walsall to reduce the stigma around mental health. More recently, I had the pleasure to facilitate and lead a presentation at Imperial College London, presenting to a large group of people, including college professors and doctors.
These two examples, together with many other activities I have been a part of, have taught me the importance of leadership, working as a team, listening to and learning from others and always being passionate, aiming to be the best in everything I do.
I am honoured to be a part of this year’s Senior Team and I promise that every day I will endeavour to help make a positive difference to each of you. I will lead by example and always be driving the school’s motto of being ‘proud to succeed’.
Katie O – Deputy Head Student
Looking back to when I first joined Year 7, I had no idea how much Barr Beacon School would assist me in cultivating my skills, by providing me with an abundance of opportunities and experiences that have helped me into becoming the resilient, determined and hard-working individual I am today. Whilst working hard I centred my efforts around the quote “Work hard in silence, let success be your noise”, because nothing is more powerful than being able to say how hard you worked to achieve your dreams.
Barr Beacon School has not only guided me but has also pushed me outside of my comfort zone, allowing me to understand that sometimes you need to step outside of the box to reach your full potential. Challenging myself is now something I aspire to do on a regular basis, and it is something I encourage others to try.
I have taken on many different responsibilities throughout my time at Barr Beacon School, from being a librarian, to becoming a Beacon Values Ambassador and a Prefect, as well as being given the position of Flight Sergeant within the Combined Cadet Force. I have a massive passion for helping others and giving back to those in the welcoming community at Barr Beacon School.
As Deputy Head Student, I cannot wait to continue and add to the legacy set forth by the previous senior teams, and to work alongside the incredible staff and amazing pupils who help make Barr Beacon a remarkable place to learn.
What a fabulous night at our Year 11 Prom! We are so proud of all of our Year 11 and what you have achieved over the last five years. Our pupils went all out with some amazing dresses and suits as well as fabulous heels. We saw some spectacular entrances from pupils. Everyone had a great time dancing the night away and we wish you all the best for the future and GCSE results day in August!
Year 8 pupils with the top praise points in their year were rewarded with a trip to the Inspiring the Black Country event at Wolverhampton Racecourse. Pupils had the chance to explore a vast array of interactive careers exhibits, allowing them to explore careers in construction, hospitality, security, healthcare and many more.
One of our students, Jamie, was complimented by representatives from the construction company Equans for his “highly advanced building and problem solving skills”. Whilst pupil Gabriella said: “It was really fun. There was so much to do and I learnt about lots of new careers.”
The first of our Year 7 university taster days took place at Aston University, where pupils enjoyed exploring the vast campus and then used this as inspiration to design their own university. Pupils learnt all about the benefits of higher education and degree apprenticeships, taking part in quizzes to learn about university life and meeting current students. We were even lucky enough to be toured around the university by a former Barr Beacon pupil, Hibbah, who is enjoying her studies of Politics with Economics and about to enter her year in industry.
On Thursday 8th June, Birchfield Harriers invited Barr Beacon to participate in the West Midlands Inter-school athletics competition, held at The Alexander Stadium. John Billingham and I took 19 pupils to represent Beacon in the following events: 75m, 100, 150m, 200m, 800m, shot put and long jump. For many of the pupils, it was their first time to The Alexander Stadium, and they were amazed by the sight and buzz of the stadium.
First up, was the warmup. This was led by a Birchfield Harriers Level 4 Athletics Coach, which involved a run around the 400m blue synthetic surface track, then bounding and stretching activities. Then the following events took place and our pupil's positions and times were:
The day was a HUGE success with Barr Beacon pupils coming:
1st in 7 events,
2nd in 10 events,
3rd in 7 events and
4th in 1 event.
Barr Beacon narrowly came second overall with pupils making top 5, 25 times.
Pupils represented Barr Beacon impeccably, with their physical performance and social behaviour around the stadium.
As with every organisation there are always inspections, for the Combined Cadet Force we have the Biennial Review. So on 7th June 2023 our Staff & Cadets were honoured to host the Regional Commandant for the Wales & West Region, Group Captain R Simon who this year was our Reviewing Officer (RO). The Group Captain was accompanied our Headteacher Mrs Hibbs, and Major Simon Cuthbert (School Cadet Expansion Officer West Midlands) for the duration of his review visit.
The review began with a working lunch where all of the contingent staff were given the opportunity to discuss cadet force issues both within the school and the wider organisation. The Group Captain was pleased to see and hear that the staff were in good spirits and that the cadet forces within Barr Beacon School were thriving, both from the number of students taking part but also the rapid expansion of activities that we were able to offer throughout the year.
We moved on to the main event – the reason why we were all here, to see the cadets taking part in activities delivered by our staff. The RO was escorted by our very own Flight Sergeant’s K Owen & J Martin (two of our 6th Form Students), who were asked all sorts of relevant questions about life as a cadet here in Barr Beacon School - both good and bad. This was the first time that either of them had been involved in a high profile visit, especially one by the Commandant of the region.
There were a series of activities that all of our cadets displayed throughout the afternoon which demonstrated the scope of what the school offers for our youngsters Activities that were on display included Drill, Command/Team Building tasks, First Aid, Target Shooting and Fieldcraft. At each station the Group Captain observed the activity, asked questions to the instructing staff and then more importantly asked for feedback from the cadets directly. It was a great opportunity for RO to gain vital feedback from the cadets about how they see the CCF in school. The RO especially was impressed by the high standard of our cadets target shooting, something that we have spent time improving throughout the year. Mr Best and A/Plt Off Garner displayed how our cadets learn to problem solve, and lead teams with a range of difficult command tasks. Group Captain Simon was then shown our latest project – the fieldcraft training area here on the school site. It has been the newest addition to the CCF here at school and allows the cadets to practice all of the skills we teach them in a safe bespoke area. The last stand of the day was the Fieldcraft activity, where I had the pleasure of passing on some of my knowledge and skills in camouflage & concealment, Patrolling formations, and tactical awareness to our students. The cadets all enjoyed practising with cam-cream, and displaying their knowledge of why things are seen to the visiting staff. The RO even allowed the cadets to judge my camouflage skills.
Sadly the afternoon had finally reached the end and we all formed up for a final parade and a few words from the Group Captain prior to his departure. All of our cadets showed what an amazing opportunity the CCF is through the wide range of activities it has to offer our students. A very big well done to all of our cadets and staff!!!
Staff Sergeant Doble DJ
Senior School Staff Instructor
RECRUITING NOW!!!!
We are now recruiting for the new school year. For application forms or more information please speak to SSgt Doble/Flt Lt Muller in school or contact us at postbox.
ARMY CADETS - COMING SOON TO BARR BEACON SCHOOL.
If your child would like to join the Combined Cadet Force here at school, you would like to know more about our RAF cadets, or the impending Army Cadets please get in touch at: postbox@Barrbeaconschool.co.uk
Barr Beacon School
Old Hall Lane
Aldridge, Walsall
West Midlands
WS9 0RF
T: 0121 366 6600
postbox@barrbeaconschool.co.uk
Monday - Thursday: 8:00 am - 4:00 pm
Friday: 8:00 am - 3:30 pm
