Our Sixth Form students led on the fundraising activities for Comic Relief last Friday.
They sold 192 Krispy Kreme doughnuts and 300 samosas. They also challenged pupils to clock up miles on the exercise bike and the rowing machine!
Thank you to everyone who showed their support and by doing so contributed to the £361.67 that was raised.
So far this year we have raised a massive £2152.86. Well done to our student ambassadors for all their hard work.
8 of our aspiring lawyers in Year 12 took part in the regional Youth Parliament Debate for the Midlands.
They faced a number of tricky topics, spanning from the ethical questions arising from Artificial Intelligence to the cost of living crisis.
Students prepared well for their debates and spoke with confidence to put forward their arguments. It was certainly a scary prospect for them, and they had strong competition from the opposing teams, but the students grasped the spirit of the debates quickly. Of the two debates the team from Barr Beacon School led, both motions were passed! It spoke to the calibre of each student and their natural tenacity, articulation and awareness of the wider issues in the world.
A teacher from Loughborough Grammar School, who was in attendance during the event, took the time to write to us: “I was so impressed with the team fielded by your school, even more so as I understand from your staff that it was their first time doing it, although this was not at all apparent from the impressive way they conducted themselves. They spoke so eloquently and thoughtfully, and worked so well together as a team, being superb ambassadors for your school.”
K Owen – Deputy Head Student
Cadets is an amazing extra-curricular activity that supports the growth of all those taking part, offering a wide variety of opportunities such as shooting, flying, first aid, overnight camps, formal dinner events and various competitions.
Over the last term, the younger Cadets have settled into their roles and have been learning the basics in preparation for their first set of badge work, completing lessons in first aid, air recognition and the history of the RAF. Their abilities have shone through in these areas as they completed weekly quizzes, competing against each other as well as other squadrons. The younger Cadets have shown incredible determination as they prepare for the upcoming Matrix-Mini-RAST competition, giving them the opportunity to speak to other Cadets from across the Matrix Academy Trust and to show their skills.
They also experienced their first overnight camp, taking part in some ice breakers, learning how use the Trangia’s and taking part in a blindfolded night walk through the woods. This pushed the Cadets out of their comfort zone as they worked cohesively as a team to find their way guided by ropes. Throughout the evening, the Cadets made new friendships, understanding the importance of teamwork, all whilst having lots of fun.
The older Cadets have also been working on their badge work, alongside all of the preparation that went into the Reginal Air Squadron Trophy competition, that took place at RAF Cosford on Sunday 19th November 2023. This tested Cadets in a first aid scenario, shooting, drill, general knowledge and aircraft recognition. As a school we did incredibly well, coming 6th place out of 15 other schools.
Presenting the best of Barr Beacon Cadets; they were a credit to the CCF and did the unit proud.
A Matrix Christmas Dinner night was also held, where Cadets from across the Trust came together to celebrate all of our achievements – it was a wonderfully successful evening! It gave everyone a chance to talk and meet up with new Cadets, allowing networking, along with the exchanging of everyone’s experiences from the past term. We hope to run more experiences like this one in the future.
On the 2nd and 3rd of March, a fieldcraft weekend was hosted at Barr Beacon with Cadets from Etone and Bloxwich joining us. We did a mixture of different activities, including complex first aid scenarios, reconnaissance missions on an enemy base and patrolling scenarios, amid an array of other things. The weekend provided an amazing opportunity for Cadets to bolster their knowledge and work in the field, but it was also another fun weekend.
The last few terms have been incredibly busy for the Cadet Force (with even more opportunities and events being scheduled for the near future) and I would like to say a massive well done to everyone. It has been incredible to watch the growth of the contingent and I cannot wait to see the applications coming through from those students wanting to join us within the upcoming year, and the promotions to those proving their leadership qualities.
Combined Cadet Force | Homepage
Yesterday we welcomed Dr Eve Griffiths and Antonia Thomas from Outreach, who delivered training to Matrix staff on understanding the effects ACES and trauma can have on our pupils’ mental health, behaviour and understanding, as well as how we can facilitate restorative conversations in school. We learnt innovative new ways to support our pupils in building and maintaining positive, healthy relationships, resolving difficulties and repairing harm when there has been conflict. Thank you Outreach!
This year the iCentre celebrated World Book day by inviting a very special guest to Barr Beacon school to perform for Year 7s. Storyteller Maria Credali, who is a part of National Literacy Trust, has performed “Seven Years a Wolf” story. The story celebrates the resilience of the human spirit in difficult circumstances, it explores the love of a father for his son and shows us how life can be not just endured but enjoyed – even in the most difficult of circumstances. An inspirational story, brimming with beautiful imagery, survival against the odds, and the triumph of good over evil. After the performance, we collected pupil’s feedback and here is what they said:
“The performance yesterday was well read and I enjoyed it, so did many other people” – Ishaaq Year 7
“The performance was incredible. I was in a trance during the entire thing. Thank you so much.” – Isabella Year 7
“I loved the performance. I thought it was great and I was listening and picturing it in my head.” – Evie Year 7
“I think that the performance was absolutely awesome! I could easily picture it in my head, that’s how good it was!” – Janelle Year 7
We are holding a short story competition for all Year 7s following Mrs. Credali’s performance. Pupils will have two weeks to write a short story using one of five short story prompts created by the library manager. The prize is a book of their choice paid for by the library. The winner will be announced in the next newsletter. Good luck to all participants. “
On 4th March, Year 7 pupils had a performance from the Smashed Project performance theatre group as part of their learning within their PSHE curriculum. The performance was about the dangers of drinking alcohol and about peer pressure leading young people to drinking even when they knew that they should not. The story followed a teenager and his two older friends. Despite his academic success and talents outside of school as a footballer and athlete, he succumbed to peer pressure and drank more than he should have done. Aside from the immediate after-effects, he knew it was not in his character and felt ashamed of his behaviour.
Pupils engaged well with the content and in the forum theatre afterwards had the chance to provide some really excellent answers, showing how well informed they are about the dangers of alcohol. They also knew what to do if someone they knew was in a similar situation, offering a wealth of answers about what they could do to support a friend or peer.
A huge congratulations to our staff who attended the annual Matrix Academy Trust long-service celebration meal last Friday. They joined colleagues from across the trust at the wonderful BANK. Racking up over 700 years’ service collectively across the trust. Another huge thank you to you all for your continued dedication to our community.
All of this week, you can access a large Virtual Careers Fair from home. With close to 100 exhibitors to visit, there will be lots of new careers to explore.
Follow the link to take a look: https://ncw2024.co.uk/
A group of our Year 9 pupils took part in an Enterprise Masterclass at the University of Birmingham. Following a tour of the campus, pupils created their own business ideas around a UN Sustainable Development Goal. They discovered new ways to generate creative ideas as a team and all pupils successfully completed an elevator pitch, which developed their presentation skills. Pupils were able to have a taste of studying Business at university and even took part in work that is usually given to undergraduate level students.
Admissions
It is National Offer Day. If you have been successful in your application to Barr Beacon School for Admission into Year 7 2024, we will write to you shortly with a welcome letter and information about forthcoming key dates. If you have changed address since you applied, please contact postbox@barrbeaconschool.co.uk so that we can ensure we have the most up to date information for your child.
If you were not successful on your application, please follow the link for information about Appeals to Barr Beacon School: https://barrbeaconschool.co.uk/admissions/
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
