Barr Beacon School is proud to announce that we have received reaccreditation for the International School Award. Our school is proud of its longstanding commitment to learning about the world and preparing our pupils to be global citizens. The assessors were impressed by the variety and scope of our application and agreed that we are school that opens doors to different cultures, communities and countries.
Just before the end of 2020, 90 of our Year 7 pupils participated in online Science lectures delivered by Birmingham University staff. These lectures combined topical science with Christmas and so the sessions were entitled ‘Pandemics, past, present and future’ and ‘Is Santa Claus a super spreader?’
The lectures explained the science behind global pandemics and the development of the Covid-19 vaccines. These festive lectures were full of Christmas themed analogies. Barr Beacon pupils submitted 8 questions to the experts, all of which were answered, and our pupils were singled out for praise due to these contributions.
Our pupils certainly seemed to enjoy the lectures:
What our pupils said:
“It was really interesting and I enjoyed it immensely. I hope to do more lectures in the future”
“I found the lecture very interesting and I learnt a lot of new things”.
“It includes fascinating facts, and I would have never thought about how a virus affects our bodies. We also learnt that rabies is more likely to kill you than you surviving/recovering from it. I would have wanted to go to university anyways but now I am more excited to go!”
“I think it was very interesting as it taught me things I didn't know before and it was about a similar subject to something that is currently happening.”
Walsall Council are providing some financial support for Free School Meals pupils who attend Walsall schools. This applies even in situations where you don't live in Walsall but your local authority has not announced financial support (such as Birmingham).
The Council will be writing to you directly. Click the buttons below to view sample letters.
Please contact the Council if you need more information. Phone number: 0300 555 2855
Check our uniform page if you are not sure about anything: www.barrbeaconschool.co.uk/uniform/ (clickthrough to this)
Uniform checks will be happening on the first day back.
If you would like us to send out the certificates in the post we will require you to send in a Large stamped addressed envelope with recorded delivery (it has to be sent recorded delivery as this is a requirement from the exam boards).
Please telephone the school and make an appointment with the receptionist if you would like to come and collect them or if you wish someone to collect them on your behalf. Please give them a letter of authorisation and ask them to bring a form of identification.
On Wednesday 2nd December we held our Annual Awards Evening. This year it took the form of a virtual event, however the significance of the event remained the same. We joined together to celebrate the achievements of our pupils during the last academic year and celebrate their successes.
Our Guest Speaker was Dr Dan Perry, a former Head Boy of Barr Beacon School in 1997, who is now a Children’s Orthopaedic Surgeon at Alder Hay Children’s Hospital and a clinical trial lead for the British Orthopaedic Association. Dan gave an inspirational speech which would have provided great motivation to our pupils.
We were also joined by Mr Mills, who had taught at Barr Beacon School for over 45 years, to present an awarded named in his honour to our most outstanding Mathematician.
This year Barr Beacon will be running a remote Scholastic Book fair. To give you the opportunity to buy books below is a list of all the books available to purchase. If you would like to buy a book, you will need to order over the phone at home where you will receive a transaction code. The order slip with the transaction code and book title will then need to be sent back into school where the book will be then delivered to the pupil.
There is also a range of stationary available to purchase. The list for this is also below.
When buying books from the Book Fair the money also raises money for the school to enable us to buy great new books for the Library.
When purchasing you will be asked for the school code. The school code is - 23400062.
Tyne in Year 11 produced this poem to commemorate Remembrance
Close your eyes,
Take a breath.
Just for a minute that’s my request.
Pay your respect to those who fought,
To give us the freedom we were brought.
To those who fell,
Those who cried,
Those who tried but sadly died.
So close your eyes
Take a breath.
Remember our heroes:
That’s my only request.
For our Remembrance Commemorations this year our Cadets performed a special ceremony which was introduced by our Flight Lieutenant (and Director of English) Mrs Muller.
Then Cadets read the poem ‘In Flanders Fields’. The Last Post, played by music teacher Miss Chater, heralded the silence and her performance of Reveille concluded it.
The Kohima Epitaph was then read by a Cadet ahead of the wreath being laid by our Head Boy and Head Girl. The ceremony was broadcast to all form groups.
In order to pass GCSE English language, each pupil needs to be assessed on their speaking ability. This assessment will take place during school time. Although it does not form a part of their GCSE grade, they will receive a separate grade for this element: either Pass, Merit or Distinction. This result will be reported on the GCSE certificate in addition to the grade 9-1.
For Year 10 only we are required to provide audio-visual recordings of the presentations of a sample of candidates. These recordings will not be shared with anyone other than the exam board and secured in accordance with GDPR regulations. Year 11’s assessments will not need to be recorded.
Each pupil has received a lesson about how to prepare and what to include in their assessment but, should they have any questions, they can ask their teacher or contact Mrs Kapcia or their English language teacher on Teams. We have also produced a video explaining how to prepare for the assessment, which is available here:
To support Year 11 with their revision ahead of their mocks, we have produced this video explaining the science of revision. It will help them identify what they can do more effectively to get more information to stick in their memories. They have already been shown this in assembly and it has been emailed to them, but we thought it would be helpful for parents and carers to see as well so you can understand the science of revision and support them in their efforts.
This is a PowerPoint file so just start it as a slide show to hear a running commentary and right click your mouse to pause at any point.
If your child does not have PowerPoint at home, don’t worry - they can use our Microsoft 365 subscription (they need to log in using the Home Access button in the top right of this page).
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
