On Sunday 8th December, we arrived at school all packed and ready to go. Despite being 3:30am on a Sunday morning we were extremely excited for the journey ahead of us. 9 hours later we had arrived in Catania and met all of our host families who were waiting right outside of the airport with a huge banner saying ‘Welcome to Sicily’. This is where the amazing six days spent in Italy began.

During our time on the island we got up to a multitude of different experiences, trips, and activities. From cooking, to site-seeing, to climbing up one of the most active volcanoes in the world (Mount Etna). We managed to cram every single thing that Catania had to offer into only a few days.

For me the best part of the whole experience was meeting all of the fantastic Sicilian people in the school who welcomed us with open arms. This was especially useful to me as I study Italian at school and this trip enabled me to practise what I have already learned but also teach the students over there how to speak English in return.

Here is a short quote from one of the group who travelled to the Island of Sicily:

‘I’ve made so many amazing friends and me and a few other Beacon students have even planned to return to Sicily in the summer holiday’

Tuesday 21st November

We were thrilled to welcome our exchange partners to Barr Beacon school on the evening of Tuesday 21st November. Pupils were thrilled to see each other again and went straight to bowling!

Wednesday 22nd November

This was the German students first day in school. They were greeted for a breakfast in the bistro with members of the Barr Beacon leadershipBefore spending p1 and P2 planning their project work. The exchange has been made possible by support from the Uk-German connection. Pupils have been carrying on their campaign for environmental improvement by investigating the issue of pollution in Birmingham. They spent Wednesday afternoon exploring Brindley Place and Grand central. On Wednesday evening they had free time where they were able to visit the Birmingham Christmas Market and partake in some shopping at the Bullring.

Thursday 23rd November

On returning to school, p1 and 2 were spent putting our projects together. Pupils had a quick tutorial from Mr Wall on how to use the editing programmes before cutting the footage from their project work in Birmingham together. P3 to p5 the german pupils were able to visit the Black Country Museum where they learnt about our areas history including the pollution that gave the area its name.

Friday 24th November

We are on our way to London to investigate the issue of pollution there. We are looking forward to taking in some of the famous sights as we make our way around!

Nepal! 16^th July-31^st July 2018

Barr Beacon pupils had the amazing opportunity this summer to take part in an extraordinary expedition to Nepal in Asia. The itinerary took the pupils well out of their comfort zones and gave them opportunities most can only dream of experiencing. What made this trip even more fulfilling for the pupils that took part is that they raised the money themselves through fundraising activities like abseiling to win their place on the trip!

The expedition was split into 3 parts. Each Barr Beacon team did the expedition in a different order but all experienced the same amazing expedition.

The project phase took the teams to the outskirts of Kathmandu and this stage of our expedition was certainly the most satisfying and the primary reason for this great trip. Our 2 teams visited 2 different schools, where Barr Beacons pupils and staff helped renovate their very dilapidated school that had been affected by the earthquake in 2015. The staff and the pupils of the schools were absolutely thrilled when they received our gifts of torches and especially excited with the donation of football kits which the team collected through numerous kind donations from the local area and the wider school community. We spent a number of hard days painting, scrubbing and decorating the school – and then on the final day took part in a leaving ceremony with performances from the Nepalese children as well as some performances from Barr Beacon pupils.

The second part of the expedition was the ‘relaxation’ phase which took our teams back to Kathmandu for some much needed rest following the hard work they’d already done on their expedition. Pupils got the opportunity to buy their elephant trousers and visit the famous Monkey Temple in Kathmandu. Nothing could have prepared our pupils for the completely different way of life and hustle and bustle of the city. Pupils also had the opportunity to try out traditional Nepalese dishes as they visited restaurants within the city. Dal Bhat is a traditional meal from Nepal. It consists of steamed rice and a cooked lentil soup called dal. We were regularly served this on expedition and project and pupils were even given the opportunity to try cooking it along with MoMo’s a steamed dumpling filled with curried vegetables – it was delicious!

The third part of our expedition was the “trek phase” the part of the expedition which provides pupils with the biggest challenge. Team 1 and Team 2 both faced the gruelling climb to the top in completely different weather conditions. Pupils had to forget any fear of heights when they climber through the breath-taking mountains, seeing stunning scenery as they went. Our amazing porters provided us with excellent food and our accommodation was fantastic; camping on some nights and staying in tea houses on others. During the many kilometres walking we learnt some Nepali and were treated to some traditional music by the porters. Team 1 were lucky enough to see wild Monkeys as they came back down the mountain. Our base before and after the expedition was Pokhara where pupils were able to see a more relaxed way of life as well as the beautiful Phewa Lake. Team 1 even managed to squeeze in a visit to the Peace Pagoda.

Barr Beacon School would very much like to recognise this amazing expedition and commend the pupils from both teams who gave up their time and effort to aid those less fortunate than themselves on the other side of the world.