Advice for keeping mentally healthy

Pupils: The most important thing during this time is to stay healthy - and that includes in your mind as well as your body. Everyone's mental health is different. Some of you will find it comforting to do lots of school work and some of you will find having a long 'to do' list makes you anxious. Listen to your body - and your mind. For most, maintaining some kind of routine is a good idea. Perhaps do a mix of reading, exercise, school work and fun stuff. Use this time to learn a new skill or develop an interest. Here is further advice from children's charity UNICEF: www.unicef.org/coronavirus

Parents: It’s natural to feel worried about what’s happening with COVID-19. Here is some NHS advice you might find useful yourself: www.nhs.uk/oneyou

Here is some advice from the Universities of Oxford and Reading about how to help your child talk about their feelings: HERE

And here is advice along similar lines from Young Minds: www.youngminds.org.uk

We love keeping in touch with former students and they love to keep in touch with us.

Jack Evans graduated from Barr Beacon in 2015 after completing his A levels here and now works as a Senior Parliamentary Aide in the Houses of Parliament. His top tip for succeeding in education is to “try your best, one day at a time. In the end, the results will be worth it.”  For the world of work, he recommends that you “always remember that you are your own person and strive to be the best version of yourself.”

There are more alumni profiles in our most recent newsletter.

Advice for all early years providers, schools and further education providers.

The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Coronavirus and is taking action at home and abroad.

The overall risk of Coronavirus to the UK remains moderate. However, we understand that people may be concerned where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting China.

Public Health England and the Foreign Office have issued advice for anyone travelling to the area. This can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/china

Advice for parents/guardians

You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus.

There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.

We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half-term period. If so, please refer to the FCO’s latest travel advice via the link above.

What action you can take?

A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus.

Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands and always sneezing into a tissue, to stem the spread of viruses.

A group of pupils experienced a live orchestral performance by the world-renowned City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) at Symphony Hall in Birmingham.

After opening with a thunderous rendition of Alan Silvestri’s theme from The Avengers films, the orchestra played pieces by Prokofiev, Tchaikovsky, Pärt and more.

This is what some of the pupils said:

Sami: “I liked the heavenly sounding one. The piece Tchaikovsky wrote for a bet with his friend.”

Mercedes: “I really liked it but I’m not sure why. It was a new experience.”
Nicole: “It was really interesting watching them and seeing how they played their instruments.”

We are delighted to announce that the National Citizenship Service has awarded us with Gold status because so many of our students signed up. As well as a plaque, we received a certificate from the Prime Minister.

The National Citizen Service is open to all 16 and 17-year-olds in England. It helps young people build skills for work and life, while they take on new challenges and meet new friends. They have a short time away from home and take part in a team project that will help their community.