This week we hosted our first ever trust wide football competition between all our schools. The competition was hosted at Etone College and utilised the outstanding facilities and Football Academy provision to implement a very competitive and fun filled event. The day consisted of high quality and competitive football from Year 8 pupils from each of our schools. Our pupils showcased sportsmanship of the highest quality and their passion for football shone through as pupils enjoyed playing and meeting people from across the trust.

It was evident as soon as the group stages started, the games were going to be decided with a bit of magic, an error, or the dreaded penalties. The group stages ended Bloxwich Academy, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury, Etone College and Turves Green Boys’ School progressed to the semi-final stage.

The 7th and 8th placed playoff was a competitive affair which saw the Etone B team victorious over Wednesfield Academy on penalties. The 5th and 6th placed game saw Barr Beacon win the game 1-0. In the semi-finals there was very little difference between the four schools in what was a very competitive high-quality game and again the dreaded penalty shoot-out came into force, Etone College and Bloxwich Academy progressed to the final and Turves Green and Dame Elizabeth went into the third and fourth playoff game

The 3rd and 4th playoff game was a very exciting game that saw both teams miss chances and played some free-flowing exciting football, unfortunately both keepers were to remain unbeaten, and Dame Elizabeth took the third place on penalties. The final consisted of Bloxwich Academy and Etone College in which was anyone’s to win after the two teams had played out a 0-0 draw earlier in the day. Etone started quickly and scored an absolute thunderbolt into the top corner to make it 1-0, Bloxwich to their credit competed fiercely and played some fantastic football and deserved their equaliser to make it 1-1. With both teams going for the win Etone caught Bloxwich on the break to open them up and scored 3 late goals to take the game and the title 4-1.

A huge well done to all pupils and staff involved and a big thankyou to all those that contributed to the event. We are looking forward to getting the next event booked into the calendar to see where the shield will end up next year.

In a remarkable achievement, 14 pupils have been invited to the prestigious "Millionaire's Club" after reaching an extraordinary milestone — reading half a million words in one term. This accomplishment highlights their dedication, passion for reading, and commitment to self-improvement. The "Millionaire's Club" is a recognition reserved for pupils who demonstrate exceptional reading habits, and to mark their success, the pupils were invited to a special celebration — the "Millionaire's Breakfast." Held in the school’s iCentre, the breakfast’s menu was simple yet indulgent: a comforting hot chocolate paired with a flaky pastry. In addition to this tasty treat, pupils also received a Millionaire’s certificate and a token for the book vending machine. Congratulations to all the Millionaires and we hope that this programme will motivate other pupils to read more.

Barr Beacon School are proud to announce the performance of Matilda Jr on Wednesday 12th and Thursday 13th February 2025 at Barr Beacon School Hall at 6pm. Tickets are available via WEDUC and are £3.

Doors will be open at 5.45pm for you to view the Matilda inspired work from across the school. We do hope you can join us to support the wonderful talent and hard work of the Performing Arts pupils at Barr Beacon School.

We are proud of our pupils’ resilience to commit to excellent attendance because we know it can make such a difference to pupils’ achievement. At Barr Beacon School, we recognise this resilience with awards for 100% attendance for the Autumn Term and the opportunity to enter our prize draw to win vouchers.

Congratulations to all pupils who received their certificate and also entered our prize draw - and ‘well done’ to those pupils who were lucky enough to win vouchers. We look forward to our pupils showing their resilience again in Spring to once again have excellent attendance together at Barr Beacon School.

On Wednesday 8th January, Lincoln University came to Barr Beacon to deliver a Dance workshop to a selection of our Year 9 pupils. The session began with pupils learning some contemporary dance techniques, before learning a contemporary dance phrase. Pupils then worked together in groups to complete choreography challenges. Lincoln Uni staff had primarily planned to give each group 3 challenges each. However, our students showed a high level of skill and ambition, resulting in them completing even more challenges!

Our exceptional staff put on a Pantomime performance for each House today. Oh yes they did! A huge ‘thank you’ to the staff who made today so memorable for our pupils with a pantomime performance of ‘Robin Hood’. All the planning and rehearsing paid off as  all pupils enjoyed the performance on the last day of term before Christmas.

A group of Year 7 pupils enjoyed a visit to the annual Christmas Lectures at University of Birmingham. Pupils attended two engaging sessions. The first was themed around Christmas, where pupils learnt about the evolution of Christmas and how cracker jokes are created, before having a go at making their own. We then moved on to a lecture about space travel, where lecturers discussed if we should live on the moon. Finally, pupils enjoyed a tour of the university and were surprised by its scale and the amount of extra services on offer, such as societies, sports pitches and event their own train station.

A massive ‘thank you’ to everyone who generously donated items for our Food Bank collection. All donations were collected today and Great Barr Food Bank were so grateful for everything we have supplied as a school community. Around 150 people are currently using Great Barr Food Bank each week so we will be making a huge difference to our community around Christmas time.

Our Year 13 students have once again shown what brilliant role models they are, giving mock interviews to our Year 11 pupils.  

In preparation for their upcoming Sixth Form, College and Apprenticeship applications, Year 11 pupils needed some practise preparing for the interview stage. We didn’t want their first interview to be the real thing. Who better to prepare our pupils for this than our Year 13 students. Each of them has been through at least two recent interviews, whether for their own entry to Sixth Form, or the more challenging interviews that helped secure their leading roles in school. Some of our students have even faced very tricky interviews for competitive university courses and degree level apprenticeships, so they could share their experiences and offer lots of helpful hints and advice.

We are extremely proud of both our Year 13 students, for giving up their time to help others, and our Year 11 pupils, for stepping out of their comfort zone and making the most of this opportunity.