Barr Beacon School was proud to welcome back former pupil and England cricketer Chris Woakes for a special day celebrating cricket, inspiration, and community.

Returning to where his cricketing journey began, Chris spent time with staff and pupils discussing his career and offering pupils a unique insight into life at the highest level of the game. Chris joined pupils out on the field, taking part in training sessions, offering coaching tips and helping develop skills. Pupils also had the opportunity to have cricket gear signed, creating lasting memories for our aspiring young players.

The morning also highlighted Barr Beacon’s growing cricket success, with pupils showcasing the school’s involvement in the Barclays Knight-Stokes Cup, the national state-school cricket competition, with finals held at Lord’s. Chris’s visit provided extra inspiration for those representing the school in the competition.

In a generous gesture, Chris signed an England cricket shirt for the trust, which will be raffled to raise money for the trust charity PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide. Watch this space to have a go.

The event attracted significant media attention, with Sky Sports, TalkSport and BBC Midlands Today on site to cover the story of Chris returning to his former school.

Chris’s visit was a proud moment for Barr Beacon, celebrating both a distinguished former pupil coming home and the bright future of cricket within the school.

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Throughout the day, all participating schools demonstrated excellent teamwork, determination and sportsmanship, contributing to a positive and inclusive atmosphere both on and off the court. It was particularly encouraging to see the continued growth of netball across the trust, including increased participation in mixed and boys’ netball, reflecting the sport’s expanding inclusivity.

The standard of play was consistently high, with many closely contested matches highlighting the talent and commitment of pupils from every school involved. While Etone College went on to secure the overall victory, the tournament was very much a collective success, celebrating the effort, enthusiasm and unity of all participants.

Thank you to every school, pupil and member of staff who took part and supported the event. Your contribution made the inaugural Matrix Netball Tournament a memorable occasion and a strong foundation for future trust-wide sporting events.

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We are incredibly proud to share that, through their efforts and the generous support of our community, pupils have raised over £1,300 for Papyrus, a national charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people.

Every step taken and every donation made will contribute towards supporting young people and raising awareness of such an important cause. Thank you to all pupils, families and supporters who helped make this event so meaningful.

Our Trust fundraising total is now just a few hundred pounds from hitting £20,000.

#MiniLondonMarathon #Fundraising #SchoolCommunity #Papyrus #MentalHealthMatters #ActiveSchools

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Even if you don’t want to buy anything at 3:16 Cafe, you’re very welcome here. And the Wifi is free for all! 

The coffee shop forms the entrance to the church with the aim of giving our community’s young people a place to hang out in a friendly, welcoming space and, if you want to, there are games and other activities too.

It’s open on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday at 9.30am to 4.30pm and Saturdays from 10am-5pm.

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We also have student attending the Buckingham Palace Garden Parties this year to collect their Gold Awards.

Please remember your child must complete all sections of the DofE to get their award not just the expedition.  Please check their eDofE account to see what they have left to complete.

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Please take a few minutes to complete our Parental View Survey by 27^th March 2026 . The survey is quick and easy to complete.

 All submissions will be entered in to prize draw to win a £25 Amazon voucher. 

You can access it via the following link: 
Year 7 Parent / Carer survey March 2026 – Fill in form

Year 8 Parent / Carer survey March 2026  – Fill in form

Year 9 Parent / Carer survey March 2026  – Fill in form

Year 10 Parent / Carer survey March 2026   – Fill in form

Year 11 Parent / Carer survey March 2026    – Fill in form

Year 12 Parent / Carer survey March 2026   – Fill in form

Year 13 Parent / Carer survey March 2026   – Fill in form

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Working side by side, pupils shared ideas, stories, and artistic styles to produce individual pieces. Following the event, the artwork has now been transformed into signage and distributed to every school within the Trust. This means that each school now proudly displays a piece of the collective mural, ensuring that a small part of every school community is represented across all of our sites.

These displays are now proudly showcased in various locations around each school, celebrating creativity, collaboration, and the shared values that unite our Trust. The project not only produced beautiful artwork but also created lasting connections between pupils and schools, reinforcing the importance of belonging, respect, and community.

We are incredibly proud of all the pupils who took part and the creativity, teamwork, and thought they brought to this project. The pieces stand as a lasting symbol of the spirit of our Trust – many schools, one community.

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The European Youth Parliament brings students together to debate the issues of our time. It is an apolitical, youth-led organisation active in over 33 countries across Europe. This debate competition aims to inspire and empower young people. 14 very brave students in Year 12, with aspirations to enter legal or political careers, entered the competition. They have been preparing their positions over several weeks and today faced spirited debate with schools from across the Midlands region.

Students were actively involved in all debates, but were particularly well prepared, and made impressive points around the motion for the Resolution of Childhood Hunger, tackling the challenges proposed by offering Free School Meals for all children. There was also a lively debate around the Committee on Transport for Tourism, with our teams defending the motion for stricter controls on short-term rentals and digital nomadism. Our students even stepped up and made last minute speeches to oppose open debates, pushing themselves out of their comfort zones. 

Both teams represented the school extremely well, putting a huge amount of effort into both their preparation before the event and their enthusiastic engagement on the day.

Huge congratulations to the winning team: Nathan, Millie, Jake, Vibha, Halima and Syed.

We are extremely proud of all of our participants and their conduct at the event and would also like to offer our congratulations to our wonderful participants:  Chanel, Sienna, Rabiya, Reandeep, Destiny, Tori, Saverah and Layla.

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It was great to see so much curiosity, creativity and collaboration as they explored new skills and ideas. We look forward to seeing the choices they make for the next stage of their learning!

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