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Lord Mayor’s Sixth Form Mega Quiz 2023

A team of our Year 13 students visited the Great Hall of the University of Birmingham to take part in the annual Lord Mayor’s Sixth Form Mega Quiz. The event supports local charities and gives students the chance to compete in a fun challenge against other local Sixth Forms. The very tricky questions this year fell into the categories of Geography, English Language, Physics, Mathematics, Business and Music, with a slightly easier round introduced this year on Social Media. Students had a enjoyable day out and ranked a very respectable 7th place in their House grouping.

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Remembrance Sunday – 12th November 2023

We are extremely proud of Head students Jada and James, who braved a very cold and wet Sunday morning, to pay their respects to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.  They joined the parade at Aldridge Service of Remembrance before laying a wreath, on behalf of the school, at the War Memorial. This year marked 70 years since the end of the Korean war.  Those who served in the ‘Forgotten War’ were also saluted.

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In2Med School

Year 12 students aspiring to become doctors and dentists have begun their mentoring programme with In2Med School. The long term support will run throughout Year 12 and 13 and aims to support students in making successful applications to highly competitive courses in the healthcare field. Our student mentor is currently training to become a doctor at the University of Birmingham and is volunteering to support students every step of the way with their journey to medical school. Beginning with learning about the medical issues in their community and the challenges facing the NHS, students will be supported in developing their voluntary experiences and building up essential skills needed to be effective healthcare practitioners, right through to getting expert guidance with their applications, UCAT testing and interviews.   

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Cadets Fly the Flag at Armistice. 

This week as part of the national Armistice period, our cadets have been preparing for the Matrix Academy Trust Armistice Parade. 

The parade incorporates members of the Combined Cadet Forces from all of our schools in remembering those who sacrifice their lives to serve and protect our communities. 

This year the trust has commissioned a new Union Standard to commemorate the work of our staff and students who are members of the Combined Cadet Forces. 

Lest We Forget!

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Barr Beacon Remembers

As Armistice day approaches the students of Barr Beacon School have been remembering those who have sacrificed and continue to sacrifice their lives to protect our communities and nation. 

The members of the Combined Cadet Force along with Mrs Selby have delivered assemblies to our houses. Meanwhile, other members of the Cadets have been selling poppies and supporting the Royal British Legion poppy appeal. 

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Year 11 Cambridge University Visit

Year 11 pupils visited Newnham College Cambridge and received guidance on applying to universities, interactive workshops about study skills, the importance of being ‘super curricular’ as well as a guided tour and Q & A sessions with undergraduates of Cambridge University.

Louis said: “The visit has really helped me consider my options for a future in education, through experiencing what university life can be like.”

Clara said: “The trip to Cambridge was very educational, especially the guidance on applying to universities and how to be super curricular. I enjoyed the campus tour, it was very historic and the food was nice too.”

Year 10 will soon be visited by members of both Cambridge and Oxford with further visits to these universities planned later in the year.

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Field Training Day for Beacon & Bloxwich.

Today our two Contingents were involved in a field training day designed to train and then test our cadets in field craft activities. 

All of the cadets worked together in groups made up of both contingents to encourage collaborative working, confidence and sharing of ideas. They then were put through their paces with a number of testing scenarios in which the designated commanders had to lead their teams. Many of the cadets commented on how much they had learnt and all wanted to know when the next day or camp would take place.

A big thank you to all of the staff who attended & supported the event.

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Girls Assembly

Period poverty affects a staggering number of females across the country: 1 in 10 females of both school age and adult, have not been able to afford sanitary products at some point in time.

On Thursday 19th October, our Year 7 girls had an assembly about this shocking fact. In the assembly we were able, thanks to PHS and government support, to provide our pupils with various sanitary products. In addition, we were able to talk about the matter of period management and how best to do this whilst in school. Sharing helpful tips and tricks about this was reassuring for our pupils and we reinforced the message that no one should ever have to live in period poverty, the school can support with this. It was great to see our young people being considerate to others and thinking proactively and positively and how to manage periods effectively.

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Wellbeing Ambassadors

It is my pleasure to introduce to you our new team of pupils who will work as Wellbeing Ambassadors in our school for 2023/24. These inspiring young people have volunteered their time freely to help support the positive mental well-being of the pupils within our community here at Barr Beacon School. Interviews were held for these positions, and every one of these pupils demonstrated our Beacon School Values; especially in their desire to help other children in the school to ‘Be Themselves’.

Over the coming weeks and months, the Wellbeing Team will set up drop-in sessions which other pupils can attend to receive tips on how to improve their personal sense of wellbeing. They will also hold fundraising events for various mental health charities and help give a pupil’s perspective on mental health during World Mental Health week through delivering assemblies to the rest of the school. As the academic year progresses, this dedicated team will drive new ideas to continue raising awareness of positive well-being across our school community.

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World Mental Health Day

To celebrate World Mental Health Day 2023 Barr Beacon pupils listened to an assembly on this years global theme – ‘Mental Health is a Universal Right’. Within this assembly, pupils learnt about the Human Rights Act of 1998, in particular article 14 which states that people have the right not to be discriminated against. Pupils then learnt what discrimination was and the impact it can have on someone. Within the assembly, pupils saw the familiar faces of celebrities who have all experienced mental health. This highlighted the assemblies key point – that mental health doesn’t discriminate, so why should anyone discriminate against those who experience mental health? Finally, pupils learnt how to have positive conversations about mental health and what support is available for pupils at Barr Beacon School who might be struggling.

Within their form groups, pupils had the opportunity to try some calming mental health strategies such as breathing techniques and grounding techniques. Pupils also reflected on how they could improve their actions to be more inclusive of mental health. Form groups all created and agreed on a pledge to help raise awareness and decrease the stigma that surrounds mental health.

Overall, World Mental Health Day was a success at Barr Beacon as pupils learnt about their rights and how to speak about mental health without discriminating. Pupils also reflected on their own behaviour and set targets accordingly, to ensure that Barr Beacon continues to be a supportive environment that embraces diversity and follows the Barr Beacon values. 

Contact Info

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

Copyright 2024 © All Rights Reserved

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