On Sunday 20^th November fourteen teams from around the Wales & West Region met at RAF Cosford to compete in the most competitive competitions of the year – The Regional Air Squadron Trophy or RAST for short.  The competition sets out to test our cadets in six key areas of RAF syllabus with all the points being added up to produce an overall winner for the day. The events consisted of Marksmanship (shooting), First Aid, Command Tasks, Drill (marching), RAF Knowledge, and Aircraft Recognition. This was our first year at the regional competition and many of our team of thirteen cadets were excited (if not a little apprehensive) at what to expect over the duration of the day. 

We started the day with the command task which tested the teamwork and communication skills of our cadets, with the first event over and no one knowing the scores our attention moved to the next tasks – Shooting, First Aid and Aircraft Recognition. For these three events, the team had to divide themselves so that only four would shoot, four would conduct first aid, and the five remaining cadets being left to recognise aircraft. With the team going in different directions the staff headed up one group each – of course I had the joy of escorting the shooters in order to feel the nostalgia from my army days. With Thomas L of 9B1 shooting an impressive 5mm group we had high hopes for the individual marksmanship trophy, but alas it wasn’t meant to be when a cadet from a rival school achieved a 4mm group!! 

The team reconvened for lunch and a final uniform check/drill rehearsal before it was our time to march out to the parade square. The team, commanded by Flight Sergeant Katie O of 12M1 began their drill sequence and were looking sharp until suddenly the rain decided to get too heavy in order to carry on. After a brief break, a few needed words of encouragement from Group Captain Simon (Commanding Officer responsible for all RAF cadets in the region) and the weather improving slightly, a very soggy team of Barr Beacon cadets completed their sequence displaying discipline and courage. 

Lastly it was time to give out the trophies for the event. All of the cadets gathered in the main hall of No1 Radio School and waited anxiously. As the categories got read out there were cheers and praise to all who had competed displaying the sportsmanship of the event. Barr Beacon School especially excelled this year in Aircraft Recognition with Cadet Edie H of 9M1 coming joint top individual in the category – a very proud moment as this was her first ever cadet competition. After a long day of competition, highs, lows and being rained off of a parade square the cadets all enjoyed the challenges placed upon them throughout the day, and are looking forward to the next competition. Well Done to all of our cadets who took part!!!

A big thank you goes out to Flt Lt Muller & Mr Garner from the school for supporting the team throughout the day.

It is time again for the annual Autumn book fair at Barr Beacon School, ready to fill your must-read shelves with material for the holiday season! Wishlists will be available to collect from the iCentre on November 28^th and, once filled out, they can be taken home for parents and guardians to place orders direct with Scholastic for delivery to our school. With new stories from the pulse-pausing Alice Oseman and a new clock running down from Adam Silvera, there are books for all interests! 

Consider the gift of reading this Christmas; all books purchased through the Scholastic book fair help to raise money that can be spent on books for our library, selected by our own student council. Save shopping online for books, give your pupil a chance to select the gifts they want to give and support reading at Barr Beacon!

On Thursday 10^th November, we held our annual Awards Evening at Sutton Town Hall. Over 300 pupils and parents attended to support the outstanding achievement of our fantastic pupils in year 11 and Sixth Form.

The evening commenced with a rousing welcome from our Head Student, Daniel Pritchett who highlighted the importance of hard work, motivation and education. This was followed by a sensational dance performance, by our Barr Beacon dance group, inspired by the Beacon values.

We then celebrated the academic achievements of our pupils, who were awarded the highest achiever and most improved awards. This was presented by the Director of Learning for each subject. 

The spotlight then focused on our special award winners. Their achievements were highlighted by moving speeches which emphasized unbelievable academic and personal endeavors. These students demonstrated a resilience and dedication towards their education.

Our special guest speakers who were both former Barr Beacon pupils, Lois Guy Hickson and our Matrix Trustee, Sir Mark Aspinall expressed their pride at being invited to the awards. They shared some personal life experiences with the students which left a resonating feeling of inspiration for the future. Makara Moseley our Head Student closed what was an enriching and uplifting evening.

Zion, Alayna and Priya who all won awards and are in year 11 said “ The night was fantastic, we were so proud to be part of the evening. All of the speeches were incredible and the guest speakers were really inspiring.”

The purpose of Next Steps Day is to enable Year 11 pupils to experience what it would be like to be at Sixth From or College to help inform their decision when they finish their GCSE’s. It will be taking place on Thursday 24^th November. Pupils have had the opportunity to decide whether they would like to attend Barr Beacon Sixth Form or Sutton Coldfield College. 

At Barr Beacon Sixth Form, pupils will be welcomed by the senior five. They will be invited to a question-and-answer session where they will have the opportunity to ask current students questions about next year. During the day they will experience six different A level and BTEC taster sessions which they have chosen.

Those students who have decided to go to Sutton Coldfield College will have a presentation with the Vice Principal and have a taster session for a course which they would like to experience. They will have the opportunity to ask questions about college life and gain a better understanding of what courses Sutton Coldfield College offer.

What a fantastic start to anti-bullying week 2022 by wearing our odd socks! Pupils at Barr Beacon School put on their odd socks to help raise awareness and support against bullying. It was great to see everyone wearing their odd socks to celebrate our differences as we learn about anti-bullying this week.

On Friday 11^th November, at the eleventh hour, two of our year 11 prefects represented Barr Beacon School at the annual Remembrance Service at the Barr Beacon War Memorial. Barr Beacon School was joined by local primary schools, serving war veterans and the mayor to commemorate, and come together as a community in an act of collective remembrance. 

The ceremony began and ended with the poignancy of the Last Post played by a local police officer, followed by the two-minute silence in which we remembered the great sacrifices made by our wider community in the fields of conflict at home and abroad since the first act of remembrance in the years immediately following the armistice at the end of the Great War. Our pupils then laid a poppy wreath to remember all those who have fallen. This year, as every year Barr Beacon remembers.

On a blustery autumn morning, over one hundred cadets and staff from four of our schools braved the high winds and cold to pay their respects to those who have given the most to our communities and country within the armed forces and emergency services. At this time, we also remembered those innocent civilians who lost their lives in the crossfire of conflict.

This year, our Armistice Day parade was held at Barr Beacon School in Walsall and was attended by the Headteachers from Barr Beacon School, Bloxwich Academy, Dame Elizabeth Cadbury School, Etone College and Turves Green Boys’ School. Major (Ret) Simon Cuthbert of the West Midlands Cadet Expansion Programme attended as the inspecting officer, and our CEO Ms Lynsey Draycott was also in attendance. It was a proud moment for all of the cadets. 

The parade was commanded by Flt Lt Muller. Ms Broome of Barr Beacon School (a Veteran of Afghanistan and Iraq) conducted The Act of Remembrance. All of the cadets and staff marked the two minutes silence before Maj Cuthbert addressed the parade about the importance of remembrance and how smart all of the cadets looked whilst on parade.

LEST WE FORGET.

On Sunday 13^th November 2022, our Head Students Daniel and Makara represented the school at Aldridge Remembrance Service.  They joined the parade before laying a wreath at the War Memorial to pay homage to the fallen and to remember the sacrifices that are made to protect our freedom.  This year marks 40 years since The Falklands conflict and those who served in 1982 were also remembered.

As the cosy season approaches, more visiting speakers and authors are opting to make their events virtually accessible to schools across the UK. Barr Beacon’s iCentre was proud to join Booktrust in hosting Jeffrey Boakye’s virtual Q&A alongside pupils from 30 other schools. Jeffrey Boakye is an educator, broadcaster and author of several books exploring the interactions between race and British culture across various disciplines; titles such as ‘I Heard What You Said’ and ‘Black, Listed’ break open a passionate and expansive dialogue into the experiences of Black youth in the UK, educators working within the education system and the evolution of Black culture in the UK reminiscent of David Olusoga’s ‘Black and British’. 

In a live stream spanning just under an hour, Mr. Boakye discussed the contents of his most recent publication ‘Musical Truth: A Musical History of Modern Black Britain in 28 Songs’, a history illustrated by a curated playlist of songs meant to be listened to alongside the text, as well as fielding questions from pupils live over Youtube. At Barr Beacon School, we are uncompromising in our celebration of diversity, with our curriculum recently being brought in line with Pearson Educational’s own ‘Lit In Colour’ initiative and an influx of books from BAME authors joining the shelves of our library facilities, so we were overjoyed to be a part of Mr. Boakye’s Q&A session. 

Keep your eyes on the screens for future author events, and for any pupils looking to read Jeffrey Boakye’s ‘Musical Truth’ please speak to your iCentre Co-ordinator to place it in reserve, as our current copies have already flown off the new arrivals shelf!