On the afternoon of Wednesday 17^th May, Sixth Form students took part in a Charity Colour Fun Run.  Students enjoyed time having fun with their friends whilst getting some physical exercise – a welcome break from examination preparation.

We raised £84 which will be split between the two charities that we are supporting this year:  Promise Dreams and Freedom From Torture.

Here are a few comments from students after the event:

“The colour run was a fantastic event: fun, loving and freeing. It was inclusive, well organised and it allowed us to let our hair down in a relaxed environment. I would definitely do this again!”

'The colour run was, once again, a blast! I made some great memories and like last time, I got covered in a plethora of colours. It was a wonderful and stress-free way to end the day during the exam season!'

“I thoroughly enjoyed the colour run. It was fun, full of laughter and was an experience I will never forget. I enjoyed both the run and the photographs afterwards. I cannot wait to do it again!”

“It was a fantastic afternoon which the whole year group enjoyed. It was great to get the whole of the Sixth Form together in some warm weather. It was worth the strange looks I got on the bus on my way home!”

“The colour run was a really fun experience with all my friends.  It was a great event to do before our mock exams start. Hopefully we can do it next year!”

I really enjoyed my practice silver expedition this half term! It is a lot easier to make your way to the end point when you and your team work together and we certainly did this. 

The first night of the expedition was a little more eventful than it needed to be.  As we drove to the camp site one of the school buses became stuck in the mud! It was so funny to watch the teachers pushing it out, eventually a tractor had to be called to help to get it out.  It was nice on the first night because everyone was speaking to each other and helping each other setting up their tent and equipment - the boys were playing football, and everyone was really relaxed.  

The next morning, I woke up early to birds chirping and we packed up all our things and headed off for the day! The weather was good, but the teachers had warned us that it was going to rain later on.  My team was quite good at navigating, and we didn’t get lost. We saw loads of different animals like sheep and horses all over the Long Mynd.  When my team got to camp, we had about 15 minutes to get our tents up before it started pouring with rain.  This was annoying as we still had to cook our dinner and try to keep the water out of the tent.  We managed it though and after a few trips into and out of the tent for shelter we were finally able to make our evening hot chocolate so we could settle down to make sure we had enough sleep for the next day. 

On the last day of walking the rain was really bad.  When I was walking I didn’t find it too difficult as I was not getting too hot and I had waterproofs on, so I was all dry.  Mr Cook was walking near us for the first half an hour and he  was singing songs which gave us motivation and made us laugh as we were walking up a really steep hill.  The scenery around me was so beautiful and seeing all the hills around me was so special because it is something I wouldn’t be able to see from school or the local area.  After the second day my legs were so tired from all the walking (around 7 hours a day) but I really enjoyed myself and I would recommend completing the DofE to others.  I have done bronze and now silver and both times I have had fun.    

L Lewis Y10

Completing the Gold Duke of Edinburgh practice expedition was tough but incredible. The environment we were in was stunning, and it was amazing to hike through the Peak District. It was interesting to see the geographical land features I study in geography whilst out on our travels. Our group choose to look out for water features and the formations of rivers. This was highly prevalent within the area. 

Due to the large amounts of rainfall that had fallen prior to our expedition, everywhere we went was really muddy and boggy, with some members of the team losing shoes in the thick mud. Alongside the mud, some of the routes were largely overgrown which created an assault course, with the easiest route down (with such large rucksacks) to slide down whilst crouching. It took a lot of will power to not laugh when one of our teachers fell over on a patch of mud whilst directly warning us to tread carefully. 

I learnt how necessary it is for random conversations, and when given an ultimatum to either get in the mini bus to get the campsite or to continue going I learnt how much more rewarding it is to be resilient and continue even when it is so challenging.  Will power and determination were crucial as we made it back to the campsite a little later than the other team but nonetheless without any assistance. My favourite part was getting to eat lunch in the ruins of an old mot and bailey castle, where I thoroughly devoured tomato soup and pancakes, a combination that I never expected to work. 

With our group suffering from injuries towards the end, we learnt the importance of persistence and adaptability as the team worked on the distribution of equipment to accommodate for those who were struggling. 

This expedition, however tough, was thoroughly enjoyable. I can’t wait to complete actual expedition. 

K Owen Y12

Year 10 pupils enjoyed a visit to the University of Oxford, where they took part in a workshop exploring what Oxbridge has to offer. Following a question and answer session with current students, pupils were given tours of both Oriel and Worcester College. We were delighted to meet our tour guide Lily Hong: alumna of Barr Beacon School, who is now studying Mathematics and joined Worcester College.  

E. Kaur said she was definitely considering applying to Oxbridge after the visit, and L. Francis said he was fascinated by all the history he had learnt, especially after learning Oriel College holds a copy of the re-issued Magna Carter in its library, dated 28^th March 1300.

To celebrate the Coronation of King Charles III pupils in years 7,8 and 9 took part in #thekingsbunting celebration held by the Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands. Pupils were set the challenge to make the bunting made of out sustainable resources. We had lots of fantastic entries made from a variety of sustainable resources such as recycled cardboard and upcycled bunting from previous celebrations. Pupils in 8M1 even created their own bunting out of recycled fabric which they hand sowed to create their masterpiece. 

To help judge the winning entry, Deputy Lieutenant, Mr Jatinder Sharma CBE, was invited into Barr Beacon School on Friday 5^th May. As part of his Deputy Lieutenant duties, Mr Sharma met with Mrs Hibbs and a 6^th form pupil K Owen, to plant a Magnolia Tree to commemorate the Coronation. He then went on to have tea and scones with 15 year 7, 8 and 9 pupils who had achieved the highest amount of praise points in their year groups. Mr Sharma spoke to the pupils about his role as Deputy Lieutenant and his plans for the Coronation Weekend. Pupils were also given the opportunity to ask Mr Sharma questions. The most popular question asked was if he had met the King, to which Mr Sharma answered yes, when he was given his CBE at Buckingham Palace in January 2023.  

Before leaving Barr Beacon School, Mr Sharma had the very difficult decision of deciding the best form group’s bunting. In the end, he chose 8C1’s bunting because of the intricate details that had gone into each piece of bunting. Mr Sharma was very complementary about the pupils he had met at Barr Beacon School stating “they were some of the politest pupils he has had the pleasure to meet” and that he would be telling King Charles all about them, the next time he was at Buckingham Palace.

"On Friday 5th May 2023,  myself and 4 other year 7s along with 5 pupils from both year 8 and 9 had tea and scones with the Deputy Lieutenant in Barr Beacon bistro. The scones were homemade and delicious! Each pupil got to talk and shake hands with the Deputy Lieutenant, he also told us about his badges and about all of his wonderful opportunities. The reason we all got to experience this is because of our high number of praise points that we earned in lessons. My favourite part was getting to listen to all of his fascinating stories associated with King Charles! We are so grateful to have been lucky enough to join in on this opportunity. It was amazing to meet the Deputy Lieutenant in person, especially on the week of King Charles coronation". By L. Scrivens 7B1

At Barr Beacon School we want to offer our pupils the very best opportunities and experiences. Our extra-curricular offer is something we are very proud of as currently, we have over 40 different activities on offer ranging from: Contemporary Dance to Sewing Club; from Cricket to Lego Club.  

One of our year 8 pupils has written this piece on why she enjoys going to Mindful Crafts and the benefits it has to offer.   

Mindful Crafts is an amazing club. I love how I and my fellow club members connect through talking whilst doing mindful activities or games. One week we coloured in Stitch from Disney’s Lilo & Stitch. I enjoyed this because it helped me to relax and be mindful, something we do not get much time to do during our lessons! We have also made door hangers, played colouring games and my favourite, making walking crabs out of origami. When the holidays are approaching (for example, Halloween, Christmas and most recently Easter) we made homemade decorations and cards to give out to our family and friends. I find Mindful Crafts really relaxing, amazing and fun! I would really recommend anybody who loves doing the things to come along every Monday.

F.Palmer 8C1

Matrix’s first ever cross-trust pupil awards event, held at Millennium Point on 20^th April, was a fantastic success.

Pupils were recognised for exemplifying our trust values of creativity, resilience, selflessness, enthusiasm and continuous improvement. There were also awards for exemplary members of our Cadet Forces.

With more than 7000 pupils across our trust schools, it was really difficult to choose the 46 award winners. Those who did receive the awards should feel deservedly proud of their achievement.

The awards-giving was punctuated with several fantastic performances, including DJs from Barr Beacon, a piano virtuoso from Year 4 of Bloxwich Academy and Etone’s ‘Mega Band’. Before the event, we had over an hour of performances from pupils across our trust schools, all of who had been selected to perform after a trust-wide talent competition, which had more than 100 entrants.

The evening started with a video relating the story of our trust up until the end of 2022. Our CEO Ms Draycott then spoke about the two newest schools, Smestow Academy and Wednesfield Academy, who joined the Matrix family this year.

There was also a special video explaining ‘what a makes a Matrix pupil’, starring a teacher from each of our schools.

Here is what some of our parents and carers have said about the event:

“The awards ceremony was fantastic. It was great to see pupils getting their awards and the fantastic performances from across the Matrix Academy Trust schools.”

“It meant so much to see all the pupils being awarded for life skills rather than academic achievement. The head teachers giving a little speech about each pupil was a lovely touch and really personalised it.”

“Thank you for a wonderful evening.  It was very special to see everyone receiving their awards.”

“Thank you for a special evening celebrating the achievements of pupils.  We are especially proud of our daughter!”

“Tonight was simply amazing!” 

Ms Draycott and Director of School Improvement Mr Lowbridge-Ellis introduced each of the awards and our headteachers explained who they had chosen and why. Trustee Sir Mark Aspinall bestowed the awards on the worthy winners.