Our newly-formed Anti-Bullying committee met for the first time this week to discuss how we can raise awareness within school. Pupils split off into small groups to design an updated 2024/2025 poster, outlining how to recognise the signs of bullying and how pupils can reach out in school to be able to report it.
#NeverDiscriminate #EqualToEveryone
Media students had a very rare opportunity today to meet employees from the BBC, learn about their careers and have a go at some of the different roles in TV. Students discovered the array of careers available, from script supervisor, through to production, locations, accounts, props and many more.
Students examined seemingly dangerous props that were actually made of soft materials, with intricate details making them seem very realistic. They also tried their hands at scriptwriting, continuity checks and making their own costumes, using makeup to distress socks.
There was also a backstage insight into the many different roles and responsibilities that are involved in making a special effects explosion scene in a recent episode of EastEnders.
Our students said:
“I really enjoyed looking at the props and seeing behind the scenes of EastEnders, but my favourite part was getting involved and designing the sock.”
“Learning about all of the different job roles was particularly interesting as it gave me a detailed perspective of the industry.”
“I’m thinking about applying for a BBC Apprenticeship and it was useful to get some tips on how the interview process works.”
Year 12 students have enjoyed two engaging assemblies from Aberystwyth University this term. Each assembly had a twist to make it more fun. First students discovered how to choose the right university and course though a music quiz. Then students learnt how to make the most of open days, with the addition of a few guessing games. All of this was carefully designed to encourage students to start thinking about their next steps early, so they are fully prepared to make a competitive application next autumn. Our students enjoyed the interactive nature of the assemblies, making the information accessible and enjoyable to learn. Moving into next year, we will be focusing on apprenticeships, and students will begin preparing their applications next summer.
Students can access a useful Open Day Calendar here.
To build a buzz about our Bookfair, we decided to run a ‘Design a Bookmark Competition’ where the top 3 submissions could win £25 worth of Bookfair vouchers. We wanted pupils’ bookmarks to be inspired by their favourite book. It could include one of the characters, a scene from the book, a quote or they could be inspired by the front cover. We had a lot of beautiful and creative entries. Our team of pupil librarian have chosen the top 3:
1st place – Z.Inman 13M2
2nd place – F.Palmer 10C1
3rd place – K.Choomer 10M1
Congratulations to the winners!
‘Too important in life to be forgotten in death’ - Howard Hardman
T.Hunt (Head Student) and Z.Copeland (Deputy Head Student) represented Barr Beacon by laying a wreath at Aldridge’s War Memorial Remembrance parade during Remembrance Sunday. It is 80 years this year since the D-Day landings.
Barr Beacon School’s CCF contingent @ccfcadets @aircadets and Head Students joined veterans, representatives of local government @WalsallCouncil @morton_wendy and members of the local community to lay a wreath at the historic Barr Beacon War Memorial. The War Memorial at Barr Beacon Local Nature Reserve, the highest point in the West Midlands, was built in 1933 to honour those who fell during WW1.
Barr Beacon School’s CCF contingent lead a parade to remember the fallen, together with staff and pupils. Pupils have been learning about ‘remembrance’ all week during assemblies which have featured members of the contingent sharing stories about relatives who sacrificed their lives for our freedom.
Our Sixth Form Charity Leads held their first big charity event in school where they sold veggie samosas and raised a whopping £258.50. Our Charity Leads relished in their sales roles and really showed us their skills! They took a hard sales approach and impressed us every step of the way, whilst raising money for two of our school charities this year: My Shining Star and Young Minds.
J A Rajput and Z Copeland – Deputy Head Students
It's been almost 8 weeks since the new academic year started and already so much has unfolded.
While there is so much to look forward to over the year, there are also more challenging times
ahead that may require you to understand not only how to be successful but also how to turn
failure into success too.
Failure is a tool that should be used more when trying to achieve success as it can be a crucial
learning opportunity but often, we try to ignore our failures, moving on to the next thing when it
could be the perfect method to help us progress and get us closer to reaching our goals.
People experience failure for several reasons; maybe you were unprepared, your goals were
unrealistic or perhaps you simply need more learning and understanding of a topic to help you
succeed. Failure can help you to identify where there is work to be done and more importantly it
can highlight your next steps so that when you try again you do better than you did before. There are
a variety of ways to go about this and one way is setting SMART Targets to help create a streamlined
vision of what you want. For those of you who don’t know what these are, they’re targets that meet
the following requirements:
It is crucial that you remember that failure is part of the process and is scientifically proven to help
the brain create stronger connections and improve problem-solving skills. This is how those of you
who are disappointed with your grades at the moment, can utilise what you perceive as failure to
your advantage and get that ‘academic comeback’!
But remember you also need to take breaks from your studies and have fun with your hobbies or
take on opportunities available to you because we can succeed in the most unlikely ways. This
could be through Social Mobility programs/charities (as listed at the end of this blog) or through
things like the Duke of Edinburgh Award, after-school clubs or sports teams because they enable
you to experience new fun things while getting extra support and a competitive edge when applying
for your next steps. Take those risks and don’t worry about the outcome! Because if you don’t go
for it, you might regret it and think “What if…?” or “I could have” - instead, go for those
opportunities and be more optimistic so you can say “I did it!” or “I made it!”
Finally, the easiest way to avoid failure is to never give up, give everything your best shot and you’ll
eventually reach the finish line. Approach everyday with your best effort, persistence and follow
your passions, whatever excites you or what you're enthusiastic about - just never give up, especially
through those challenging times (FYI: there will be lots of them, but your grit and determination is
all you need to persevere). Finally, use this as that little push to get you on track to whatever
journey you're striving for and make it happen - OWN WHAT YOU DO!
Remember to take a break during Half Term to rest and reset but be geared up, ready to go as soon
as that first Monday hits.
It’s never too early to start nor too late. So, if you do one thing from reading this blog, consider
applying to one of the programs below:
AMT Youth - AMT Youth Programme – Alice Made This
Leaf - Leaf
NCS - Find an NCS Programme Near You: Sign Up Today | NCS (wearencs.com)
SMART Targets -The Ultimate Guide to S.M.A.R.T. Goals – Forbes Advisor
Social Mobility Foundation - The Social Mobility Foundation
Sutton Trust - Sutton Trust
Zero Gravity - Zero Gravity | Unlock your university and career ambition
Happy Halloween and Diwali.
A group of our Year 11 pupils visited Newnham College Cambridge to learn more about the university and take a tour of the campus. Pupils gained advice from current students, practiced new revision techniques and discovered the importance of super-curricular activities in making a competitive application to the top universities in the country. They even enjoyed a special lunch in the college ‘buttery’ to round off an informative day.
Congratulations to J. Astley, E. Devaney, K. Lobban, F. Jones, and, yet again, A. Hussain for achieving Pupil of the Week! These pupils consistently go above and beyond to demonstrate our Beacon values, setting a great example for everyone.
A big well done also to J. Evelyn, A. Goody, and F. Edmunds on receiving their Bronze Badge award for earning over 100 praise points! Your hard work and dedication have truly paid off.
I am extremely proud of all our pupils this week. Let’s keep up the momentum as we continue closing the gap on Bredon and Malvern!
Barr Beacon School has a long history of working with the National Citizens Service to give our pupils access to an amazing opportunity to boost their CVs.
NCS offer fantastic summer residential experiences for 15-17 year olds, where pupils can get out into the world with their friends, take part in new challenges and build new skills. By taking part in teambuilding activities and a charity project, our pupils have boosted their confidence and independence whilst giving back to their local community.
Pupils at Barr Beacon School have been taking part in NCS for many years, and we consistently have very large numbers of pupils who sign up. This year we are proud to have achieved Bronze Champion School status. Across the whole of Walsall, Barr Beacon School was the state school with the highest number of pupils signing up to take part.
It is wonderful to see Barr Beacon School pupils being so open to new experiences and embodying our Beacon Values which enable our pupils to be compassionate, community-minded individuals who contribute positively to our society.
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
