Wednesday 21st October: 12.00pm-6.00pm
Designed for Year 11, 12 and 13 students and their parents, this is an unmissable opportunity to meet over 100 universities and apprenticeship providers. You can also gain vital advice from 10 webinars (see here) throughout the day, on topics such as taking an apprenticeship and UCAS applications.
You can sign up and find out more here: https://ukunisearch-west.vfairs.com/
By Emily Allen, Deputy Head Girl
I will admit that I have never been the person to stick to the same things. Growing up I tried a range of sports and clubs, but I have never stuck to them. However, that is not always a bad thing; your time at school is the perfect time to start trying new things as whether it’s your first year at Barr Beacon or even your last, there is still time to get out of your comfort zone and experience new things. The list of hobbies is endless; use this time at school or even during the holidays to expand your list of tried things. From testing a lot of sports, I have finally concluded that I love to play tennis, whether it is playing it or just coaching. Without the experience of the different hobbies, I wouldn’t have found something that I love. Use spare time to find your passion. My example of sports is just the beginning of the list. There is no age limit to going out and experiencing new things, it has taken me this long to find out what I enjoy, and I am in Year 13. Even when you have left school and go to university, an apprenticeship or get a job, there is still time for you to go out and try new things. However, this time at school is a great time to start trying out new things.
The benefits of having a hobby are endless. Here are just a few that comes to mind:
From experience, I know how hard it is to maintain motivation at home. Having to look after my two dogs sometimes makes it hard to stay concentrated on my schoolwork. But from having to deal with this throughout lockdown I came up with a solution that helped both myself and the two pups: having a small break from my work to take them to the park and get some exercise walking them finally allowed me to concentrate as they fell straight to sleep when we got back. Not only did it benefit the dogs, I also benefitted from going outside and taking a break from my work. Therefore, I have made a habit to stop being lazy and go for little walks whenever I can. Getting out into the fresh air revived my energy and gave me motivation to go back and finish my work. Hobbies do not just include exercising; the list is endless. Whether you are into collecting Lego, engaging in astronomy, baking, or even just reading a book. A hobby can be anything.
At this point of school, we are just getting back into everything and getting our heads around new routines. Even with the Covid measures in place, our school has found a way of continuing with after-school clubs, such as badminton and there are still hundreds of hobbies you can take part in that does not involve contacting others. A great example of this is learning a new skill. I am hardly at a professional level, but I learnt the alphabet in sign language. This was a little while ago. And at that time it felt so good to have learnt something new and it made me want to continue learning and trying out new things. Perhaps I should pick it up again?
I am sure most of you are spending quite a lot of time online, whether it is on YouTube, TikTok or other forms of social media. However, you could use this time for trying new things. Even using a fraction of that time that you would have spent on your phones and doing something else instead would be extremely beneficial for your mental and physical health. Even if you do not fancy going out to explore the hobbies that are available to you outside of home or school, you can even make a hobby out of your phone or laptop. Start a blog maybe? Use your time to make a positive change online.
Do not think that it is too late to start something new: you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, so try new hobbies, meet new people and have fun.
School Council representatives made this assembly for the beginning of Black History Month:
All year groups welcome!
Any dance style!
To enter, you must record a solo performance of 3 minutes and send this via your school email to Miss Salmon by Monday 5th October at 3pm.
The top 5 entries will win house points for their house and get the chance to represent the school at The Great British Dance Off this year!
Message Miss Salmon if you have any questions.
Remote Learning will take place via Microsoft Teams using your school email account. Any other email account will not work. Everything is explained in these videos. Please watch them carefully.
If you have problems logging in, someone in your household will need to email itsupport@barrbeaconschool.co.uk
If you are not in the correct classes on Teams you need to communicate with your teachers in advance of any lessons using the Chat function (this is explained in the videos).
Accessing files
There is a link to Microsoft Office through our website (shown in the videos).
If you are having trouble accessing PDF files, download and install a reader here:
https://get.adobe.com/uk/reader/
After coming first in a film-making competition, Year 13 student Josh Palfrey has been offered a placement at multi BAFTA award-winning film animation studio, Blue Zoo.
Josh himself explains:
“This offer came very much out of the ‘blue’ and was due to the fact that they had seen my winning film in a competition called the “summer of animation” (summerofanimation.com) an event where young people are challenged to make a short film over the summer. Blue Zoo was a sponsor of the event.) I won the competition with my film and, when contacted about my prize of a £2000 laptop, I also asked whether it would be possible to get a tour of Blue Zoo (as that was the prize for 2nd place). After a couple of weeks of sending that request, I received the following email:
Hi Josh,
Wanted to say congratulations on your winning film – we loved it here at Blue Zoo and think you thoroughly deserved the win!
I heard that you’d like a tour of Blue Zoo, but we’d be very happy to go further than that an offer you a paid work placement and bypass the internship programme. We’d need to work out times of when it would suit us both best due to current work restrictions.
“Obviously I am extremely excited and eager to respond.”
Watch Josh’s brilliant animation here: https://youtu.be/EV76-WAP0lY
Find out more about Blue Zoo https://www.blue-zoo.co.uk/
To avoid mixing year group bubbles during transitions, it will sometimes be necessary to house groups of pupils in outdoor areas for a few minutes at a time. Therefore, please make sure your child comes dressed for all weathers, including a coat for occasions when it rains. It would also be helpful for them to bring a spare face covering in case these get wet but we do have spare disposable face coverings we can provide.
Our September start: Your frequently asked questions answered
Will I need to wash my child’s uniform more regularly than normal?
The latest government guidance says this is not necessary.
From the Guidance: “Uniforms do not need to be cleaned any more often than usual, nor do they need to be cleaned using methods which are different from normal.”
If my child is worried about coming back to school. What support will they receive?
It’s perfectly normal for children to feel anxious about coronavirus. The return to school should help them by providing routine and a sense of stability. Being back in school will allow them to talk about their experiences during the outbreak and reform friendships, we well as build their self-esteem by being successful in their learning. Where pupils need more support we will provide this. Barr Beacon is a ‘telling school’ and pupils know that they can talk to any teacher, Head of House or Mrs Sorensen Designated Safeguarding Lead if they have any concerns about wellbeing. Additional information on support organisations is provided in pupil planners.
When and where will my child have break time?
10.00-10.15 Year 13, 12 (Bistro) and 11 (Hall)
10.25-10.40 Year 7 (Hall)
10.30-10.45 Year 8 (Bistro)
11.20-11.35 Year 10 (Bistro)
11.25-11.40 Year 9 (Hall)
When and where will my child have lunch and what will they be able to buy?
| 12.30-1.00 | 1.00-1.30 | 1.30-2.00 | |
| Bistro | Year 11 | Year 7 | Year 10 |
| Hall | Year 9 | Year 12 and any Year 13 remaining for afternoon lessons | Year 8 |
Year groups will swap venues each two weeks.
Menus can be found HERE.
How we decided on grades
Every grade was decided by whole teams, not individual teachers.
To arrive at these Centre Assessment Grades, we undertook the process laid out by the Government.
Our process was lengthy and rigorous, with every teacher of each subject participating in a series of meetings.
We used all available forms of evidence for every single grade, including
To eliminate any potential bias, all grade decisions had to be rooted in evidence. We did not consider any single piece of evidence on its own but considered each piece in the context of all of the others. This allowed us to form the most accurate picture possible of each pupil’s likely achievement in each subject had the examinations gone ahead. For instance, if a mock result was inconsistent with a pupil’s performance elsewhere, using just this on its own without triangulating with the other evidence had the potential to distort the Centre Assessed Grade.
Over a period of several weeks, every grade was discussed multiple times, as part of a rigorous quality assurance process. Only when we were confident that we had graded everyone accurately did we send the grades to the exam boards.
Sitting exams
If you want to sit the exams in the autumn, read the green sheet inside your results envelope carefully. Note the deadline for entries.
If you have concerns or queries about your grades: The Government’s exams watchdog Ofqual has produced this guide for students – HERE
We would like to say a huge CONGRATULATIONS to all of our Year 11 pupils and Year 13 students.
However your grades have turned out, we just wanted to acknowledge that you should be proud of what you have achieved.
No exam can ever assess everything you have learned, and you have certainly learned to be resilient. No other year group in history has had to cope with so much uncertainty, including last minute changes and U-turns, and you deserve every success in your futures.
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
