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Next Steps Day 2023

On Tuesday 21st November Year 11 pupils took part in Next Steps Day. Year 11 pupils could choose to either attend a subject emersion workshop at James Watt or Sutton Coldfield College in an area of study that interests them, or sample different A-Level and BTEC courses that are offered by Barr Beacon School Sixth Form. This is an important experience to support our pupils in making the right choices after they finish Year 11 this summer. 

Our pupils threw themselves into the workshops and taster sessions at both BMET colleges and Barr Beacon Sixth Form.

Gurleen who attended Barr Beacon Sixth Form experience said “Attending the taster sessions really helped me to confirm my desire to study A -Levels in Psychology and Maths. It has also made me think hard about whether I want to do A-Levels in History or Biology.”

Kai who attended James Watt College said “I’m really glad I got the chance to go to James Watt College. An Engineering qualification is definitely what I want to do after Year 11.”

Macario who attended Sutton Coldfield college said “Going to Sutton College helped me to gain an in-depth insight into what my future may look like”.

Staff at the colleges were full of praise for our Year 11 pupils and the way they conducted themselves.

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We are Barr Beacon Day 2023

We were proud to host our first ‘We are Barr Beacon Day’ on Thursday 23rd November. The theme of the day was our Beacon Value of ‘Equal to Everyone’ which is integral to our beliefs as a school community. Our Beacon Values run like a stick of rock through everything we do. This meant that on Thursday we celebrated the diversity within our school with all Year 7 pupils, learning about the diversity within our school, the culture, heritage and beliefs that are within our student body. Year 7s also took part in a drumming and dancing workshop and performed to their year group at the end of the day. Their confidence and committment was absolutely inspiring and we were very proud of them.

Year 9 and 10 pupils also heard from ex-athlete Daniel Caines and they were inspired by this talk: the key message being “You start whereever you start, but where you finish is up to you.” The empowering message really hit home with our pupils, many already reporting that they wanted to recommit to sports and hobbies that they may have left in the past. Daniel spoke about “dotting the Is and crossing the Ts” and helped pupils understand that the route to success is a pure and dedicated committment to what you are doing. It’s too easy to pass off ‘failure’ as not being good at something, instead of accepting the amount of hard work that is really required to succeed. 

The award winning Real Direction team also came to workshop with pupils about the impact that choices can make and to help pupils think about the consequences of their decisions.

Overall the day was a resounding success and we would like to thank all speakers, presenters and staff for providing pupils with a wonderful experience.

Kooth Mental Wellbeing

Kooth is an online mental wellbeing community. It gives children and young people immediate access to an online community of peers and a team of experienced, accredited counsellors. It’s free to access, there are no waiting times, no referrals are required, no threshold to meet and complete anonymity. The service is open for support 365 days per year, between 12pm-10pm on weekdays, and 6pm-10pm on weekends and holidays.

They offer lots of brilliant features including a live chat feature with a Kooth practitioner, discussion boards to share concerns, the ability to create and track your own goals, online journaling and a magazine packed full of helpful articles.

How to sign up

Supporting your child through difficult times: Guide

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Children in Need 2023 – Friday 17th November 2023

Once again, our Sixth Form students took the lead on fundraising for Children in Need.

They arranged events that took place during breaktime.  These included a doughnut sale (they sold 400!) and a Beat the Teacher penalty shootout competition.  Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising efforts.  Thank you also to Mr Dawes and Ms Busby for being goalkeepers!

Well done to our Sixth Form Ambassadors for their effort and determination to make a difference to the lives of others.

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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.

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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