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.

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. 

Period poverty affects a staggering number of females across the country: 1 in 10 females of both school age and adult, have not been able to afford sanitary products at some point in time.

On Thursday 19^th October, our Year 7 girls had an assembly about this shocking fact. In the assembly we were able, thanks to PHS and government support, to provide our pupils with various sanitary products. In addition, we were able to talk about the matter of period management and how best to do this whilst in school. Sharing helpful tips and tricks about this was reassuring for our pupils and we reinforced the message that no one should ever have to live in period poverty, the school can support with this. It was great to see our young people being considerate to others and thinking proactively and positively and how to manage periods effectively.

It is my pleasure to introduce to you our new team of pupils who will work as Wellbeing Ambassadors in our school for 2023/24. These inspiring young people have volunteered their time freely to help support the positive mental well-being of the pupils within our community here at Barr Beacon School. Interviews were held for these positions, and every one of these pupils demonstrated our Beacon School Values; especially in their desire to help other children in the school to ‘Be Themselves’.

Over the coming weeks and months, the Wellbeing Team will set up drop-in sessions which other pupils can attend to receive tips on how to improve their personal sense of wellbeing. They will also hold fundraising events for various mental health charities and help give a pupil’s perspective on mental health during World Mental Health week through delivering assemblies to the rest of the school. As the academic year progresses, this dedicated team will drive new ideas to continue raising awareness of positive well-being across our school community.

To celebrate World Mental Health Day 2023 Barr Beacon pupils listened to an assembly on this years global theme – ‘Mental Health is a Universal Right’. Within this assembly, pupils learnt about the Human Rights Act of 1998, in particular article 14 which states that people have the right not to be discriminated against. Pupils then learnt what discrimination was and the impact it can have on someone. Within the assembly, pupils saw the familiar faces of celebrities who have all experienced mental health. This highlighted the assemblies key point – that mental health doesn’t discriminate, so why should anyone discriminate against those who experience mental health? Finally, pupils learnt how to have positive conversations about mental health and what support is available for pupils at Barr Beacon School who might be struggling.

Within their form groups, pupils had the opportunity to try some calming mental health strategies such as breathing techniques and grounding techniques. Pupils also reflected on how they could improve their actions to be more inclusive of mental health. Form groups all created and agreed on a pledge to help raise awareness and decrease the stigma that surrounds mental health.

Overall, World Mental Health Day was a success at Barr Beacon as pupils learnt about their rights and how to speak about mental health without discriminating. Pupils also reflected on their own behaviour and set targets accordingly, to ensure that Barr Beacon continues to be a supportive environment that embraces diversity and follows the Barr Beacon values. 

Our pupils and staff raised a huge £638. 38 for Macmillan in our coffee morning at the end of September. Pupils were encouraged to participate in a inter-house cake decoration competition and produced some absolutely stunning results. There is certainly a large amount of cake-decorating talent within our pupil body! It was wonderful to see so many take part and proudly bring in their creations. Similarly, we were bowled over by the generosity and consideration for others shown by the numbers of pupils and staff contributing cakes to sell in our coffee morning. Thank you to all that were involved, including the sixth form charity leads, who did a marvellous job on the morning itself!