After up to 7 years for a lot of us, we are saying goodbye to Barr Beacon School. It has been our home from 8:30am until past 3:00pm every Monday to Friday and has become a building that will hold many memories and be the centre of the stories we tell as we get older.  

Years 11 to 13 have been a rollercoaster with highs and lows for each and every student in Sixth Form but we have nearly made it! It is a bittersweet goodbye as we leave teachers, classrooms and friends behind. Nevertheless, it is exciting to look forward to all that awaits us, whether that is university, an apprenticeship or a gap year. Whatever our next steps are, we would not have got to this point without all of the support we have received from the staff here at Barr Beacon School and for that we will forever be grateful. For the unseen work of our teaching staff, at home and staying late or arriving early, we thank you all. Individually and collectively you have, once again, impacted on the lives of another cohort of students.  

Whilst some of us may want to go back and change some things – like the student who wishes they had taken more BTECs; another who wishes they had taken more photographs to savour the memories of a fleeting two years; another who wishes revision was taken more seriously much earlier on – there are others who are looking back and are grateful for their conversations and even baking experiences with Mrs Osborne! Although part of our time was spent online (the sound of Teams notifications will probably stay with us forever), within it all there are memories we will carry forward and cherish.  

In years to come we will want to come back and relive it all. Unless time travel becomes a possibility, it will be through our wonderful memories that we continue to live our sixth form years. So again, we say thank you and goodbye to the school that has helped us to grow into the people we are today and set a foundation for the people we will be in the future. 

A Bromwich Head Girl 

By Charlie Birch – Deputy Head Boy

The Russian invasion of Ukraine strongly opposes the ideals of peace and unity. No wonder so many of our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people.

Vladimir Putin’s wrongful ambition to unite former USSR nations under Russian rule replicates the unwarranted behaviour of previous political leaders, such as Adolf Hitler, who embarked upon war and persecuted the lives of so many innocent civilians. The recent events lead us to also think about those who have suffered conflict in the likes of Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Palestine. Our thoughts are also with the people in all countries who may not be making the headlines right at this moment.

From these conflicts, we can develop understanding and learn from them. Here at Barr Beacon, we can develop the mentality of always treating others with respect. We can also understand that certain actions and behaviours can be unnecessary and that our behaviour can have an impact upon others. This also leads to the point that your actions will have consequences, which is currently shown by the majority of the globe sanctioning Russia. This overall, enforces a new meaning behind taking responsibility in advocating humility and kindness towards other people.

Donations exceeding £1 billion have been generated in Europe to support Ukrainians in need. Furthermore, volunteers are being deployed in camps on the borders of Ukraine and neighbouring countries, providing food, drink, shelter and medical assistance. The swift response to support those in need embodies what we at Barr Beacon School want to encourage in our pupils.

As LGBT History Month approaches, Deputy Head Boy Will Mellor reflects on his experience as a photographer for last year’s Pride event in Birmingham and urges us all to push ourselves out of our comfort zones so we can learn more about ourselves – and other people.

As we all know the Covid pandemic has affected each one of us in different ways. For me the lockdowns and restrictions has driven me to push myself out of my comfort zone and begin to explore other avenues within my passion of media. For me in September I had the privilege of being an event photographer for Birmingham Pride event. This festival is one of the biggest and most important within the UK, attracting over 75,000 people to the streets of Birmingham to celebrate LGBTQ+ achievements and to promote a safe space where our community can express themselves without fear or prejudice.

I would be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous on the train heading into Birmingham. I had personally never been to a Pride event. Neither had I had much experience with street photography. As an amateur photographer, I am always looking for ways to tell a story through the images I capture and, from the second I stepped off the train, there was an array of colours lining Grand Central and hundreds of people on the platforms heading to the celebration. There were many things that amazed me this day but the community feeling was what stood out to me the most: there was a overall feeling of joy and happiness that seemed to be infectious. You couldn’t help but smile at all the people around you. This immediately put me at ease and my real enjoyment of the day started here. From Grand Central I joined the many brightly-clothed people heading to the parade route.

Upon reaching the route I set about finding a vantage point to best capture the parade. This proved challenging as I wanted to capture multiple angles and views. As I was at one of my positions another photographer joined me. We chatted about our backgrounds and as I confessed that I was only an amateur he decided to take me under his wing. This was because he was one of the professional event photographers coving the parade for a newspaper. Throughout the day he showed me around the parade route and many ways of looking at the event through a camera lens. I was successfully able to capture thousands of photos, each portraying their own story. 

I came away from the parade with a much greater appreciation and understanding of photography. I also have a better understanding of how a community can pull together to celebrate and support each other. The skills and emotions I experienced on this day will live with me forever and contribute to my development both as an artist and as a member of society. I would fully encourage people to push themselves beyond their comfort zone and continue to be “stronger together” (2021’s Pride theme).

Below are some great links where you can read more about the Pride festival and more about the local LGBTQ+ community.

Birmingham Pride

Defining LGBTQ

By Maisie Amos, Deputy Head Girl

Recently, I have read many comments saying schools teach you what to learn but not necessarily how to learn. Barr Beacon does offer advice, especially during assemblies and PSHE lessons, to help guide revision but you do need to spend time working out what applies to you best and how your brain absorbs information. This may be different for different subjects.

I am currently studying Biology, Chemistry and Maths, so 3 science based subjects. Biology requires the memorising of a lot of facts in a short period of time and applying them to the world we live in. Maths requires practice and repetition of processes and formulas so you ‘get it right’ every time. Chemistry is by far my hardest subject.  I am the kind of person who likes to understand new concepts straight away and then memorise the facts afterwards.  However with chemistry you need to memorise the facts ‘for now’ and then you will have a better understanding of them as you cover more content and the more practice you do.

Steps to Success

1. Mind map the different ways to revise. This can be through your own research, through this blog, YouTube videos or Instagram pages, from study accounts or even searching on google or google scholar and writing down a few tips.
2. Try out all of the techniques on learning different bits of information. If you are doing your GCSEs, maybe try one technique for one lesson in each subject. If you are in Year 12, you can try this by recapping content from GCSE that you need to know. For Year 13, you will probably already know how to revise for your A-Levels by reflecting on the Year 12 mocks.  However, if you still would like to test them before delving into lots of work this year, maybe try with the content you struggled with in the mocks.
3. Once you have tried the techniques, ensure that you test them out against your memory. Do a few exam questions and see which ones have ‘stuck’ in your brain the best. Try to think of the ways you would prefer to revise for each individual subject.
4. Create a revision timetable and stick to it. I use Numbers, which is the Apple version of Excel, to create mine. Make sure it is realistic – it is probably not the best idea to be revising until 4am in the morning! You also need to make sure that you are leaving some buffer time.

Examples of Revision Techniques you could use

These are examples of what I do:-

• After every lesson, I use a website called Notion to create myself questions and I transform every line of information written in my notes into a question.  I then attempt to answer the question without looking at my notes.  I then link this page into my calendar one day after the lesson, three days after the lesson, one week after, two weeks after, one month, two months and three months. On these days, I have to go back to the page of questions I made and I answer them and do a question from the textbook or Integral (Maths). Also on the day of the lesson, I do a Seneca lesson (for Biology and Chemistry) or the tests on integral (for Maths). On my Notion page, I make a cue card on the questions that I found most difficult and file this in my folder. In addition to this, I complete any homework I am set in the lesson.

Summary

• Mind maps
• Spaced repetition (the retrieval practice I do with Notion)
• Past Paper Questions (make sure you mark them)
• Recapping lessons
• Whiteboard pens- write it out again and again until it sticks
• Cue cards
• Talking through processes out loud
• Convert words to pictures
• Memory Spots
• Stacking
• Use rhymes
• Use mnemonics
• Pictorial Storage

Revision Timetables – my advice

1. Create a grid with columns Monday to Sunday at the top and the times you are going to revise along the bottom.
2. Block out any times where you cannot revise (e.g. eating, exercise, travelling home, clubs).
3. Think about how much time you want to spend revising content for each lesson (hint: 2 hours per subject per week is probably about right for GCSE but not enough for A levels).
4. Choose which days you are taking a break from revision. You could label one of these days as a buffer day where you can catch up on other work that you have not managed to do.
5. Choose how long each period of revision will be before you take a break (20 minutes revision followed by a 5-minute break or 1-hour revision followed by a 15-minute break).
6. Slot in the times you are going to revise, stating the subject (for A levels this should be at least 5 hours per subject per week).
7. Every Sunday, print off your timetable and annotate it, stating what you will be doing in each study session for the following week or (copy the document you made and edit it each week).
8. Remember to be flexible with your time. If you cannot revise one night, move those study sessions to your buffer day.
9. If you are having trouble finding a way of revising all the content until your final exam, use the app Adapt to structure the topics you will revise each day. This will also help you to structure a revision timetable.

Useful Links

https://www.americanexpress.com/en-us/business/trends-and-insights/articles/7-tricks-to-help-you-remember-anything/

Other Websites that could help:

• https://www.cgpbooks.co.uk/info/exams-or-demon-fighting/essential-revision-tips
• https://www.bcu.ac.uk/exams-and-revision/best-ways-to-revise/best-revision-techniques

by Jack Tranter, Head Boy

Social media has become a massive part of our lives. Whether it’s reading a news article on Instagram, or watching a new craze on TikTok, social media is used for hours upon hours every single day. Like technology in general, social media has both an upside and a downside. And when it comes to the social media effects on teens, those pros and cons are particularly significant.

On the positive side, platforms like Snapchat, YouTube and Instagram can be lifesavers for teens that want to stay connected with their friends or to have some time to themselves and relax by watching some YouTube. Social media was especially helpful in the pandemic as it entertained the population all the way through lockdowns. We all know social media can be a great thing, but as the world is moving on, the world of social media is becoming a concerning place.

In recent years I feel social networks have stopped being happy places. It is no secret that some parts of some social media have turned into toxic battlegrounds, seemingly built for people to argue in. A cloud of negativity has been cast by people abusing these networks which has had a devastating effect on many, especially today’s teens. Many experts believe that the constant overstimulation of social networking shifts the nervous system into fight-or-flight mode. As a result, this makes disorders such as ADHD, teen depression and teen anxiety worse. Social media also provides a space in which teenagers can encourage each other to engage in unhealthy and dangerous behaviours. Hence, teenagers with eating disorders or those who self-harm can connect with others to talk about their self-destructive routines. In these ‘safe’ online spaces, obsessive calorie counting, fasting, constant competition in beauty and other unhealthy acts are accepted and encouraged.

As I said before, social media is a great tool that we are lucky enough to have in our pocket, but using it the right way is crucial. When using social media, you should always come away from it feeling yourself and feeling happy. If you are finding this isn’t happening, then you way need to limit the time you spend on it or have a break from it completely.

I want to suggest some great links below that can help a lot of people understand a little bit more about social media in today’s world.

https://www.thesocialdilemma.com – this will take you to the website of the 2020 film The Social Dilemma. The film and their website dives head first into the dark truth of social media. I highly recommend the film.

https://www.childline.org.uk/info-advice/ – If you feel as if you need support with your mental health or you need some information about social media, please use this link. Childline’s tips and techniques, ideas and inspiration, can help you feel more in control. And you can access them in your own time, at your own pace.

Remember: when on-line, be yourself. Don’t try and change to fit in. Be you because you are great!

Less scrolling, more living!

By H. Kumar-Mehay, Head Girl

A few months ago, I had the pleasure of speaking with Ms. Newsome, Consultant for the Matrix Academy, regarding one of our previous posts on the Black Lives Matter movement. In our meeting, we discussed the crucial yet somewhat difficult feat of educating students about racism within the classroom and what ways we could reveal the truths of this to students so we can all comprehend the issues that many members of our society face each day.

One of the questions I was asked was if I could explain the difference between equality and equity. I sat in the chair of this glass-panelled office eyeing the room for some answers but truthfully, I couldn’t answer this. In all honesty, I felt quite guilty for not knowing the difference. Surely after doing so much research and having many conversations on the topic, I should have understood the difference between these words which seemed as if they were identical, yet worlds apart in the same instance.

After sitting there for some time, Ms. Newsome told me that with the idea that, whilst equality is treating everyone the same but on the same level, equity was about treating everyone equally through treating people based on their needs and differences.

Now understanding the difference between the two, I’m constantly reflecting on that experience to connect it to my own life experiences.

It is important to have special months for oppressed groups, like Black History Month (October) and LGBT History Month (February), where we rightfully appreciate these groups of people, whose achievements might not have been appropriately rewarded in the past: the people who have been oppressed, who constantly strive for the equality that they rightfully deserve. 

Without equity, there is no equality. 

In order reach true equality, we must appreciate the principle of equity, through meeting different needs of minorities in our society.

It is simply not enough to not be racist; we must be actively anti-racist. We must actively fight against discrimination of all kinds. 

I want to thank Ms. Newsome for enlightening me further on this topic and constantly encouraging my curiosity. Every day, I reflect on our

conversation which inspires me to fight for equality. Whether it’s based on race, gender or sexual orientation, thank you for helping make me realise that fighting for equality is not a ‘One size fits all’ approach, but is unique and individual each time as we seek to ensure every single individual feels valued in our school, on our streets and in our society.