The Beech Academy

Year 8 have been working on a metal work project in Creative. For most of the young people in the group, it was their first time working creatively with metal. They really enjoyed the experience and worked incredibly hard with lots of new skills learnt. We are all looking forward to finishing off our insects and bringing them home to invade our families' gardens very soon!

What a fantastic start to the week! On Monday our students have enjoyed making healthy smoothies, competing in cup pong tournaments, testing their navigation skills in orienteering, and getting active with basketball and football.

Yesterday, students took part in a whole-school rounders tournament, with plenty of great teamwork, friendly competition and some tunes playing in the background to keep the atmosphere going. 🎶⚾ The day was rounded off with some relaxing yoga and a bit of Just Dance.

It’s been wonderful to see so much enthusiasm, teamwork and determination throughout the day. A brilliant first couple of days complete - bring on the rest of National Sports Week! 💪⚽🏀

At the end of last week, Beech Academy hosted our Leavers' Event for our Post-16 and Year 11 students who are embarking on exciting new adventures this September. Students, families and staff came together to celebrate the many achievements our students have made during their time at Beech Academy and to wish them every success for the future.

We will certainly miss the students who are leaving us, but we are incredibly proud of how far they have come. Throughout their time at Beech Academy, they have made fantastic progress both academically and socially, developing their confidence, independence and resilience alongside their learning. It has been a privilege to watch them grow into the young people they are today, and we know they will continue to achieve great things in the next stage of their journey.

We wish each and every one of our leavers the very best of luck and look forward to hearing about all their accomplishments in the future.

Year 8 have been exploring money by working with both coins and notes. Pupils were set the challenge of using pounds and pence to create different amounts, with the added rule that they could not use the same combination of coins as anyone else. To extend their thinking further, they also took on extra challenges to make the amounts using both the fewest and the greatest number of coins possible. The activity was enjoyed by all and provided valuable opportunities for pupils to develop their recognition of coins and notes, while strengthening their ability to calculate values using a running total.

Post-16 Westfield have been working on stress management as part of their Level 1 Open Awards qualification. They have been learning about the different types of stress and how to recognise the symptoms of stress. The class had great fun researching a range of coping strategies and demonstrating them in the classroom. Top activities were walking in nature, breathing exercises and watching funny clips from ‘You’ve Been Framed’!

What a lovely treat for our students today! 🍦☀️ We welcomed the ice cream van to school and the students thoroughly enjoyed choosing their ice creams and spending time together in the sunshine.

A special mention to our school dog, Millie 🐾, who enjoyed being part of the fun too! A lovely day with lots of smiles all round 💛