Bart’s 4 Bees took a small group out on our first trip to a working apiary last week.  Once we were all dressed up in our safety suits, we were shown around by our beekeeping mentor, Stephen.  Some of the students were a little apprehensive about being around the open hives but were so fascinated by these charismatic insects getting on with their work that the nerves soon disappeared.  All the students were brave enough to hold a frame of bees and get up close to see all the nectar and pollen they had collected along with the brood cells full of developing baby bees!  We even spotted the queen (marked with a blue dot) surrounded by her attendant bees.

It was a great experience and certainly captured the interest of the students – the number of ‘wows’ that were heard as the frames full of bees came out of the hive was brilliant.   The students were impeccably behaved and a credit to us, but my favourite bit of the trip was listening to them congratulating themselves and each other on their bravery – what a fabulous demonstration of our BARTS values! Bart’s 4 Bees club meets every week after school on a Thursday and is open to all years – come along!

On Friday 7 June, 10 staff and 90 students made their way to Wembley to watch England play their final warm-up game before the Euros against Iceland. Traffic, as always, was bad, especially getting into the car park but we all made it in good time. We had an extremely long walk from the car park to the stadium, as we were the other side of the stadium and in the upper tier! Once we had got all the students in their seats, they were allowed to grab some food and drinks. Despite the attendance being over 80,000, the queues for food and drink weren’t too long, thankfully.

Sadly, the performance from the England players was nothing short of terrible, which made the game much less enjoyable for those of us watching. However, our students made the most of the experience and managed to start multiple Mexican waves, which continued around the stadium. Despite the result and performance, the students and staff still had an excellent time, and it was fantastic to experience the atmosphere of a home England game at Wembley right before a major tournament. We still got to see some of the best players from the Premier League this season, with Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Declan Rice all starting. The performance didn’t fill us with confidence that football is coming home but it’s the hope that kills us!

Thanks to Miss Ostinelli, Mr Fry, Mr Sullivan, Mr Bandy, Mr Bateman, Mrs Stevens, Mr Wilder, Mrs Shopland and Miss Broome for giving up their time to support on the trip and to all the staff behind the scenes who helped organise it. We hope everyone enjoys the Euros – come on England!

On 23 May, Year 10 Students went on a Business Studies trip to Paultons Park. The students attended a workshop on Paultons Park’s business plan. This was an interesting and relevant workshop; the speaker spoke about marketing techniques that are used and explained why Paultons Park used different strategies in comparison to their competitors.

The speaker spoke about various business aspects, which had the students engaged and intrigued. The talk was an excellent source of relevant and realistic examples of the topics that the students have covered in class or will be covering in future in their GCSEs. The students were also given the opportunity to enjoy the rides, which were enjoyed by all! This is what the students had to say:

“It was very good, especially the workshop. It was very insightful and also having fun on the rides was always a plus’”

Alrayaan Hussain (10D3)

“Overall, I think the trip was beneficial to us and will help with upcoming exams and next year’s topics. The workshop was interactive and interesting.”

Mia Martin-Flaven (10P2)

 “The workshop was very informative and really put into perspective the content we have been learning when applied to a real business. It helped me grasp the concepts of Business Studies GCSE better and it was also nice to have time to go on rides on this trip. Would definitely recommend to potential Business Studies and Enterprise students.”

Just before the Easter break, 32 students from across the Year 12 cohort visited Krakow to develop their knowledge and understanding of the Holocaust. Accompanied by Mr Owen, Mrs Lane and Miss May, students began their tour at Kazimierz, which since the 12^th century has been known as Krakow’s Jewish Quarter. However, as a result of Nazi persecution since Poland’s occupation in 1939, and the devastating loss of life and culture due to the Holocaust, this once vibrant space is now much smaller in size and population. After visiting one of Krakow’s oldest synagogues and Jewish cemeteries, students listened to the testimony of Anna Janowska Cioncka, who spoke of her family’s experience under Nazi persecution.

Exploring pre-war Jewish life and meeting and speaking with a Holocaust survivor helped to prepare students and staff for day two, which involved a full tour of the concentration and extermination camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Here, students learnt more about the function of both Auschwitz 1 and Birkenau and spent time exploring a range of exhibits including ‘Shoah’, which provided an overview of pre-war Jewry, whilst commemorating the 1 million Jewish children who were murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators. We ended our trip exploring the former Jewish ghetto in Krakow, and learning about the heroic efforts of Tadeusz Pankiewicz, a Polish pharmacist, who provided medicine and supplies for those trapped behind the ghetto wall.

Sreelakshmi Sreejith (12D5) said, “I found this trip very interesting and it showed me the true struggles that the victims of the holocaust went through. I think the [pre-trip] seminars really helped me to develop a basic understanding of what the Holocaust was, so that when I went on the trip I could get the full experience and develop that understanding which was very helpful.”

From the moment we left St Barts at 3am on the 27 March to our arrival back, our students were phenomenal. They engaged with all elements of the trip and supported each other exceptionally well. A huge thank you to each of you.

A further thanks to all staff involved, with a special thanks to Mrs Lane and Miss May.

Don’t forget to follow our Beacon journey on our new Instagram account: beaconbarts2024