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Ambitious for excellence
Ambitious for excellence
Ambitious for excellence
Ambitious for excellence
Welcome to
BEACON
ACADEMY
We are ambitious for excellence in all we do and our vision, which although established and sustained, is to provide the best possible education for all our students and to remain an exceptional educational establishment locally and nationally. We are never complacent.
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@Beacon Academy
Beacon Academy / Published 6 Jun 2025
Reminder: Non-Uniform Day on Friday 13th June 📣📣
In exchange, all students in Years 7-10 are asked to either donate £1 via parent pay or donate a prize for our BeaconFest 2025 tombola stall.
This will be collected during tutor time on Friday 13 June. Suggested tombola prizes include: chocolate or confectionery, toiletries or scented candles, stationery or fashion accessories.
Thank you so much for your support!
🎉🎉 Don’t forget to buy your raffle tickets and wristbands through parent pay www.parentpay.com 🎉🎉
Beacon Academy / Published 6 Jun 2025
🌮 Street Food Pop-Up - Friday 13th June!
Get ready for a flavour-packed lunch next week! 🎉
Our catering team, Chartwells will be serving up street food inspired favourites like chipotle & fajita fries and BBQ pulled chicken.
✨Vegetarian & vegan options available - just speak to our catering staff!
#streetfoodpopup #trysomethingnew
Beacon Academy / Published 6 Jun 2025
We’re really excited for our fantastic Summer Performing Arts Festival, BeaconFest 2025, happening on Thursday 19th June!🌞
There will be impressive performances from our talented Music, Drama and Dance students, plus It will be a fun-filled celebration for all students and family, including:
🎪 Stalls, games and tombola
🎈 A giant inflatable and Photo Booth
✨ Festival make up and hair Afrodite Hair and Beauty
🎟️ A grand raffle with lots of brilliant prizes!
Food & Drink Highlights:
🍕Wood-fired pizza and gourmet burgers
🍰Delicious homemade cakes from our Beacon Bake Off, judged Leaf & Bean Tunbridge Wells.
🍦Ice cream, plus other treats available
Special Guest Appearance:
We are also delighted to have Chef Ian Brunsdon, MasterChef: The Professionals quarter finalist demonstrating some of his culinary skills live at the event.
🎟️Wristbands and raffle tickets are now available for Beacon Academy students via ParentPay: www.parentpay.co.uk
#BeaconFest #TeamBeacon #SummerFun Pioppi Pizza Bang's Food Truck
MARK Education Trust Leaf & Bean Tunbridge Wells Afrodite Hair and Beauty
Beacon Academy / Published 6 Jun 2025
Last term, 15 of our Year 11 students visited St John's College, Oxford as part of our ongoing partnership through the Inspire Scholars Programme.
They took part in a useful workshop focused on writing standout applications and developing interview skills. Our students impressed with their critical thinking and thoughtful questions - engaging not only with the guide but also with one another.
After lunch, they toured the college and took part in a Q&A with current Oxford students before heading to the Natural History Museum for an afternoon tour.
Thank you to SJC for looking after our students so well! It was a productive and inspiring day that got many of our students thinking seriously about their post-GCSE futures and beyond.
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/5dzbe5x6
#Inspire #OxOutreach #MakeYourMARK MARK Education Trust
Beacon Academy / Published 4 Jun 2025
What a journey it's been for our U13 Girls’ football team in the English Schools' Football Association.
Their incredible run came to an end in the quarter-finals, falling 6-4 in a true rollercoaster of a match. After leading 2-1 at halftime, the girls showed amazing resilience—fighting back from 4-2 down to level it at 4-4 before the final whistle.
Throughout the competition, the girls commitment, passion, energy, and determination have been second to none. It’s been an honour to witness how they’ve come together as a team—lifting each other up with positivity and unwavering support.
Proud doesn’t even begin to cover it. Final 8 out of 267 schools. History made.
#TheseGirlsCan MARK Education Trust #TeamBeacon
Beacon Academy / Published 4 Jun 2025
🎉🎉🎉 BeaconFest 2025 is just around the corner! 🎉🎉🎉
We’re thrilled to announce an incredible lineup of raffle prizes, generously donated by our wonderful local businesses! These amazing prizes will be up for grabs at BeaconFest 2025 on Thursday, 19th June.
🎟️ You can purchase your raffle tickets now via ParentPay: www.parentpay.co.uk
A huge THANK YOU to all the businesses and organisations supporting this event — your generosity truly makes a difference!
If your business would like to get involved and support BeaconFest 2025, please get in touch at events@beacon-academy.org.
Delta Force Paintball - UK Carson's Tea House Leaf & Bean Tunbridge Wells Sussex Country Gardener Garden Centre Middle Farm Wilderness Wood Bedgebury Pinetum - Forestry England Tesco Morrisons Crowborough Community Champion Domino's Pizza Creams Cafe Hair Gallery Trinity Theatre Coolings Wych Cross Garden Centre The Picture House Uckfield Zest DarkMaster Escape Rooms
Beacon Academy / Published 3 Jun 2025
🎂 Calling All Bakers! 🍰
Show off your baking skills and support our school at The Great BeaconFest Bake Off, taking place at BeaconFest on Thursday 19 June!
We’re thrilled to welcome Sue and Denise from Leaf & Bean Tunbridge Wells as our guest judges. They have generously donated a cream tea voucher for each of our two winning bakers, who will also take home a STAR BAKER apron from Stand Up To Cancer UK! You've got to be in it to win it!🫖✨
👩🍳 Who can enter?
The Bake Off is open to current students, parents, and staff. Entry is free of charge, and there are separate categories for U16 and adult bakers.
🍰 How to enter
Fill in the short form here by Friday 13 June:
👉 https://forms.office.com/e/ufE2wEisnd
We'll follow up with instructions on how to bring your creation to school on the morning of the event.
One cake, slice, or baked item will be judged for each entry. Winners will be announced at the festival! The rest will be sold at BeaconFest to help raise funds for the school and future events.
Email us with any questions at: events@beacon-academy.org
🔗 Find out more: https://tinyurl.com/bdykavdm
#BeaconFest #BakeOff #Community
Beacon Academy / Published 3 Jun 2025
🌍 Alumni Spotlight: A Full-Circle Journey to The Gambia 🌍
Ten years after her first visit to The Gambia as a Year 12 student, Dr Emily Baldwin, Beacon alumna and practicing doctor, returned once again - this time as a member of staff.
✨ “It’s been ten years since I first went to The Gambia with Beacon," reflects Emily. "Returning as staff - first in 2019 and again in 2024 - has been an incredible opportunity. What stood out to me most this time was the level of development we saw across the country."
Emily also praised the 2024 Sixth Formers for their curiosity, respect and willingness to engage deeply with new experiences:
“The Beacon students this year were thoughtful, curious and engaged. They showed sensitivity, respect and enthusiasm for local customs and culture and really pushed themselves to embrace new experiences. It’ll be great to see some familiar faces and lots of new ones for Gambia 2025!”
Thinking of joining Gambia 2025? Students in Years 11 and 12 should contact Mr Howarth at c.howarth@beacon-academy.org to find out more.
🔗 Read Emily’s full Alumni Profile here: https://tinyurl.com/yc59nv7z
#AlumniSpotlight #BeaconAlumni #SixthForm #BeaconInTheGambia #MakeYourMARK
Beacon Academy / Published 3 Jun 2025
As part of our KS5 Enrichment Programme, some of our Sixth Form students have been volunteering as mentors to support learners in KS3 and KS4.
Working closely with the Student Support team and Maths department, these dedicated mentors have provided one-to-one support, helping younger students to build confidence and improve academic skills, whilst gaining valuable experience for their own futures.
“I enjoy getting to work with younger students and teaching a subject I am passionate about,” reflects Year 12 student, Logan, who is providing support with Maths. “Mentoring has helped me to learn how to approach a problem from different angles and how to better articulate my thoughts. It has also helped me to work on my Volunteering section for the Gold DofE Award.”
A huge thank you to our mentors for your kindness and commitment!
🔗 https://tinyurl.com/mr2r9uun
#MakeYourMARK #SixthForm #StudentMentors #Enrichment #GoldDofE #FutureLeaders #MentoringMatters
Beacon Academy / Published 2 Jun 2025
We are delighted to share that Beacon Academy has officially achieved Healthy School Status!
This achievement recognises our whole-school commitment to promoting health and wellbeing through:
✅ High-quality PSHE education
✅ Healthy eating
✅ Regular physical activity
✅ Support for social, emotional and mental health (SEMH)
As part of this journey, we launched a grant-funded breakfast club to support students with a healthy start to their day - boosting both wellbeing and readiness to learn.
Find out more about our Healthy Schools journey: https://tinyurl.com/5awuf8ya
#HealthySchools #BeaconAcademy #WellbeingMatters East Sussex School Health Service
Beacon Academy / Published 26 May 2025
Thinking about getting into secondary education teaching? Discover Beacon Academy’s School Experience Programme.
The best way to know whether teaching is the right career path for you is to come and experience it first-hand. At our school experience day, you will have the chance to spend time in the classroom and have an opportunity to speak with experienced staff, including our Teacher Training and Development team, some Early Career Teachers and a member of the Senior Team.
The programme is over to anyone over the age of 18 who has a degree or is currently studying towards one.
Bookings are now open for our next school experience day, which will take place on Thursday 26 June 2025.
Book your place at this free event now https://schoolexperience.education.gov.uk/candidates/schools/137982
Bookings will close on Thursday 19 June. Please email j.clayforth-carr@beacon-academy.org with any questions.
#teaching #teachertraining #training #education #secondaryeducation #careers #professionaldevelopment
MARK Education Trust #MakeYourMARK
Beacon Academy / Published 23 May 2025
📣 Our Term 5 Newsletter is now available to view and download!
👉 Click here to read it: https://tinyurl.com/hp7ztfcc
A huge thank you to everyone who contributed, and well done to our students for all they’ve accomplished this term!
Wishing all our students, parents, staff, trustees, alumni and the wider Beacon community a wonderful half-term break! 🌟
#TeamBeacon #MakeYourMARK #Community
Beacon Academy / Published 22 May 2025
🥗🍝🥪We recently held a Student Voice session with our catering provider, Chartwells.🍕🥙🍜
These sessions provide a valuable opportunity for students to share their thoughts and feedback directly with the catering team.
Topics discussed included the new menus, food variety and pricing, potential new items, ideas for themed days, and ways to promote healthy eating and allergen awareness.
It was great to hear that many students are choosing healthy options with the desire to see more healthy options on offer such as mini fruit and veg pots and jacket potatoes.
Following feedback from a previous session, we're pleased to share that every menu now includes a vegan option - an improvement from our previous vegetarian-only listings. Students were also reminded that gluten-free and vegan items are available daily, with easy-to-spot stickers for quick identification. Both hot and cold gluten-free options are offered regularly.
We'd also like to remind everyone that:
🍏 Menus & price lists are available in the canteen, on our school website, and will be shared in the weekly bulletin.
🍏 Students can check their balance on their account at the balance checker machines in the canteen and outside student support.
🍏 Pop-up events and themed food days are promoted through the student bulletin, in the canteen, and across our social media channels.
Thank you to all students who took part - your feedback will help shape the catering experience for all students. A big thank you to Chartwells for taking the time to join the session!
#studentvoice #healthyeating #MakeYourMark
MARK Education Trust
Beacon Academy / Published 22 May 2025
We are looking forward to tomorrow's Sponsored Walk!
Students, please keep sharing your fundraising link with as many family and friends as possible!
📣 Thank you so much to everyone that has donated so far! Can you help us to get closer to our £20k fundraising target? All sponsorship is gratefully received, however small.
👉 Head over to our website for a reminder of our expectations and how the day will be https://tinyurl.com/3wdyxt6f
#MakeYourMARK #TeamBeacon #SponsoredWalk MARK Education Trust
Beacon Academy / Published 21 May 2025
Our Year 10 students have been busy practicing their GCSE culinary skills with a focus on filleting mackerel.
After carefully preparing the fish, students pan-fried the fillets and then created delicious mackerel pâté, served with toasted bread or crackers. Filleting fish, along with jointing a chicken, is one of the key higher-level techniques required for the GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition GCSE. These are not only valuable for final Year 11 assessments but are also excellent life skills.
A big thank you to Veasey & Sons Fishmongers Forest Row, for supplying us with top-quality, fresh local produce.
Veasey & Sons Fishmongers Forest Row #MakeYourMark MARK Education Trust
Beacon Academy / Published 21 May 2025
Good luck to Lana who has made it to the finals of West End Calling - a competition for West End Musical Theatre. 🎭🌟🎉
Out of 160 people in the semi final she has made the 60 person final, and is 1 of 20 in her age category.
The final takes place in half term Monday 26th May, we wish Lana all the very best of luck in the final.
See more about the competition on https://www.westendcalling.co.uk/grand-final
MARK Education Trust
Beacon Academy / Published 20 May 2025
👟 Beacon Academy Sponsored Walk – Friday 23 May 2025 🌞
We’re looking forward to our annual 8km Sponsored Walk to raise vital funds for our school and student-nominated charities!
Students and parents — please check your email for a reminder of your personal fundraising link and share it to help reach our goal to support new social spaces, resources and two brilliant local causes: Clued-up.info and Folly Wildlife Rescue. We are so close to our fundraising goal, every donation really makes a difference! 🙌
📅 All the key information, timings, dress code and other arrangements can be found on our website: https://tinyurl.com/3wdyxt6f
Thank you so much for your ongoing support!
#BeaconSponsoredWalk #TeamBeacon #CommunityInAction #MakeYourMARK MARK Education Trust
Beacon Academy / Published 19 May 2025
The Silver Duke of Edinburgh Training expedition at the weekend was amazing!! All the students worked together in their teams to support each other along a route that was a big step up in difficulty for those that completed their Bronze Award last year. The weather held out for them despite a windy start to Thursday morning and we were very lucky to have another sunny expedition for the remainder of it.
The groups remained in high spirits throughout the 3 days, climbing to some of the highest points in the County, but they got to experience some of the most beautiful views we have too.
Our OutSpark colleagues and DofE volunteers were very complimentary of all of our students and they, along with our Beacon Staff team, were impressed with how they conducted themselves over the course of the weekend.
It was an absolute pleasure to have spent 3 days with this brilliant group of Year 10s.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award MARK Education Trust
#DofE #DofESilver #MakeYourMARK #TeamBeacon
Beacon Academy / Published 16 May 2025
Announcing BeaconFest 2025! 📣📣
Thursday 19th June 2025 5pm - 8pm at Beeches main yard.
Our fantastic summer performing arts festival, showcasing impressive performances from our talented Music, Drama and Dance students.
There will be stalls and games, glitter and face painting, a photo booth, a giant inflatables, street food and refreshments (pizza, fish and chips, gourmet burgers and ice creams). We are also delighted to have Chef Ian Brunsdon, MasterChef: The Professionals quarter finalist demonstrating some of his culinary skills live at the event. Plus a raffle with lots of brilliant prizes!
Wristbands and raffle tickets are now available to purchase via ParentPay (www.parentpay.com). Its set to be a brilliant afternoon of entertainment! 🎉🎉
All the key information, timings, and how to get involved can be found on our website; https://tinyurl.com/mu8dhd3d
Please contact events@beacon-academy.org with any queries.
#BeaconFest #TeamBeacon #SummerFun
MARK Education Trust