Schools in the Spotlight: Beech School, Golcar

Mar 10 2009 Huddersfield Daily Examiner

Schools in the Spotlight: Beech School, Golcar

A GLOBAL education is provided for children at Beech School in Golcar.

Described as “a family not an institution” this friendly community extends the hand of friendship across the world.

Through the British Council’s Comenius project, children have friends in Poland, Hungary, Germany and Spain and the opportunity to visit them.

And the school also has strong links with the Kibuye Primary School in Kampala, Uganda.

The links form an important focus throughout the school curriculum with children learning about the geography, traditional foods, songs and dances and composers the countries the school has joined forces with.

As well as being global citizens, children at Beech School are encouraged to be responsible citizens within their own school community.

Headteacher Jenny Hume said: “It is a strong focus within my philosophy in school that I want the children to be an active part of the community and that everyone should give to as well as take from the environment in which they are. Every child has a job to do in school from sharpening pencils to filling water bottles, from litterpicking to clearing away after lunch.

“In this way, the children learn to function as constructive members of our schools society.”

Children at Beech have the opportunity to take part in a huge range of clubs. The whole school is “off timetable” on Wednesday afternoon to give them the opportunity to develop new skills outside the classroom.

Film making, photography, ICT, gardening and walking are among those on offer and the school also has a successful gospel choir.

Children take part in a variety of inter school sports competitions with successes recently being achieved in gymnastics.