Baumber

Welcome

Welcome to Baumber base, the "newest" of our three bases. We moved into this former Primary school in 2020 after several years covering the east of Lincolnshire from Mablethorpe and, more recently, Louth. Located close to the main Lincoln – Horncastle road and approximately 4 miles north-west of the latter, Baumber base is tucked away in this small residential village near to the local church. Like the other two bases, we offer a variety of teaching curriculums, from KS3 to Year 11, including GCSEs, Functional Skills, Entry Level Certificates and Vocational Studies.

What to expect

Although this ex-Primary school is visible from the road, the main car park and the current reception/entrance are tucked behind the building with the access route making it feel like you are on the adjoining house’s drive!

Once you go through the entrance, you are greeted by the reception team and there is an SLT office and a board which displays staff who are present, including our resident tortoise, Dwayne, and our school dog, Otto, who travels around all three Pilgrim bases. There is also a visual calendar to make students aware of any events, talks, or holidays within that month, and a revolving display of photos from many of our recent events.

A little further into the building is the library; a generally quiet space with sofas and plenty of reading material. Through the double doors is the main KS4 classroom and the Practical room, which is mainly used for Art and Science. There is also the Pastoral Support room where students are encouraged to check in with their PSWS if they require help or just need time to talk. We also have the "Cupboard Under The Stairs", a small break-out room with a doodle board which can be accessed for short periods, or for private meetings. On the other side of the next door is the KS3 room, also known affectionately as the "Goldfish Bowl".

Along the next corridor you'll find the toilets and, at the end of this corridor, we also have a large kitchen which is used for cookery lessons, music, or, obviously, sport(!). As you can probably imagine, rooms are at a premium here with our current curriculum offer! Lunches are also prepared in the kitchen, although students can consume these anywhere in the building.

We have two outdoors areas; one by the kitchen which can be used to grow vegetables, and a larger, more sociable area at the front consisting of seating areas, a playground, canopies and a separate sports field.

On a typical day, we have around half a dozen teaching staff, two support staff, two PSWS and two admin staff. The teaching staff travel around all three bases so faces vary from day to day but our support and admin staff remain the same daily.

On Fridays, we have Baumbercue, where students can help staff to prepare lunch for other staff and students. When the weather allows, it can be a barbecue (hence the name), and we can provide vegetarian or gluten-free options as well.

We currently offer LGBTQ+ club on a Wednesday – but if pupils have suggestions for new clubs, please let us know!

Wednesday is also our WOW afternoon, offering trips out, craft activities and social occasions, sometimes just involving Baumber but occasionally mixing with the other bases. It is also our regular slot for careers and post-16 advice and visits, mainly targeting our Year 11s.

The combined Baumber/Lincoln team are also the current Pilgrim football champions; an annual event which this year will be expanded into a larger sporting events afternoon for all.