This Michaelmas Term has seen our Junior School Co Curricular programme bounce back with a vengeance as a host of new and exciting clubs have launched that can be run in person at last!
With over 80 Autumnal amusements to choose from dotted across the week before school, during lunch break or after school, there’s sure to be a club and time to suit everyone’s taste. We’ve divided our activities into four categories: Music, Creative, Academic and Sport, but there are some niche and specialist opportunities to suit a wide range of personality types and skill sets!
Table Tennis Club
Mr Matt Anderson, Assistant Principal (Community Partnership) says: “The wide range of clubs and activities on offer is something the Junior School takes pride in. Whether a child wants to skateboard, play chess, build confidence in self-defence, or run around the Heath, there is something for everyone.”
The Importance of self care and self awareness
Our Co Curricular clubs and activities aim to develop independence and help children find new friendship groups through shared interests. Mr Anderson launched the highly subscribed Self Defence Club this term and says “The Club was actually suggested by a parent, and we decided it was a great idea, especially in the Junior School, to help pupils build confidence. An advantage of being a large school is the high number of clubs and activities we can run each week. It is important that the children are given opportunities to develop their interests and skills outside of the classroom.”
DTE Club
Charlotte, Year 6, says “I’ve really enjoyed taking part in Self Defence Club this term. You learn skills and we can apply them in real life. Also the teacher is really nice so it is a fun club to be part of.”
Self Defence Club
We also have ‘Let’s Talk About…’ and ‘Thinking Club’, both of which are hosted as drop-in activities. Year 6 Teacher Miss Nicole Sawdaye and KS2 Teacher Ms Maddi Power host these, in which the pupils have time and space to reflect on anything happening in their world, either inside or outside of school. It gives them a chance to express their thoughts in a safe environment and feel heard.
Miss Sawdaye says “Let’s Talk About… has been aimed at giving the children a safe and open forum to discuss topical issues, such as navigating social media safely, body image and gender inequality in sport. It’s been a really positive venture that has given the children the freedom to discuss and debate in a more relaxed setting, and has been useful for staff to gain more insight into the differing opinions of our children.”
Inspiring critical and creative thinking
For pupils who love writing stories, are born inventors or are compelled by solving problems, we have exciting creative outlets such as DTE Club, Coding Club and Da Vinci Society. Year 4 pupil Shiv says how much he enjoys Coding Club: “It’s really fun because I love using Scratch. There is a lot of help and we are able to make exciting games with our coding” and Year 5 Barney loves Chess, saying: “It’s great to be in Chess Club. The teacher explains the rules and techniques clearly and stays calm. He is really experienced so he knows what mistakes we might make and teaches us what to do.”
If playing sports, watching sports and talking sports is a hot topic for your child, we have the popular Sports Journalism Club for pupils to investigate their favourite activity. If expanding on vocabulary and languages is of interest, there is Beginners’ Russian, Spanish, Advanced French and even Literary Society!
Origami Club
That’s before we cover musical pursuits; pupils can take part in myriad ensembles and choirs or choose to learn instruments ranging from recorder to guitar and everything in between!
Zebedee versus zen
If competitive sport and acrotrix (a type of acrobatic gymnastics) seems a little too frenetic, or you’d just like to blend Skateboarding, Gymnastics Club and Swimming Squad with a more mindful and calming pursuit, we have Pilates, Lego and Origami to choose from.
Skateboarding Club
Our Pilates teacher, Ms Rachel Wormsley, says “Pilates has been a really popular club this term. Children in Years 5 and 6 have benefitted from learning how to stretch and relax, whilst also improving their core strength. I’ve really enjoyed hearing how the children have applied the skills learned in Pilates Club to their daily lives, feeling stronger, calmer and less stressed.”
Pilates
