Co-Curricular

Co-Curricular Activities 2009

Alongside the academic curriculum there is a wide variety of opportunities for pupils to pursue additional activities which contribute enormously to their development.

Health and fitness are tackled with the regular PE and games lessons. Team work and leadership skills are picked up during the numerous fixtures against other schools in both friendly matches and local tournaments.

Every Friday afternoon the Senior School take part in a Community Service programme which gives the pupils the opportunity to contribute to the School or the local community in a variety of ways. A gardening and conservation group work on their own garden and the School grounds; a craft group make gifts to sell for charity; our Cadets are attached to Buckinghamshire ACF and can be found learning the intricacies of drill, doing team challenge activities, or preparing for activity weekends off site. Some pupils coach our younger pupils games, others help as classroom assistants or reading mentors in the Primary School. One group do performing arts, whilst another go to Oakhill Secure Training Centre and work with the trainees on reading projects, in the PE department and the health and beauty department. Through all these activities the pupils put something back into the community and they learn vital lessons about team-working and leadership.

In the Primary School many visitors enrich the school curriculum. Studies are brought to life: through touring theatre groups, local charity representatives who promote community service amongst the younger pupils and family members of other cultures who share their experiences. Children participate in hands-on experiences through visits by living history experts, and the local police support Year 6 cross curricular studies in communication.  Each Primary School year group enjoys a cross curricular week developing a particular theme from Shoes to Tudors, Bears to Fairy Tales, for example, utilizing local facilities and expertise, promoting thinking outside the box and exploring individual lines of enquiry.  Our children compete in the local Music Festival and took part in the recently introduced MK Schools’ Prom. Not only do they perform locally, but also nationally:  they have participated in the Royal Albert Hall’s Schools’ Prom and this year will be taking part in the Christmas Event at the O2 Arena.

During the School day pupils can learn musical instruments or singing with our team of peripatetic music teachers and take their grade exams; those of a more dramatic bent can take LAMDA lessons and later on take exams.  Concerts and plays in front of live audiences allow the pupils to show off their skills to parents, friends, and peers.

Outside lesson time there are clubs and other activities to enjoy. Gymnastics, climbing and trampolining are popular, so too is Karate. Engineering Club is a new addition to our repertoire and it is popular with children of a variety of ages.

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is a major feature of our co-curricular programme and has a long history of success in the School. Every year we prepare pupils for the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards and the pupils who participate in the scheme benefit enormously from the challenges it poses. For the pupils the expedition is often the highlight of the Award, at whatever level, and in recent times our pupils have walked and camped in New Zealand, Ireland, The Isle of Skye, the Peak District, the Brecon Beacons and Dartmoor.

Academic departments organise days out and residential trips to compliment courses and to broaden pupils’ horizons. Theatre visits, lecture days, walks in the local woods, and visits to other local sites routinely feature in the life of the School. In the last 12 months Geographers have done fieldwork in Wales, a group of Historians and English specialists visited the Ypres battlefields, a mixed group toured the galleries and museums of Amsterdam and primary pupils have enjoyed an adventure packed activity weekend on the Isle of Wight.