Many readers will reminisce fondly about a school club, activity or society that they pursued in their ‘free time’ at school. For others, a school outing or residential may have made a lasting impression. These days, these ‘extracurricular activities’ are more valued than ever (especially in brilliant schools like Arnold House). Now, we term everything that school offers outside of timetabled lessons as the ‘Co-Curricular Programme’. The subtle rebrand reflects the fact that Arnold House’s varied, broad and exciting programme is not only an addition to the curriculum but complementary to it too.
A key element of Arnold House’s Co-Curricular offering is the wide-ranging programme of optional clubs and activities that our boys can participate in weekly. A unique aspect of AH is the culture of all staff offering a club or activity. Given that our staff body is a talented crew, there’s a rich variety of sessions on offer. Recently, AH has developed partnerships with external providers, which broadens our offering further. A look at the clubs and activities on a Google sign-up form shows that a whopping 53 unique clubs are available this term. Arnold House really does offer an A-Z of clubs: AFL (Aussie Rules Football) to Zoology! With a kaleidoscope of clubs such as the Greek Gods Society, Cookery Club, Global Location League, Mindfulness Colouring Club, Dodgeball, Touch Typing and Technical Theatre giving a glimpse of the rich variety available in between!
Some of the external club providers offer school holiday time clubs too and boys are able to enroll in these directly. In the past, holiday clubs for sport, touch typing, drama and art have been popular.
Trips and visits are another important aspect of the Co-Curricular Programme. I’m reminded of how beneficial they are whenever a year group arrives at school on the morning of their day out. The children have a spring in their step, discussions about the contents of their packed lunch box and what they will buy in the gift shop abound. Of course, Arnold House excursions are not just great fun, they are linked to the curriculum. Like the new railway advert reminds us: ‘Nothing beats being there’; seeing a museum, exhibit or workshop in the flesh brings a topic to life, allowing consolidation of past work or creating excitement for a new area of study. This term, AH has had lots of chances to ‘Be there’. Every section of the school is considered when offering trips and workshops.
From Year 4, we start adding residential trips into the mix. For many Y4 boys, the Summer term camping trip is their first night away from home. The familiar and welcoming surroundings of Canons Park, which is our venue, provides a brilliant place for the class sleepover. The fact that tents are ready assembled; a fireside bedtime story is delivered by the Head; a legion of supervising teachers are in attendance; and a full English breakfast is available at day-break gives this one, VIP glamping vibes.
The Year 5s will spend 3 nights away; their focus is on ‘Teamwork’ and the venue is Okehampton in Devon. Staying in the Manor House Hotel, ‘the UK’s only sport, craft, spa and golf resort’, the boys are very well catered for. In addition to onsite activities like paddle tennis, ten-pin bowling, ice skating, archery, adventure golf and T-shirt printing, we also tap into the expertise of a local Outdoor Pursuits provider: Okehampton Adventure, who arrange our teamwork activities. These include gorge scrambling, raft building, abseiling and high ropes. Returning to the same venue at the same time, Year 6 focuses on ‘Leadership and Adventure’. The first adventure is for Year 6 to use the train (accompanied by teachers) to get to Devon! Year 6s have the opportunity to mountain bike, surf (at Bude), try wake-boarding and also hone their leadership skills with a variety of team challenges.
Year 7 spend 2 nights in Dorset during their Geography Field trip which focuses on the processes at play that shape the Jurassic Coastline. The Year 7 Classics trip in the Spring Term to Naples is also a highlight.
Year 8 has 3 compulsory term time trips. The first is a French immersion week in Burgundy. The second is a Sport (hockey and rugby) and Cultural Tour to Belfast and the last Arnold House trip for our boys is the Battlefields trip in their final term. If boys get the residential bug, they can sign up for optional trips. Last year there were several on offer including: the AH Ski Trip to Murren in Switzerland; the Year 6 A football team tour to St George’s Park, Burton; the riding tour to Dorset and the Year 5-8 Science trip to Iceland.
Chris Kerr
Director of Co-Curricular, Director of Sport