Clubs, Trips and Residentials: the intent

The intent of our extra curricular offer in the form of clubs, trips and residentials is to allow our students to be given opportunities outside of the curriculum and experiences in the wider world, outside of the classroom, granting them a plethora of opportunities and skills they can use in the future.  Our wide range builds leadership, communication, teamwork and competitive skills alongside allowing pupils to improve their health, become leaders for younger pupils and experience opportunities they may not see in the classroom. Our trip offer allows pupils to experience things they may not otherwise have been able to and also continues to motivate them to be scholars in their subjects. This is further built upon with our residential trips that builds a sense of independence amongst pupils who will spend up to a week away from home with their teammates in areas or countries they may not have visited, having the opportunities to visit various universities and expose our students to culture capital giving them the chance to experience a diverse range of cultures, education settings and careers.

In essence, our clubs trips and residential programme serves to build character in the 4 main areas of intent, building upon the programme already on offer.

 

Clubs

All students are offered a wide range of different and enriching clubs after school. We offer clubs from all areas of teacher expertise to enrich the experiences of our students beyond the classroom. Many of our clubs include an aspect of competitive nature, particularly the sports clubs, allowing pupils to meet, and compete against students from other schools. Many of the clubs also expose the students to careers or skills they may not have experienced within the classroom such as the mock trial competition in which pupils compete against others in a mock law court case. All our clubs are free except for martial arts clubs which are offered by a local external company. This is a purposeful decision to make sure all of our pupils have access to all of these enriching opportunities.

 

Trips

It is important that pupils are exposed to opportunities to see their classroom learning in the real world. As such, we try to provide all pupils with a trip related to their learning in each subject over the academic year.  Many of our trips link directly to pupil learning, for example in Year 1, the pupils learn about Seasons and our trip to Kew Gardens in the Autumn term enriches this learning, by contextualising it in a real life experience of seasonal change. Some of our trips have been planned to expose our students to cultural capital. The trip to a West-End musical production in Year 4 ensures that pupils have been exposed to different career paths and/or a passion for theatre and the arts more generally. 

 

Residentials

Residentials are a core component of our extra-curricular offer and something we emphasise the importance of during all home visits when pupils join Reach Academy. Students begin taking part in residentials from Year 3, which is when it feels developmentally appropriate to spend time away from home. Residentials offer an enriching opportunity for pupils to encounter experiences they may not have had the chance to do before. Our residentials aim to improve pupils' independence with prolonged periods away from home, visit places they may not have visited before, enrich our curriculum with opportunities related to their studies and experience post-16 institutions to inform their future choices. By taking part in all of our residentials pupils will have had the opportunity to engage in social actions projects, visit at least 2 different countries, see a variety of different universities and all have achieved the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. Such experiences grant the skills important for their future success and making informed decisions about their futures. Our residential offer includes:

 

  • Year 3 - Overnight Camp on the School Farm (1 day)
  • Year 4 - Ferny Crofts (3 days)
  • Year 5 - Isle of Wight (3 days)
  • Year 6 - Jamie’s Farm (4 days)
  • Year 7 - Oxbridge Residential (4-5 days)
  • Year 8 - France (3 days)
  • Year 9 - Duke of Edinburgh and Community Action Day (5 days)
  • Year 10 - Bristol/York Residential (5 days)
  • Year 11 - Holyport Easter Revision Residential (4-5 days)
  • Year 13 - Berlin Residential (3 days)

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

All pupils are given an opportunity to complete their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh award in Year 9. We support them to complete each of the four sections: Volunteering, Physical, Skill and an overnight expedition. We believe through the experiences that pupils have had provided to them via their clubs, trips and residentials; pupils are able to complete each section through an endeavour and stride to seek new opportunities. The DofE award allows them to show employers, colleges/universities and themselves the value of education beyond the classroom. Pupils are also given the optional opportunity to complete their Silver and Gold awards in Y10-13. Part of the Duke of Edinburgh week also involves time for Community Action. Pupils select a local charity or organisation to volunteer with for the day and can link to the charities selected by the student leadership group or First Give scheme. Pupils are taught the value of giving back to the community during these days and have included working in a care home, helping the community pack bags at a local supermarket and volunteering at a local special needs school.