Enrichment
The school seeks to enrich the learning of our students in many different ways. The range of educational visits is genuinely exceptional. During the academic year 2008/09, students had the opportunity to travel around the globe to venues ranging from Russia to Utah and Barcelona to Berlin.
In Year 9, the whole year group spends a week away from Challoner’s taking part in a wide range of activities designed to contribute to their personal development. Students are able to go trekking in the Atlas Mountains, enjoy an ‘Adrenaline Extra’ trip to the Alps, undertaking climbing, abseiling and kayaking, or attend Sailing courses at the United Kingdom Sailing Academy.
The school now arranges an Enrichment Day each term to provide an opportunity for students to explore different ways of learning outside the classroom. With the freedom of a whole day off-timetable, ideas and themes can be explored in depth, outside agencies can be brought in to provide quality support and students can work in less formal groupings such as across year-groups. All these changes lead to a real can-do attitude and give the students opportunities to demonstrate different skills and to learn from others. The whole concept meshes in with our drive as a school to allow students to develop their learning habits.
These days are not necessarily about learning new information but about exploring different ways to learn and to exercise and build on these. Examples from previous days include: presenting popular daytime quiz shows in Spanish, an American Sports’ Day Challenge and team building activities for new students.
During a recent Enrichment Day, students undertook the following activities ...
Year 7 learnt about the culture and history of China through music, language, art and food. The day culminated in a Chinese Dragon Dance.
Year 8 undertook a project entitled “Our World in 2050” which will see them exploring issues likely to cause significant infrastructure problems in the future in conjunction with the Institute of Mechanical Engineers.
Year 9 linked up with schools in Ghana and Trinidad to learn about the history and impact of slavery in both countries.
Year 10 learnt the skills of video production and advertisement design.
Year 11 had time to consider revision and the forthcoming examination season.
Year 12 undertook a treasure hunt in London, exploring its history and national museum and library collections.
Year 13 had their own mini sports day.
Sixth Form Enrichment Programme
A student’s time in the Sixth Form should be characterised by an increased depth of academic learning and a broadening of interests and appreciation of the wider world. To this end we offer a range of enrichment activities in the Sixth Form. All students have the opportunity to pursue an A level qualification in General Studies, which includes a weekly lecture for all students in year 13. Introductory courses in Russian and Chinese are popular, and courses in Accountancy, Cookery and iMedia have also been successful. This programme is constantly evolving, and we hope to add new activities to this list in the future.