Most activities will begin on the week beginning Monday 10 January though some activities will not start until the following week, 17 January. Enrolment will take place by completion of the activities selection sheet to be returned please by Friday 10 December.
Chargeable activities require the completion of a consent form which should be returned to school together with a cheque for the appropriate amount — cheques should be made payable to ‘Claires Court Schools Limited’. Consent forms will be issued to pupils when the activity lists are published.
PLEASE DO NOT SEND CHEQUES WITH YOUR SELECTION SHEETS.
Many boys try to take on too many activities and homework and ‘home life’ can suffer. Whilst every situation is different, with some boys doing no activities or often only one, it is usually recommended that boys in Years 2, 3 and 4 take on no more than two activities and boys in Years 5 and 6 do no more than 3 per week. (Please note, however, that study or homework club do not count as activities when doing this reckoning)
This will be run by our own qualified archery instructor, Mr Leuzinger. Following Archery GB’s ‘Rules of Shooting’ the boys will be introduced to the basic equipment, technique, rules and etiquette of the sport. Great emphasis is placed on safety throughout the sessions and the boys are expected to comply with this. There will be a charge of £20 for the term and boys who are interested will need to collect a letter with a consent form from Mrs Nott at the beginning of the term.
Art Club offers an opportunity to explore different media and ideas. Boys often complete projects they have brought to the sessions. However, lesson plans are provided each week covering a wide range of art disciplines.
We are fortunate in having two volunteers to come into school and teach the boys in years 4,5&6 how to play bridge as an after school activity. The playing of bridge provides training in the key management skill of deduction from incomplete information as well as developing the social skills for building teams and partnerships. The children will have the chance to acquire a skill which will last throughout their lives. Later on when the pupils have become more proficient they will be able to take part in Pro–Am competitions where each child benefits from having a local club expert player as a partner.
Boys are taught the basic moves and how to spot checkmate by our visiting teacher, Nigel Dennis. They play games for house points.
Boys are taught how to record their moves and read chess notation. They spot checkmate and play games for house points.
Cookery Club involves making a selection of sweet and savour dishes to enjoy at home. You will learn about healthy eating habits, food hygiene and a range of culinary skills. (Occasionally we sample as we cook!).
This activity is for selected pupils and will be run by artist–in–residence Frances Ackland–Snow. It is aimed at stretching and challenging the older pupils in the school. There will be a charge for this activity of £40.00 for the term.
This will take place in the Ridgeway Sports’ Hall and numbers for this clearly need to be restricted. Invariably we are over–subscribed and when this happens we usually divide the boys into smaller groups and give them half a term of the activity for each group. Please only choose this activity if you are really keen to take part.
A taster of different run training techniques (Kenyan hills, threshold, Indian running and recovery runs), guaranteed to improve fitness for other sports, as well as 2–3 mile group runs. All abilities welcome. Be prepared to get muddy and explore the local woods and surrounding fields.
The Film Club provides an opportunity for pupils to develop their skills as cameramen, actors, directors, writers and editors. Each term we aim to produce a short play which will be filmed. This will comprise all the boys’ ideas — with a little guidance! There will be a cost of £40.00 for the term which includes tuition and use of equipment.
The Film Club provides an opportunity for pupils to develop their skills as cameramen, directors and editors. Each term we aim to produce a short film based on the boys’ ideas — with a little guidance! There will be a cost of £40.00 for the term which includes tuition and use of equipment.
In order to offer a football activity to the boys in years 2 and 3, we have arranged for a professional coach to come into school, whom we will work alongside. There will be a cost for this of £40.00 per head for the term. Those signing up for this will need to complete a separate consent form, available at the start of the term.
This activity is open to all boys in the given year group. The sessions will be largely aimed at developing skills, but games will be played as well.
The children will be given the opportunity to learn chess or do I.T. for half of the term and do the alternative activity for the remainder of the term. In I.T. we will use a paint programme to promote fine control of the mouse, using a programme to help the boys learn to word process and other programmes and websites to support their learning and enjoyment. The basic moves of chess will be taught and how to spot check mate.
Tuesdays Year 2,3,4,5&6 at Ridgeway and Wednesdays Years 3,4,5,6 at The College. It is essential that boys taking up this activity should return a completed consent form before they can take part. This will be issued at the start of Term and must be returned to Mrs Nott by Monday 10 January.
This will be a half hour Karate session for Yr1 boys on Fridays with pick up at 4.00pm. This is open to all boys whether or not they have any previous experience in the sport. There will be a charge of £40.00 for the term.
There will be a half hour Karate session for Yr2 boys on Fridays with pick up at 4.30pm. This is open to all boys whether or not they have any previous experience in the sport. There will be a charge of £40.00 for the term.
This will take place in the Sports’ Hall on Fridays from 4.30–5.30pm and will be taken by Mrs D Richards, a fully qualified and licenced Martial Arts Instructor. Boys interested in taking part will need to get appropriate letters from Mrs Nott and these must be signed by parents and returned before the first session. The fee for the term will be £80, plus a charge of £20 for a licence for any boys taking up this activity for the first time. Please note there are no late buses on a Friday so all boys will need to be picked up at 5.30pm.
Fun filled activities to promote enthusiasm for maths, including competitions for tables and number bonds, practical maths and interactive activities using the computer.
This is a highly structured ‘board games’ based activity in which children not only have fun, but learn ‘co–operation, teamwork, role clarity, strategy and tactics’. In doing so, they develop ‘key social, emotional and thinking skills’. Outside teachers, trained in the use of MindLab games, come into school. Further information, including the costs, will be given to boys who are interested in this activity.
This is open to all Junior prep boys. They will need a suitable model to construct (i.e. Airfix, Lego, Meccano, wood etc).
This activity is for selected pupils who will be rehearsing for a concert that they will give at the end of term.
This will be a half an hour swimming lesson given by the swimming coach, Mrs Lyons. There will be a charge of £50.00 for a 10 week term. Pupils wishing to take up this activity should return the completed consent form before they can take part. This will be issued at the start of term and must be returned to Mrs Nott by Monday 10 January.
Skills are practised and a variety of games are played with the emphasis on enjoyment. Open to all boys across the ability range, though restrictions on space mean that numbers involved need to be limited.
*Fee involved and consent letters to be completed at the beginning of the term.