Independence, resourcefulness, commitment and a sense of responsibility – these are the just some of the qualities which pupils who complete their Duke of Edinburgh Award demonstrate. The Award Scheme comprises four sections: volunteering, physical, skills and expeditions, each enabling pupils to develop different aspects of their characters.
Volunteering resonates with the sense of community that is present within the School and many pupils select activities that enable them to integrate with their local environment and bring a real benefit to individuals.
The physical section is either done through team games and sports, or individual activities. It allows the pupils to develop interests outside the classroom either through team sports such as cricket, rugby or hockey or to pursue an individual physical activity, such as improving personal fitness or archery.
In the skills section, there are links with the enrichment programme and many pupils will take the opportunity to learn something new such as bridge, knitting, vehicle maintenance or cooking.
The expedition section takes pupils out of their comfort zone, both by camping and cooking outdoors and by removing the adult, giving them the responsibility of where to go and how to get there. They learn how to plan and organise the expedition as well as how to be self-sufficient, especially when away from their creature comforts.
All the sections require the pupils to involve themselves, both as team members and team leaders, and learn and understand new facets of their characters. The skills they learn and experiences they have help shape them into the well-rounded, confident person with self-belief and a real awareness of their strengths which epitomises a King’s School student.
These weekly one-hour master classes are open to all senior school students. Classes attract an average of twelve students per week, the majority from Years 10 and 11 – but with interest from Years 8 and 9 students also. One group is designed to extend more gifted students, focussing on the more challenging GCSE topics.
The other class is designed to build confidence and to strengthen the understanding of students wishing to consolidate and strengthen their knowledge of mathematical concepts.
Throughout the year, depending on weather, the P.E. department organises a variety of after school sporting clubs. Details for all of these are communicated via the Friday News email.
The Music and Drama Departments regularly organise a range of extra-curricular opportunities for children to participate in various activities including school productions and national events. This year they have included Rock Challenge, Young Voices, The Southampton Music Festival and a school production of The Man who Was Magic. See our related news blogs for more information.
This year, Science Club runs every other Tuesday lunch time, for students who had an interest in exploring Science at a deeper level. This class is great for student who want to engage in Science activities outside of the curriculum. See our related news blog to see what our students were up to this year!