EDUCAT ION
Going the extra mile LOCAL SCHOOLS DISCUSS HOW EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES CAN HELP SHAPE RESILIENT, WELL-ROUNDED PUPILS – AND SET THEM UP FOR FUTURE SUCCESS
WORDS BY CHARLOTTE PHILLIPS
competitions, sports fixtures and community service.
f your mental images of school life revolve around static classroom scenes, it may be time for a reboot. Because while there’s
It’s these aspects of education that can forge the most enduring memories. Ask adults what made the biggest impression on them at school, and they’re likely to recall the triumphs and tribulations of sports matches or drama productions, ahead of academic success. “What mattered was their interaction with one another, often thwarting the teachers’ expectations of acceptable behaviour while away from home and school,” confirms Dr Gareth Lloyd, principal of Stoke College. “It is through the co-curriculum that children truly grow: developing personalities alongside skills, in addition to their academic development and achievements.” That’s as it should be, says Richard Morgan, assistant head at The Perse, because it’s in these areas that pupils will
plenty of traditional learning going on in our area’s schools, it’s coupled with a richness of mind-expanding, eye- opening opportunities that don’t just add knowledge (pretty much a given), but also offer new ways of being and thinking, capable of shaping the way that pupils’ lives will evolve in the future. The heart of education remains, of course, the curriculum – broadly speaking, all the subjects that feature on the timetable, with a particular emphasis on core academic areas. But that’s just the start of the learning experience. In addition, there are the co-curricular or extra-curricular activities, covering everything from after-school clubs and drama productions to debating
82 SEPTEMBER 2021 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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