27th September 2024
HEADLINES
By Mrs Bansropun Assistant Headteacher
EXTRA-CURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: WHY MAKE THE EFFORT? I don’t know about you, but the most memorable parts of school for me were what people call the ‘extra-curricular stuff’ which essentially means ‘the stuff that goes on outside the classroom’. It was the trips I’d go on and the clubs I’d attend that really made school come alive for me! I vividly remember the moment I saw the ordered rows of white war graves in Belgium; every single headstone denoting a life sacrificed in the Great War. I remember truly understanding the scale of the hecatomb my teacher had explained to me back in the classroom. History in that moment felt important to me, something that I felt compelled to study and learn more about - and that feeling stuck – a core memory was created. It was the same with the clubs I joined. First it was a drama club at lunch time, then netball after school, then I attended dance club, rounders in the summer months, and my absolute favourite: rehearsing for the big school musical. Being part of these clubs gave me a reason to attend school every day; it was why I got out of bed in the morning – because I knew that part of my day would be spent doing something I loved. The Social Mobility Commission published a report entitled, ‘Extra-Curricular Activities, Soft Skills and Social Mobility’ which looked specifically into the importance of extra-curricular activities in schools and their findings were extremely interesting. They noted that: •
‘...activities give young people the confidence to interact socially with others, extend their social
networks beyond existing friendship groups, and provide them with new skills and abilities. Some also perceive them as important for their longterm career aspirations as well as useful in building stronger university and job applications. •
‘Above all, young people see extracurricular activities as a chance to have fun, unwind and relieve the stresses of their increasingly pressured school lives.’
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‘...extra-curricular activities - specifically music classes and playing a wide range of sports – are important in predicting intentions to remain in education after compulsory schooling’
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‘...strong evidence of a link between extracurricular activities and educational outcomes as well as other positive outcomes, such as soft (especially social) skills.’
As you can see, there are a plethora of reasons as to why we should make the effort in promoting extracurricular activities. I am sure we can agree that there has been a notable decline of social and interpersonal skills in our society as a direct result of developments in technology, and this, coupled with the increase of mental ill-health in our youngsters, already presents hurdles that they need support in overcoming. As the report mentions, clubs and other enrichment opportunities could be the antidote to these barriers faced by children today. A sports club teaches children how to collaborate and communicate, chess club helps them to think strategically and lose gracefully, a boxing class helps them to develop their discipline and harness their emotions effectively; clubs provide endless opportunities for growth and development outside of the classroom, but our youngsters need