School Activities And Clubs
Are there activities that appeal to all different sorts of students?
Within the Oxted school, and in any school, there are a wide variety of activities that appeal to all of students needs and wants, and the main reason for that is that extracurricular activities are voluntary, and therefore they only run if there is demand from the students. Within Oxted, if there are a group of students that want to take part in any club we will try to set it up for them. Recently there was a group of students who were really interested in design and technology. Now, every lunchtime, the workshops are open, there's a member of staff there supervising and they can make and do whatever they want (within reason) that meets their interests. So in terms of appealing to a range of interests, yes, extracurricular activies should, because a school should be demand led rather than deciding what clubs it's going to run.
Are extracurricular activities adaptable?
Extracurricular activities are adaptable. They are voluntary, that's the main reason why. If a student is there, it's because they want to be there. So, if they've gotten an appointment or they've got somewhere else to be, they don't have to attend. If the night needs to change, or the time at which that event is happening needs to change, that is fine because it is run by the students although there might be a teacher there giving ideas and supervising. If the students can decide amongst themselves what they want to happen, that should happen within reason which obviously teaches them about commitments.
How many extracurricular activities can a student get involved in?
A student can get involved in as many activities as they have time for. Often, there are clashes, because the extracurricular activities will take place when whoever is running it has got time. If netball and drama are happening on Monday, I'm afraid you've got to choose one activity or the other. The other side to look at is, is it having an impact on a student's academic performance? I think there's a really strong case for saying that extracurricular activities impact in a positive way on academic performance. However, obviously, if you're doing too much and you're getting tired, you're not having time to do your homework or recuperate, and this will have a detrimental affect.
Can students start their own clubs?
Students can start their own clubs within reason. The activities are demand led. They're voluntary for the students, therefore, if a group of students want a club to start, then certainly at Oxted we will try our hardest to make sure that happens. But obviously, we do need teacher supervision. It might be demand led, but certainly a teacher needs to be around somewhere to supervise, and therefore you've got the problems of other committments and time factors that can impact on certain clubs. However, if you look at the range of clubs, there is in the region of nearly a hundred clubs that run within Oxted. Everything that the students want to set up, in the vast majority of cases, we've been able to set up and run either with sixthformers or teachers.
Can teachers start their own clubs?
Teachers can certainly set up clubs for students to participate in. However, because extracurricular activities are voluntary, in no way are they compulsary. Therefore, if that teacher sets up the club and there's no demand, it won't continue. So, certainly teachers put forward ideas, and often they will come from listening in class and knowing what a group of students interests are or hearing "I really wish that this was available". In which case that member of staff might set it up and see how big demand is within the school. I can think of a couple of examples where it's been set up, 10 or 15 students have come along for a couple of weeks and then it's wained and that club's disappeared. So, yes teachers can set up their own clubs, but it's up to the students whether that club continues.
What does starting your own club involve?
Starting your own extracurricular club, from a students point of view, involves finding out how many other people are interested in what you're interested in. So, we already have this club within Oxted, but say, there wasn't a basketball club within the school that you're at. You would need to ask around, find out how many other students would want to come along to a basketball club, work out when a convenient time would be to have that club run and make sure that the facilities are available. Then, you need to find a member of staff who's willing to run it, and make sure that member of staff has got the correct qualifications such as first aid and basic basketball knowledge.
What are breakfast clubs?
Breakfast clubs are clubs, groups, societies, or activities that happen before the school day starts. They are mainly set up for students who have to come in to school because their parents go to work early, or because transport doesn't run any later, or maybe even because of the rush hour traffic, and often are based around ensuring that there is food available to make sure the students are getting the nutrition that they need for the school day.
What are lunchtime clubs?
Lunchtime clubs are any clubs, groups or societies, that run during the school lunch time. So for here, in Oxted school, our lunch hour is from 12:35 through to 1:25, and there are a massive range of clubs; everything from design and technology to sports and clubs that run at that time. The students have to be very quick, if they need to get somewhere and get changed, and they only get a good 40 minutes of activity and then a quick snack and then back into lessons. Lunchtime clubs are really a good way of getting a good amount of time with the students, because they can eat their lunch at break time and then spend all of the lunch time on their activity.
What are homework clubs?
Homework clubs run after school, and they tend to be for subjects that students find hard, so we have a maths homework club, and that way there can be a teacher always on hand for the students to ask questions of. Or, they can be when a specialist equipment is required, so that might be design and technology; it might be art, or often here, it's ITT - computer facilities. Most of our students have computers at home, so some homeworks will be computer based:- 'Research this on the internet', 'Create this on Publisher', and therefore we do need to provide those facilities after school for those students who haven't got them at home, and that's the reason clubs like that run.
