Yorkshire Teachers Share the Benefits of Co-Curricular Activities
Staff and students at some of Yorkshire's leading schools share the benefits of their co-curricular and extra-curricular activities
When choosing a school for your child it’s important to consider the range of extra-curricular activities on offer. ‘These activities do more than just fill time outside the classroom; they play a vital role in shaping well-rounded individuals,’ explains Carole Cameron, head at Queen Mary's School. ‘Our extra-curricular programme is designed to develop emotional, intellectual, social, creative, and physical skills. With over 100 activities on offer each week, including riding, debating, dance, sport and outdoor adventure like onsite canoeing and climbing, we offer something for everyone.
‘Extra-curricular activities at Queen Mary’s prepare pupils for future success by enhancing physical and emotional wellbeing, building resilience, and helping them to learn valuable skills. Whether it’s through teamwork, problem-solving or creative expression, these experiences prepare young people for further education and life beyond school. They also foster compassion and social responsibility, empowering pupils to make a positive impact in their communities and the wider world, aligning with the school’s ethos. At Queen Mary’s, we recognise the needs of busy families. Our flexible programme ensures that all the activities take place in one safe environment. With opportunities ranging from music and dance to outdoor adventures, children can pursue their passions and grow into confident, well-prepared individuals.’
Queen Mary’s riders win many national, regional and local titles as a team and as individuals. One Queen Mary's pupil, Ella Kay, aged 12, has won three out of the four major 128 national titles plus the Winter and Summer 128 Gold League in the last year. ‘From the British National Showjumping Championship to the Horse of the Year Show and London International Horse Show, these wins make her the most decorated Rider of the Year in her age group, riding the remarkable Red Alert III,’ adds Carole.
‘Along with excellent academic results, our 2024 Year 11 leavers displayed sporting, musical and artistic excellence as they thrived both inside and outside the classroom. As an example, Olivia was extremely busy in her final year at Queen Mary’s as a House Captain, Riding Captain and Scholar. During her Queen Mary’s years she enjoyed the Queen Mary’s American Exchange, was on the winning team in the Battle of the Books and came 5th in the National Schools Equestrian Association Championship finals. As a budding politician, Olivia has a passion for Politics, History and Classics and now has fantastic GCSE results to continue her journey with a view to attending university at Oxford or Durham.’
Queen Ethelburga’s (QE) offers its students more than 100 activities onsite, covering everything from community, culture and leadership to creativity, health and fitness. ‘Any prospective parent should delve into the extra-curricular programme of each school as they vary significantly,’ Daniel Machin, QE’s principal, points out. ‘QE, for example, has a modern offering with options including Esports, motorsport, Mandarin, performance sport, digital leaders, games design, martial arts and LAMDA but other schools might offer more traditional sports such as rifle shooting, sailing and polo. Academics can undertake clubs in Medicine and Veterinary, Journalism, Law, Enterprise, History, Politics, Psychology, Critical Thinking, Advanced Mathematics, and Philosophy or work towards Practical Science CREST Awards, the internal Medical Conference Competition and national STEM competitions.
‘The QE Stretch and Challenge Programme encourages students to seek opportunities that enrich their learning journey and foster a lifelong passion for knowledge. This includes attending industry professional and alumni lectures, entering internal and external competitions, work experience, volunteering, and partaking in both personal and group research projects. Students can also become representatives and leaders in a variety of roles throughout the school that allow them to grow in confidence whilst developing core collaboration and leadership skills. There are also activities based around life skills including workshops on mental health, wellness, physical health, cooking, gardening, public speaking, leadership, financial management, strategic planning, entrepreneurial thinking, and future-readiness. Our QE Study Toolkit also encompasses lectures and training on increasing retention, effective study routines, time management, procrastination, revision, and various study methods. All of which best prepare students for future learning and employment.’
Daniel believes that extra-curricular activities build resilience, responsibility, self-belief and skills, and promote a sense of fulfilment and achievement as well as socialising. ‘They help students find out what they are good at and what they enjoy whilst also allowing them to broaden their horizons outside of the classroom,’ he adds. ‘Students who undertake extra-curricular activities become well-rounded individuals, developing self-confidence and self-awareness, respect for others, and their environment. In addition, taking up an activity regularly facilitates intellectual, emotional, social and moral development whilst bolstering university or employment applications.’
The Mount School in York encourages pupils to try other pursuits alongside their studies. 'As a proud Quaker School, we are constantly thinking beyond the “safe” curriculum to equip our pupils for life, urging them to actively take risks and be “peaceful disruptors” for good,’ says co-principal Jo Goudriaan. ‘To this end, Mount pupils constantly enjoy opportunities to test themselves beyond the school gates, such as the Bath Model United Nations for public speaking, regional competitions in all academic fields, such as the UK Maths Trust, and Physics Olympics, and performing arts contests like The Great Dance Off, not to mention a host of sporting competitions. We always encourage, support and accommodate our pupils’ external interests too, whether it’s appearing on the West End, pursuing youth political aims or attending the World Dance Cup, or show jumping, jockeying and archery, all of which current pupils are excelling in. Encouraging such opportunities allows young people to develop skills and talents relevant to their next steps in education and to establish positive habits for life.’
Small groups from The Mount undertake annual trips to Iceland or East Greenland with the Borealis Society, where the integration of scientific and academic studies results in intrepid Arctic mountaineering expeditions. ‘Sixth Form girls recently returned from a thrilling expedition where part of their brief was to look at solving local problems like the scarcity of key plants,’ says Jo. ‘This provided a challenging environment in which pupils stepped outside their normal physical and mental comfort zones but within a distinct academic learning experience, making lifelong memories, shaping their future selves and developing resilience and independent thinking.’
The Mount has a partnership with Leeds Rhinos Foundation and a partnership with University of York as part of its outreach programme for STEM at the School of Physics, Engineering and Technology. It’s also the first ‘All Steinway’ school in Yorkshire with 14 Steinway pianos on site. Seniors have joined the NewsQuest Young Reporters scheme which has seen them regularly published in the digital version of the local newspaper York Press. ‘At The Mount, if the curriculum is a safety net, we deliberately tear holes here and there to allow our pupils to dive into new opportunities so they are not only successful adults – becoming the change they wish to see – but are happy too.’
PeaceJam is one of The Mount’s proudest legacies – the school has been part of it for decades. ‘PeaceJam empowers youth to be the change they want to see in the world. Through hands-on workshops, near-peer mentoring groups and social action planning sessions, young people find opportunities to be inspired and take action in their local communities. To facilitate sustainable change, the girls also have access to a six-week programme,’ Jo explains. ‘Our core PeaceJam Sixth Form group consisting of Ava, Libby and Caterina has attended many PeaceJam Slams and online discussion groups to realise their dreams to make a difference in the world, in line with our school Quaker aims and values. They are part of the PeaceJam UK Youth Team. Current PeaceJam projects include our Year 7s who are looking at a project to consider “our attitude to small creatures” and how this can be applied to empathy and compassion across all relationships. Year 8s are looking at how to organise further “compassionate” trips like the existing Christmas visits to local care homes to sing and socialise, which residents and pupils so enjoy.’
Libby is The Mount’s representative for York Youth Council, which works to help improve youth voice in York and influence decision making. She’s been working on the Make Your Mark project, a youth ballot for people aged 11–18 with around 10 options that young people can vote for regarding what they would like to see improve both regionally and nationally. These votes are then taken to the Youth Parliament. ‘This project is an amazing way to introduce young people to the democratic process and how they will be able to vote in the future,’ Libby says. ‘I ran this vote in form times from Years 7–11 over a few weeks, getting them all to vote on what they want to see improved. I really enjoyed engaging the school in this process and hopefully it has been a fun project for younger girls to take part in. I think the project aligns well with the Quaker values of The Mount and making sure all voices are heard.’
‘Politics is always in the news and is relevant to us all,’ Jo adds. ‘It’s so important that young people engage with decision-making and Libby is leading the way from a young age, for which I applaud her. Libby endeavours to make a difference to all lives by engaging with politics, a difficult yet essential field. At a young age she is already giving service to others, which also embodies our school Quaker values.’
