Hundreds of Clubs for Hundreds of Kids
How many comprehensive schools offer pupils over 270 after-school clubs? Well, there is one school in Surrey that does. Pupils at the Royal Alexandra and Albert School have been busy getting stuck in to the many activities on offer. There are clubs to suit all tastes, including taekwondo, boxercise, archery and ukulele band, with a few more unusual activities such as textile art club, Boxercise, Creative Cakes, Octopush, Pickeball and Mandarin Club.
Charang Bailor, a Year 13 boarder at the School, is one of the 813 pupils who have signed up to the School’s Co Curriculum Activities Programme.
She said, “My friends and I signed up to activities together. It can be a bit boring after school so I decided to join a lot of clubs. I’m really enjoying them.” Charang has signed up to do nine activities including Netball, Cooking for Uni, Debating Club, Psychology Club, Model United Nations, Piloxing and swimming.
Charang’s clubs are not only fun but they are providing her with new skills. She explains, “My favourite club is Cooking for Uni. It’s nice that I get to spend time with my friends, but I’m also learning to cook, which will really help me when I go to university. With Psychology Club, it’s helping me with my Psychology A Level as we go over a lot of content.”
Ms Anne Vaughan, Director of the Co Curriculum Activities Programme, said “We have hugely expanded our Activities Programme this year, and are always looking for new ideas from pupils about what clubs they would like to do. In the next few terms we will be introducing a scuba diving club, paddle boarding, jujitsu and an Indian cooking club. As part of the new Activities Programme, a number of external instructors have been brought on board to ensure that our pupils are getting the most out of their activities.”
