Bede's Co-Curricular Programme

Lessons learned outside of the classroom as just as vital as those learned within it, and for this reason Bede’s offers over a hundred Co-Curricular Activities to its pupils, timetabling them as part of the school day.

Positioned as we are on the south coast, on the edge of the South Downs National Park, we take every advantage of our environment to enrich learning. From Outdoor Pursuits to Sailing, Horse Riding to Mountain Biking, we seek every excuse to get children outside and having fun.

Elsewhere, we run a huge range of Volunteering and Academic Extension Clubs and Activities, boast celebrated Drama, Music and Dance provision celebrate the bespoke.

Sixth Form Wine Making and Brewing? Robotics? Animal Management at our own, onsite zoo?

If you can imagine it, we likely offer it – and if we do not then tell one of the Student Councils, as we are always looking for fresh ideas!

The Visual Arts

The rich programme of artistic enrichment begins at Bede’s Prep School, where beyond the art programme offered within the curriculum, there are a range of opportunities for children to indulge their passion for art and creativity generally. From crafts and ceramics workshops to Art for Fun or the Masterclass for pupils who are developing their portfolio.

As pupils progress to the Senior School, the Co-Curricular Programme there provides further opportunities to specialise through Ceramics, Sewing and Dressmaking or Jewellery Making. Others opt to study for their Photography GCSE during Activities sessions and artists at Sixth Form level can develop their figurative painting skills and prepare for art college by taking Life Drawing classes.

Performing Arts

The Activities Programme at Bede’s Prep serves up a rich array of options for those pupils who have a passion for the performing arts. The dramatist can hone their skills and develop confidence through LAMDA training or Drama for Fun whilst for children who are more into their music there is the Music Tech activity, the Rock and Pop Singing activity or the more traditional Choir. Dancers can choose between classical ballet and tap and Musical Theatre is the choice of those who want to do it all – to act, sing and dance.

Moving up to the Senior School, the myriad opportunities continue with musical options including Bede’s Singers, Chamber Choir or Jazz Band alongside more dramatically focussed activities which may include rehearsals for a forthcoming production, LAMDA or the Theatre Production activity. Dancers can benefit from the wealth of expertise on offer as part of the Legat School of Dance, through ballet, tap and contemporary classes aimed those at beginners or intermediary level.

Games and Hobbies

For many pupils the Activities Programme provides a relaxing time during the busy school week when they can simply indulge a much-loved hobby or try something experiment with something completely new. During the Spring and Summer terms, the location of the Prep School on the seafront provides the perfect location for a gentle stroll during Beach Walks activity. Other options for those who like the outdoors are the Gardening Club, Horse Riding or Drone Flying. During the winter months there are indoor options aplenty including Board Games, Card Games and Chess Coaching, Warhammer, Lego Building and Minecraft to name just a few.

As pupils grow older and begin experiencing the pressures of public exams, this component of the Bede’s Co-Curricular Programme provides a much-valued opportunity to forget about academic goals and simply enjoy an activity for its own intrinsic pleasure, be that tinkering with engines in Car Restoration, enjoying the local countryside in Sailing, Mountain Biking, Horse Riding or Downland Walking or spending time with like-minded people in the Warhammer, Dungeons and Dragons or Reading Club.

Educational Enrichment

As well as providing recreational activities, the Activities Programme at the Prep School also provides opportunities for children to pursue academic passions through Geography Globetrotters, Debating, Science for Fun, Bede’s Broadsheet or within the more creatively focussed sessions including Photography for Beginners or Comic Creations. Finally the Programme also allows pupils to develop those all-important life skills by learning First Aid or Lifeguarding or the popular Preparation for Adult Life which teaches cookery, bed-making and sewing, budgeting and letter-writing.

Co-Curricular choices are important, particularly for older pupils for whom the programme offers a chance to develop specialisms and meaningfully enrich their CVs. A wealth of educational enrichment opportunities are on offer from Computer Programming and the Media Masterclass to Politics and Economics Society, the enduringly popular Zoological Society and UK Space Design Competition.

Health and Fitness

The Sport Programme at both Bede’s Prep and Senior Schools is nationally regarded and the Activities Programme at the Prep School allows pupils to train and enjoy sports beyond the competitive fixtures programme and timetabled PE and Games lessons. As well as training for core sports such as cricket or football, pupils are encouraged to try some more unusual sports including Handball, Volleyball or watersports such as sailing or windsurfing. Others may choose to work on fitness through the strength and conditioning activity or relax through yoga or Zumba.

At Senior level, pupils can take part in the Academy Sport coaching sessions across cricket, football, hockey and tennis as well as across a range of Club Sports including badminton, basketball, squash and golf to name but a few. There are also non-competitive options including fitness training, jogging for fun or yoga.

Community and Volunteering

Pupils at Bede’s learn about the importance of community and volunteering from a young age. At the Prep School pupils are actively engaged as young citizens, helping with beach clean ups, visiting and singing to the elderly and through a wide range of fundraising endeavours.

As pupils mature and become young adults, pupils also have innumerable opportunities to demonstrate service towards the school, community and wider world by volunteering with local hospitals, holding “knit and natter” sessions with local residents, spending time at nearby care homes and teaching science at the local primary school.

As well as engaging with our successful Duke of Edinburgh schemes, through our House Charity system and via work with local and national charities, every Bede’s pupils engages with campaigning or fundraising for a range of diverse and worthy causes.

Trips and Expeditions

The joy of travel and exploring new places begins from our Nursery, where children explore the beach or local Abbots Wood and ends with our Sixth Formers trekking in Nepal or taking on the Great Wall of China.

Throughout their journey through Bede’s, children travel far and wide, enjoying language trips to Normandie or Calabria at the Prep School and History trips to Birmingham to learn about the Industrial Revolution or to the Mary Rose museum in Portsmouth to learn about the Tudors. At the Senior School pupils travel to London to visit the Churchill War Rooms, to Berlin to learn about post-War Germany or Washington to find out about the US Congress and Civil Rights Movement. It is our firm belief that through relevant and enriching trips pupils’ learning within the classroom can be extended, deepened and embedded.

Many of the expeditions offer life-changing experiences; in recent years pupils have volunteered in rhino sanctuaries in South Africa, trekked in Nepal or experienced new cultures in China.

Popular Searches