Educational Enrichment

The Bloxels Build Your Own Video Game activity is a chance for pupils to make and play their own video games.

The advantage of the bloxels system is that you don’t need to understand fancy code and own super extensive computer programs.

Pupils use the game boards and coloured blocks to create levels, characters and other in game art ‘assets’. They then use the app to capture this, then add animations before playing a completed game. A very popular activity!

Comic Creations is open to all years and sees pupils making their own comic books featuring their own superheroes.

Pupils will spend time researching superheroes, before creating their own costume, a set of super powers, a superhero name and logo, a secret identity and a back story.

Once they have designed their superheroes, we will start to create some story line ideas before using a story board to map our stories. The aim is to have fun whilst creating an original, action-packed superhero comic!

If you enjoy communicating, discussing and challenging views, then this might be the club for you!

Our debating club gives pupils of all abilities a fun way of developing their speaking and listening skills. We use a wide range of activities to develop critical thinking and confident communication.

The activity also encourages and deepens thinking skills, covering current affairs and topics that interest the debaters.

Digital Photography for Beginners gives pupils the opportunity to experiment with and explore a digital camera.

Alongside learning the basic skills of taking a photograph, pupils will learn about light, focus and composition. They will also learn about the importance of lighting for portraits, still life and the outside environment. As they progress, they will learn about sequence, joiners, shutter speed and depth of field.

This club is open to Year 8 and is held once a week.

Writing essays, narrative or balanced, is a skill you need to master, but it can be tricky! We break down essays into their basic parts and we learn to write them about subjects we are interested in, for example, ‘Should we get rid of school uniform?’ or ‘Is it ok to have a death penalty?’ Once we have mastered the basics, the trickier humanities and English essays begin to make sense. The tea and biscuits are an added bonus, so if you think your essay skills need sharpening, then come and join us!

Geography Globetrotters is for any children in Years 4 to 8 who love maps, flags, countries, capital city quizzes and exploring the world.

Children can boost their location knowledge through a wide variety of fun activities such as card games, board games, location quizzes, iPad apps, Google Earth and GeoGuessr. Researching and planning exotic holidays and expeditions has been popular too!

This course teaches Bede’s Prep School pupils invaluable everyday first aid skills.

During the course the children learn all the basics of First Aid, including how to deal with minor bleeding and burns, dressing wounds, treatment of a choking casualty, treatment of fainting, bites and stings and strains and sprains.

At the end of the course, pupils have to pass a First Aid test before they are awarded their special First Aid badges.

This activity is about learning new swimming skills and having fun in the pool and each week we alternate between snorkelling and lifeguarding.

Learning how to snorkel safely increases confidence whilst teaching the swimmers how to use the face mask and snorkel without lifting their head to breathe. Hopefully this will give pupils a skill they can use on holiday to explore underwater, watching fishes in their natural habitat and admiring coral.

Lifeguarding teaches pupils how to use all the poolside equipment safely and help swimmers who get into difficulty. Personal survival skills are also taught along with emergency procedures within the pool environment.

This activity runs once a week for pupils who want to see a different side of mathematics!

They have the opportunity to sink their teeth into some particularly challenging questions and concepts. The activity is run through the use of resources from the Mathematical Association, the YouTube channel Numberphile and the website and app, Brilliant. When there are Maths Challenges approaching such as UKMT Junior Challenge or Primary Maths Challenge, pupils join the activity to assist their preparation for these challenges.

This activity teaches the children how to compose a mini film. 

Pupils put together all the elements including script writing, stage direction and lighting as well as scouting for suitable locations. They then film their footage and start to edit it using a video editing software and will turn it into the next big blockbuster.

Preparation for Adult Life is a new activity which provides the opportunity for children to learn some of the basic life skills they might need as they approach adulthood.

Things that are covered include; household chores such as cooking, bed making, ironing and sewing, as well as useful tools like budgeting, letter writing and ideas for earning money. This is a fun activity that starts with biscuits and tea making and the exact content will be guided by the children who take part and the things they would like to learn.

The Science department is offering pupils in Years 3 to 5 the opportunity to take part in the British Science Association Crest Star awards.

This involves completing two science for fun activities to gain an award certificate. The scheme, which is coordinated by the British Science Association, allows children the opportunity to explore science topics by doing their own practical experiments.

These have included things such as making spinners, designing boats, growing crystals and constructing model wells.

We offer this activity as a course, for children who are keen to advance their typing skills. 

It aids not only their literacy skills, but also their use of modern technology. Recording work on a computer can help pupils work fluently as well as organise it effectively. 

Touch Type Read Spell gives a kinaesthetic approach by engaging the senses of sight, sound and touch. It has been developed in line with language and education research and is routinely supported by new studies. TTRS is highly structured and has 24 levels, each with 31 modules. Every fifth module is a dictation module, which relies on the auditory element to reinforce learning.

Positive feedback is frequently given and progress measured at the end of each module. The course can be accessed worldwide, you just need an internet connection, a laptop or a computer!

The Prep School has sent children and staff scrambling for iPads and computers during every free moment to play TT Rockstars.

We have now introduced a weekly activity for Years 3 to 8 where they can play TT Rockstars. Times Table RockStars is a carefully sequenced programme of daily times tables practice, with each week focusing on a different times table.

Year groups have been taking on each other to see who has mastered their multiplication and division skills to the greatest degree.

The game increases the memory and recall of multiplication and division facts. Mr Fasciolo-Barnes’ aim is for every child to be able to recall their times table within three seconds as this will have a positive effect when they are learning more challenging concepts and problems.

This is certainly an example of the positive use of screen time (with the obvious caveat that pupils are not spending excessive time in front of the screen!)