Activities Day 2021

The week before half-term was full of fun and adventure for students who have long awaited a trip beyond the school gates!

On Thursday 14 October, more than 710 students across Years 7, 9 and 13 had the opportunity to venture out of the classroom to enjoy a change of scenery with friends. Meanwhile, students in Years 8, 10, 11 and 12 took part in a range of activities on site.

Marwell Zoo – Year 7

215 Year 7 students visited Marwell Zoo and were mostly excited about the freedom they had to explore the zoo with their friends. I enjoyed “getting to go around the park with my classmates and having some freedom over what we did over the day.”

The giraffes and sloths were a particular hit.  “I enjoyed seeing lots of different animals but especially the sloths and the giraffes. Sloths are my favourite animals” and “I enjoyed the rainforest section because it was realistic, and I saw a really cool sloth!”

Business and Media Day – Year 8

Year 8 students stayed onsite on activities day but had a busy day engaging in creative group tasks and learning more about the GCSE subjects of business and media. Below is an account of the day by three Year 8 students:

The purpose of this day was to create interest and let us learn what some of the most common GCSE topics were about. This included Business and Media. During the day we worked on creating a pitch and presentation for our own custom subscription box, which included aspects of Business and Media during each of the sessions. We switched between the two subjects adding different elements to each of them until the end of the day when we decided who had created the best pitch and subscription box out of the year group. This day has taught us how to create an effective and persuasive pitch, come up with reasonable prices, target audiences and advertisements. We also showed compatible cooperation within our team and worked together so that everyone could achieve more. We all enjoyed activities day because it brought out our hidden problem- solving skills and our teamwork together.

By Milla, Chloe and Archie, Year 8

Thorpe Park – Year 9

192 students Year 9 students had an adrenaline pumping day riding the rollercoasters of Thorpe Park on Activities Day and many students surprised themselves with their courage to try something new.

One student commented, “The best thing was coming way out of my comfort zone and trying new things. (In this case it was rollercoasters)”. Another student admitted that the best part of the day was “going on rides that I would not normally go on as I am scared of heights, but I enjoyed them and my friends helped me get over my fear.”

Students relished the freedom of walking around the park without supervision, for one student the highlight was “being able to do anything once we got there with friends and being able to be on our own without teachers.”

Overall, this student summed up the day as a success because it was a “chance to take a break from learning and spend time with my friends outside of an educational environment.”

Positively Mad – Year 11

Positively Mad motivational speaker, Jay had Year 12 students eating out of his hand by the end of the day with his inspiring and dynamic delivery providing a multisensory, interactive experience challenging students to see learning in a new light and to see their learning as a positive, enriching experience.

 

Bath and Royal Holloway University – Year 13

Most of our Year 13 students had a glimpse of university life with a visit to Bath and Royal Holloway University. While there, students had first-hand experience of a university lecture, had the chance to ask students and staff questions in a Q&A session and were about to take a look around the campus facilities and get a feel for life on campus.

The highlight was “talking with some of the students about their experience at Bath”, “asking the ambassador questions about my specific subject” and “experiencing a lecture to get a feel for how they are given.”