Enrichment
The Autumn Enrichment program is released, Click Here to download
At The Belvedere Academy, we offer a lot more than academic excellence. We offer a wide range of activities to all students from all year groups. Enrichment helps students to develop their interests and abilities, provides valuable learning experiences outside their studies, and promotes independence and interpersonal links with students in other Years.
Music is vibrant. Students can join the orchestra, string, woodwind and brass chamber ensembles and the choir, giving public performances each term.
There are a wide range of team and individual sports to choose from. Our students compete against local schools and in national tournaments. We offer the Community Sports Leadership Award in Year 12.
The annual Drama Festival is a highlight of the year. Year 12 students produce and direct a play with each class of younger girls and the standard is high. There are also opportunities for students to take part in whole school productions, both on stage and behind the scenes.
Students can take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Students support a number of charities including Jeans for Genes and Operation Christmas Child. Fundraising provides an opportunity for students to have fun and work together with other Years.
Clubs and activities take place at lunchtime and after school, incorporating interests such as debating, trampolining, playing chess or making trade fairer. And if a particular interest is not covered, we support our girls in starting their own clubs.
Students are also given opportunities to visit amazing places as part of Enrichment. Recent trips have included visits to London theatres, Geography and Science field trips to Snowdonia and Malham, and journeys further afield, to Berlin, Krakow, Italy, Zambia and China.
“Exciting", "interesting", "challenging" and "fun" are just a few of the words that have been used to describe the Enrichment programme at The Belvedere Academy.
The programme runs at lunchtimes and after school with the majority of clubs delivered on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 3.30pm until 4.15pm.
All girls receive a copy of the new Enrichment programme at the beginning of every term and the girls choose which of the clubs they will be attending. The range of clubs is immense with girls able to do knitting one evening and then cheerleading the next!
The majority of clubs are completely free to the girls and some even offer the chance to gain an additional qualification, for example GCSE Arabic.”
Mrs J. Marshall, Enrichment Co-ordinator
"The Enrichment Programme continues to develop well. It is now an outstanding feature of the Academy’s provision."
Tony Thornley (SIP) Autumn Report 2008
“The girls currently attending Greek and Latin are enjoying themselves. They’re useful subjects, a bit unusual and not as difficult as people think!”
Miss C. Bolton, Teacher of Classics
“Together with the usual team practices there have been a number of less competitive clubs and activities, with some sports having more than one session per week. Sports on offer as Enrichment include Badminton, Trampolining, Gymnastics, Dance, Volleyball, Football, Ju-jitsu, Table Tennis and newly introduced Cheerleading.”
Mrs J. Davies, Director of PE for Community Sport
“Cooking Enrichment happens Tuesday lunchtime. During the year, Year7s have had the opportunity to make a variety of dishes. They have made Smartie cookies, fairy cakes, pancakes, pizza, chocolate crispy cakes and
chicken fajita’s. They have loved cooking and eating the results but would rather not wash up!”
Mrs S. Gillett, Head of Food Technology
“History Club is for Key Stage 3 pupils and girls from Years 7, 8 and 9 attend. We look at a range of topics and practice historical skills. The girls’
favourite sessions have included investigating the identity of Jack the Ripper and deciding whether the moon landings were faked!”
Miss N. George, Teacher of History
“Yesterday we were making fake blood in Chemistry Club. Everyone said it was a good club so I thought I would give it a go.”
Chantelle Range 7R
“I have been to many clubs in school. I have done Cross Stitch, Homework Club, Cooking, Orchestra, Drama, Chamber Choir, Italian and I have just started Rounders. I think it is marvellous to have all the clubs we have here. My favourite is Orchestra but it is all extremely fun.”
Alexandra Jones 7F
“In the Music Department we want Enrichment to be an enjoyable, relevant and quality experience. We are always open to new ideas and try to accommodate any student requests. We are looking to develop our popular music opportunities next year whilst maintaining the traditional orchestra and choirs. We are currently working towards our Spring Concert which will showcase most of the Enrichment activities.
Current activities include Choir, Chamber Choir, Pop Choir, Orchestra, String Group, Recorder Club and examination booster lessons.”
Miss S. Bell, Director of Music
“An English pupil, expertly played by Alice Marsh, does not see the relevance of Spanish until one day she falls asleep and finds herself transported to a school in Spain where she must try and make herself understood… This was the plot for Spanish film making club which, thanks to Hector’s hard work, has been enjoyed by all involved this term.”
Mr A. Pickford, Aimhigher Co-ordinator
“Russian is a very different language from what the girls are used to and they have really enjoyed getting to grips with the Cyrillic alphabet. Russia is the biggest country in the world, so it’s worth learning!”
Miss M. Cooke, Teacher of MFL
“I think Enrichment is really fun and there are so many great things to choose from!”
Jessica Stout 8G
Clubs
Here is a sample of some
of the many clubs on offer:
Arabic
Badminton
Book Club
Cartoon Club
Chamber Choir
Chinese
Cheerleading
Greek
Jazz Band
Journalism
Knitting
Orchestra
Russian
Spanish Film Making
Tennis
Trampolining
Young Enterprise
World Challenge
For the full programme of activities, please see www.belvedereacademy.net or contact Mrs Marshall.
Journalism Enrichment
Even the newsmagazine is the product of Enrichment here at The Belvedere Academy.
Once a week the News Team meet to discuss what is happening around school and to write up the stories featured throughout the magazine. The students are the ones who think of the stories, conduct interviews, find information and take photographs.
Putting together the newsmagazine is an enormous, collaborative task, which requires hard work, not to mention support from our teaching staff and other students. The result is more than worth the effort.
Anyone interested in a career in journalism can experience first hand at Belvedere working to deadlines, proof-reading and the satisfaction of seeing one’s name in print.
Miss L. Murphy, Librarian and Publicity Officer
Enrichment with a difference…
In July 2010 a number of the Sixth Form girls and Miss Poole are heading off to
Cambodia and Thailand with ‘World Challenge’. While Miss Poole regularly panics about what she has actually let herself in for, the whole group are thoroughly excited and enthused about the challenge ahead.
The challenge begins with the fundraising. The total cost of the trip must be met by the students themselves and the girls are certainly not short of ideas. So far there have been raffles, ‘Guess the Baby’ competitions, teacher makeovers, tuck shops, clothing sales and many of the girls have even taken on part time jobs. Ideas on events for the coming months include car washes, a murder mystery evening, movie nights, make-up parties, battle of the bands; to name but a few.
Once in Cambodia and Thailand, the girls will have to navigate their own way around the country (under the watchful eye of a World Challenge Team Leader). They will be responsible for their own budgeting, food purchasing and preparation, finding accommodation or a suitable place to erect tents or hammocks and organising transport. There is also a large trekking element to the Challenge, which will involve working their way through the jungle carrying all their belongings as well as all necessary supplies. The girls have to organise the trek in detail, including what food and utensils to bring and where are suitable areas in which to spend the night.
Another element of the Challenge is the ‘Project’ phase. During this time the girls will live and work within a local community. Here they may help build essential housing, dig wells or redecorate an orphanage.
Again, the girls will be responsible to deciding on their project and planning it in detail.
While the month in Cambodia and Thailand will be both physically and mentally exhausting, it is an experience which all the girls believe will be truly life changing.
Miss J. Poole, World Challenge Team Leader
Please have a look through the booklet (avaliable here or from Mrs Marshall) and decide which clubs you would like to be involved in. We are very keen for all girls to attend at least two clubs per week.
Guidelines for Clubs:
1) You must commit to a club for at least half a term and for some clubs you will need to commit for a term. Please ask the relevant teacher.
2) For after school clubs you must be in an enrichment activity by 3.30pm. A bell will ring at this time and you need to make sure that you have been registered by a teacher.
3) If you use the yellow school bus you must not leave the school premises between 3.15pm and 4.15pm.
4) If you are unable to attend a club for any reason on a particular week you must inform the relevant member of staff, prior to the activity.
5) Year 7, 8 and 9 “Homework Club” in Room F31 is specifically for girls to do their homework; please do not disturb other girls by chatting and being disruptive.
If you have any further questions please contact Mrs Marshall or speak to your form teacher.