Extra-Curricular

Introduction

The Music Department run regular practices and support a wide range of music groups catering for many styles and abilities:

• Choirs
• Ensembles
• The Big Band
• Orchestra
• Wind Band
• Baby Big Band
• Jazz Group
• Sax Quartet
• Samba Band

The school regularly enters local and national music competitions such as:

• Harrogate Festival
• National Festival of Music for Youth
• The Battle of the Bands
• Music Awards Evening

International Trip

The Big Band, our Senior Jazz orchestra, annually embarks on a tour of Holland, where they play at a variety of venues.

Drama

Enjoys a high profile throughout the school over the whole year.

Autumn

The House Drama Competition - each House puts on a short play, directed and produced entirely by senior students but including all ages, if appropriate, on stage.

Spring

The annual school production is the highlight of the drama year. Students and staff work together for months to achieve a polished and enjoyable event.

Recent productions have included‘Guys and Dolls’, ‘All My Sons’,‘West Side Story’, ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ and ‘Fiddler on the Roof ’.

Summer

The Junior Drama Club which meets most Monday evenings for workshop activities and improvisations puts on a major production in the summer term, with a large cast and a massive audience, invariably to great critical acclaim. Recent productions have included ‘Joseph and his Amazing Technicolour Dream Coat’ and‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’.

Outdoor Education

The third form students take part in a week’s residential course at Bewerley Park Outdoor Education Centre near Pateley Bridge. They experience a range of adventure activities including:

• Sailing
• Pot holing
• Hiking
• Canoeing
• Climbing
• Gorge walking

All activities are supervised by fully qualified centre staff.

Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme

Many students take up the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme in Year 10 and continue with it for the rest of their time in school.

Expeditions and training exercises take place in the following areas:

• Yorkshire Dales - Bronze Award
• The Lake District - Silver Award
• Scottish Borders - Gold Award

Recreational Activities

The Diary Card lists the meeting times for clubs and societies. They include the Debating Society, Chess Club, Warhammer Club, Puzzle Club, Senior Art Club, Junior Readers’ Club (Rockets) and the Greenpower Electric Car Project. Most clubs have weekly meetings throughout the year and many are well attended by enthusiasts.

All students in the second form travel to France for a week in the summer and there is an annual ski-trip for sixth form students.