Extra Curricular, Trips & Activities

"A key role in a student's life at Southborough"

Extra-Curricular and Co-curricular activities play a key role in a student's life at Southborough; this is reflected by the range of activities on offer. The emphasis, as elsewhere at Southborough, is on variety, inclusion, and encouragement of pupils to explore new activities and friendship groups, cultivate new interests and develop a variety of skills.

Sports

The school offers sports activities in the morning before school, during lunch break and also after school, in addition to the representative teams taking part in regional competitions for football, cricket and basketball. The school has also organised participation in residential football tours in various parts of the country.

Autumn Term 2024 Extra-curricular sport timetable

Combined Cadet Force

Unusually for a state school, Southborough boasts an active CCF contingent. The CCF is an educational partnership between the school and the Ministry of Defence. Membership is entirely voluntary, and cadets may choose affiliation with either army, royal navy, or royal air force sections. The CCF offers young people a broad range of challenging, exciting, adventurous and educational activities which Its aim is to enable the development of personal responsibility, leadership and self-discipline and give young people the life skills and self-confidence to take charge of their lives so they can reach their full potential at school and beyond, including in employment.

A CCF unit within Southborough has been running for over seven years now, ably supervised by teaching staff Mr Swinchin-Rew and Mr Iles – and the students involved seem to absolutely love it!

Drama

Southborough offers its Gifted Outstanding and Talented learners in Drama and English the opportunity to take part in weekly workshops which lead to a LAMDA certificate. LAMDA is the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, a world-leading drama school and examinations provider, training and inspiring exceptional artists for over 160 years.

The aim is for students to develop their life skills in Communication(using  a clear speaking voice, with positive body language, enunciation and articulation.

The school also encourages students to take part in drama productions that have public performances as the culmination of audition and rehearsal. Most recent successes have been the staging of the musicals School of Rock and Grease.

Music

Students at Southborough are encouraged to try different instruments and to further their interest by taking personal music tuition in additional weekly lessons. More proficient musicians can take part in various music ensembles, choirs and groups of like-minded players.

Students regularly wow our audiences of parents at Open Evenings, Parents’ Evenings and at other times when the school is open to visitors, as well as taking part in the school musical dramatic productions. 

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

Are you looking for a challenge? Looking to develop life-long skills? The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is a non-competitive, flexible and progressive, personal development programme. The award scheme is internationally recognised and favoured by a large number of organisations, educational institutions, and employers. The benefits are numerous:

• skill development: (leadership, team building, commitment, perseverance and organisational skills) - personal development: improved self belief, self-confidence, sense of responsibility, awareness of your strengths
• develop new skills, talents and abilities, time management, problem solving
• build new friendships

Just to name a few!

There are 4 sections to undertake and document for Bronze & Silver Awards:

1. Skill (developing practical and social skills and personal interests)
2. Physical (improving in an area of sport, dance or fitness activities)
3. Volunteering (undertaking service to individuals or the community)
4. Expedition (planning, training for and completion of an adventurous journey in the UK)

Note: The expedition section is made up of centralised training (in school) and two Expeditions: a practice and then an assessed expedition. For the Bronze Award the expeditions are of 2 days duration with 1 overnight stay. For the Silver Award the expeditions are of 3 days duration with 2 overnight stays. The expedition is remotely supervised by school staff in remote areas of the Countryside, and all dates are communicated in writing and electronically in advance.

Young Enterprise

Young Enterprise is a national charity that believes that the potential of the UK’s young people is unlimited and that an academic education on its own is not enough. As a national charity, it motivates young people to succeed in the changing world of work by equipping them with the work skills, knowledge and confidence they need.

The Young Enterprise Company Programme started in 1963 and since then, 1.1 million young people have taken part across the UK demonstrating their skills, competencies and enterprising mindsets in a constantly changing world. Secondary schools up and down the UK are able to take part in the programme and competing students develop their key employability skills by making all the decisions about their business, from deciding the company name and product, to creating a business plan, managing their finances and selling their products.

Southborough Sixth Formers have been taking part in this prestigious competition since 2014, when our team ’Ace’ beat all competing schools across the  entire UK to win the coveted ‘UK Company of the Year’. The company went on to win second place in the International finals.

Over the years, our Sixth Form students have come up with some incredibly innovative products and have gone on to win many regional awards, including ‘Best Company’, Best Product’ and ‘Best Trade Stand’.

Clubs and Societies

Autumn Term 2024 Extra-curricular clubs timetable

EcoClub

The focus of the EcoClub is to raise awareness of our collective responsibility to protect the environment in the school, wider community and planet. Meeting weekly, the group has already influenced changes to the school environment and some of the recycling behaviours and initiatives within the school.

Chess Club

The Chess Club provides a place where students may learn and develop their skills in playing what is surely one of the world’s most treasured games. The school takes part in regional competition for those that wish to participate. The group meets weekly, where expert tuition (and competition) is on offer.

Youth Alpha

Have life’s big questions got you feeling confused? Ask life's big questions at Alpha Youth Alpha is a series of sessions exploring the Christian faith. Each talk looks at a different question around faith and is designed to create conversation. The club is open to everyone of all faiths and none and all questions are welcome!

Homework Club

After school every day, the Homework Club is, as its name suggests, a place where students can research, revise, and produce homework in a quiet environment, whether that is either handwritten or digital. The sessions are led by Mrs Pollicott, our leading Senior Teaching Assistant.

Charity Work & Community Links

RAG week, charity champions, Xmas party, Kingston Pantry Art & Donations.

GOT Masterclasses

Gifted, Outstanding and Talented students in each Faculty area

Trips – Residential

MFL - Colegios el valle exchange and Normandy

English - Haworth and Stratford trips

P.E. - North West England football tour

Trips – Non-residential

There are non-residential trips and journeys that take place throughout the year for all students in all subjects.