This essay will compare school A and B’s extracurricular activities and how they may aid pupils with their academic work within school. There will also be a focus on the way that both schools use extracurricular sessions to help GCSE students and how each of the schools organise these sessions. Extracurricular activities are defined as any activity “not falling within the scope of a regular curriculum” (Merriam-Webster, no date). Some activities can be classed as co-curricular, this includes all activities that are non-academic, such as sports clubs or teams. Schools around the country offer extra sessions which aim to broaden pupil’s experiences.
School A and B are two very different schools, in two very different areas. Despite this both schools host a range of extra-curricular activities for their pupils. Clive Greenhough (the director of co-curricular activities at the Royal Grammar school in High Wycombe) (SecEd, 2015), describes how important it is for pupils to use co-curricular activities in order to improve their chances of higher education. Research by the World Challenge has found that “non-academic experience is becoming increasingly important” to University admissions. Co-curricular activities “develop a skill-set that can help students from all backgrounds”, meaning that even pupils who are not interested in higher education can develop important skills that may be beneficial to them in work. There are many other factors which contribute to a pupil’s chance of higher education.
Like the fact that school A has a dedicated careers team and school B does not. It is clear, no matter what school is attended, the participation in extra-curricular activities will support any student’s application to University. Univers. . B does not offer trips similar to this. There are many reasons that this may be the case.
It is unfortunate that the pupils at school B are not offered the chance to take place in these kinds of activities. The experience will not only aid students in academic work, but is a way to build character and push pupils boundaries to realise what it is possible to achieve. It is possible that the school ethos and attitude of students at school B would change dramatically if there were similar trips offered. Although school B does not offer this kind of initiative, both of the school’s offer the Duke of Edinburgh award to pupils. Many schools around the country offer the D of E award and the award has been completed by many since its creation in 1956. The aim of this award is similar to the outward bound trust; by developing confidence and other useful skills (APPENDIX).
