Plymouth College offers an exceptional range of enrichment activities which vary from term to term.
Clubs and activities run during lunchtimes and after school and residential trips take place to further add to the extra-curricular offer. The enrichment activities are designed to complement the provision in the academic curriculum. All pupils are encouraged to participate in order to aid their personal development; this could be discovering new skills or developing existing talents. Class teachers or form tutors monitor pupils’ involvement and help guide their choices.
The provision for sport, outdoor education, music and drama is truly outstanding and supports the notion of ‘Where Everything is Possible’. The 2019 ISI inspection graded the quality of pupil’s personal development as “excellent” with the inspectors noting: ‘Plymouth College Pupils have a strong sense of the ‘have a go’ culture that permeates through the school in areas of academic and extracurricular life’.
At Plymouth College Prep School, we encourage all our pupils to take part and enjoy music-making at all levels.
In the Early Years and in the infant department, our children discover music through movement, singing and experimenting with percussion sounds. They learn the recorder in Year 2 and perform regularly throughout the year.
Years 3 and 4 learn the recorder and the violin as part of their class music-making and there is a huge emphasis on singing and stage performances.
In Years 5 and 6, pupils play and compose music using the keyboards and are encouraged to form their own groups and bands. Several concerts and recitals are given throughout the year.
We offer tuition on all instruments, including the harp and pipe organ. Instrumentalists can join the recorder ensemble and one of the many school bands and singers can join the school choir or the chamber choir.
A key target for the school is ensuring that children become more confident speakers as they move through the school.
Drama plays a crucial role in this and from the moment pupils enter Kindergarten they are given plenty of opportunities to develop their acting and public speaking skills. All children are involved in school productions which are held throughout the year in our Theatre and Chapel.
In Years 5 and 6, there is a dedicated drama lesson in which pupils are introduced to a wide range of skills from improvisation to mime. They thoroughly enjoy not just acting on stage but writing; producing and stage directing plays they have written themselves as well as performing extracts from the works of Shakespeare and other great writers. We can offer peripatetic training for those who wish to take LAMDA exams and many of our pupils go on to perform in local festivals and in key roles in professional productions at the Theatre Royal. Our public speaking competitions in Years 5 and 6 ensure that all our pupils are gaining invaluable experience and confidence that will help them enormously, not just at Senior School but in further education and in the world of employment.
Plymouth College is passionate about nurturing academia - in whatever form that may be.
Alongside a broad curriculum, we have a comprehensive academic enrichment programme designed to place our pupils in the best position possible for a variety of pathways after their time with us - be it in the world of work, or academia. It includes provision for the academically more able. The general aim of the programme is to build a more enriched and educated pupil body while at the same time providing these opportunities in an individualised way.
These activities include:
Our pupils are fortunate to receive lessons as part of their curriculum in Art, Design Technology and Food Technology in custom-designed classroom spaces. Pupils who are keen to develop their talents further in these subjects have access to numerous clubs after school including Origami club, Food Technology club (including the very popular Christmas Cake club) and numerous Art clubs to ensure that these talents are nurtured at all ages.
Outdoor Education is all about getting out there, getting stuck in, giving it a go and having fun. It does not matter how old you are, or what your abilities might be, Outdoor Education offers something for everyone, and for some people it is everything. It will take you to places you did not dream existed and you will experience things you did not know were possible. Plymouth enjoys a great location in the South West, the moors and the sea offer unrivalled days out. From our youngest pupils using our Outdoor Classroom weekly, to our Year 2s utilising the school’s bunk barn in the wilds of Dartmoor to our Year 6 residential to the Isle of Wight, we ensure that our pupils not only develop vital skills for their future but have a fantastic time doing it.
