While school lessons are always important, often it’s the things we do outside the classroom that we remember most fondly. It’s also these moments that tend to shape our futures the most. That’s why, at our private school in Devon, we put so much importance on providing as many extracurricular opportunities as possible across our expansive grounds.
When some people think of after-school clubs, they immediately think of things like sports and music. However, this barely scratches the surface of what’s possible. Whether your child enjoys competitive sports, quiet creativity or volunteering, there’s an extracurricular activity for them.
Extracurricular Activity Ideas
At St Peter’s Prep, we make full use of our state-of-the-art facilities and many acres of outdoor space to put on a whole swathe of extracurricular activities for pupils to try. Every Friday, more than 15 different activities are available to pupils, and all our prep pupils take part, because there’s something for everyone!
Here are just some of our popular extracurricular activities at St Peter’s Prep:
- Archery Tag
- Art enrichment
- Art & Painting
- Athletics
- Atom Learning: NVR/VR Practice
- Badminton
- Ballet
- Beach safety
- Board games
- British Sign Language club
- Cartoon Club
- Chamber choir
- Chess
- Cooking
- Craft club
- Cricket Nets
- Cricket skills
- Drama
- Eco Council
- Exeter City Football Club
- Fantasy Premier League
- Gardening
- Giant inflatable games
- Glow in the dark sports
- Gymnastics
- Horseriding
- Languages club
- Lego club
- Little Wickets
- Lower School Rock School
- Martial Arts
- Mindfulness
- Music Production club
- Orchestra
- Outside stories
- Parachute and inflatable games
- Photography club
- Quiz club
- Rounders
- Sailing
- School Council
- Science club
- Showstoppers choir
- Spanish club
- Sports enrichment
- Sports matches
- Squash
- STEM club
- SyncaPeters
- Swimming club
- Tennis
- Touch typing
- Ultimate Frisbee
- Upper School choir
- Volleyball
With so many options, how do you decide which is best for you and your child? Often, it’s about encouraging their passions, trying something new, or sharing special moments with friends. All of these things can happen in all of these different environments.
Here are some of our most popular activities and how they can help children develop in many different ways.
Art & Painting
Great for: Discovering your creativity
Arts and crafts are crucial to any young person’s development. In the early years, it teaches important skills and strengthens our imagination. As children grow up, it also becomes a vital way of exploring self-expression and self-confidence.
Chess
Great for: Logic and relaxation
Chess is a classic pastime that has brought people together for generations. It’s also a much more relaxed environment than other extracurricular activities, such as sports or drama. Our chess club provides a quiet space where even the most introverted and shy pupils can feel welcomed, while also allowing pupils to develop their cognitive skills in a fun way.
Coding
Great for: Developing modern creative skills
Technology is all around us, especially for children who have never known a life without screens and apps. This makes coding not just an important life skill, but a fun way to gain an understanding of how the modern world works. Coding clubs give children a chance to not only understand the logic behind the tools they use but also play around with them, strengthening their creativity.
Drama
Great for: Developing self-confidence
Drama is perhaps one of the most famous extracurricular activities, alongside team sports. Just like sports, it can feel like an intimidating thing to get into at first, but with a welcoming and supportive community, drama can be a cornerstone of a child’s development. There are few things better for developing self-confidence, one of the modern world’s most vital skills, than learning how to portray a role to a watching audience.
Eco Council
Great for: Learning to inspire change
Young children are becoming increasingly aware of issues surrounding climate change, and many of them are learning to take and inspire action. Our Eco Council is set up to allow those with a passion for sustainability to further their understanding and create initiatives to drive change, both at St Peter’s Prep and beyond. This is a great way for children to follow their passions and develop important leadership skills.
Gardening
Great for: Learning responsibility & patience
Beyond the Eco Council, pupils with a keen interest in nature also have the opportunity to join our gardening and growing clubs. We have gardens where pupils can learn to take care of various plants and follow the cycle from seed to flower. This is a wonderful way to become part of a like-minded community of pupils while also learning skills like responsibility, care and patience.
Music
Great for: Creativity and confidence
Learning instruments is another classic extracurricular activity. Whether starting with the recorder or chasing dreams of being in a band, learning how to make music can be a truly formative experience for young children. Music takes many hours of focus to master, and then performing in front of a crowd can be incredible for developing self-confidence.
Sailing
Great for: Developing both physicality and physics
Sailing is one of our most popular sports, perhaps because it is a unique opportunity to try something different. To succeed at sailing, you need more than just physical skills: you need an understanding of wind physics and a calm mind to position the craft for maximum speed. Sailing is not only a fun way to get out on the water and enjoy exercise, but it can also help develop a host of other logic skills at the same time.
Wakeboarding
Great for: High-energy fun on the water
For energetic children, wakeboarding can be the perfect way to shake off the cobwebs of a long school week. Wakeboarding involves being towed behind a motorboat while riding a board, allowing pupils to experience adrenaline-rushing speeds! It’s a great way for daredevil pupils to channel their energy into something incredibly exciting that tests their skills, focus and courage.
Team Sports
Great for: Keeping active and developing friendships
Perhaps the most famous after-school activity of all time, team sports play a big role at St Peter’s Prep. We have lots of pitches for teams across all popular sports, including:
- Rugby
- Hockey
- Cricket
- Football
- Netball
Team sports provide many benefits, from increased physical activity to developing vital skills such as teamwork and leadership.
Individual Sports
Great for: Active pursuits with less competition
While some children may not enjoy the pressure of team sports, individual pursuits can provide just as enriching experiences. Whether a child is into athletics, martial arts, swimming or anything else, a sport where performance relies solely upon the individual can help develop an important sense of responsibility and self-motivation, while also providing some great physical activity.
Hopefully, all these extracurricular activities show that there’s something for everyone. Whether your child is into sports or not, or prefers loud or quiet environments, there’s something they can enjoy that will develop their passions, push their boundaries and help them become more rounded people as they grow.
