A great education involves far more than outstanding lessons in the classroom and great exam results.
 
The Spring Term Co-Curriculum P7 timetable can be downloaded here: PDF iconSpring 1 Co-curriculum P7 Timetable .pdf
 
Our full programme can be found here:
 
Our current whole school clubs timetable is available to view here PDF iconWhole School Clubs 2022-23.pdf
 
Our Co-curricular activities engage and excite pupils about school, teach important skills that help them in and beyond the classroom, and let them discover new passions. They help students become well-rounded individuals who can play a valuable role in the community.
 
At Ark Acton Academy we believe that in order for our students to lead a happy and successful life they not only need strong academic results but also to have developed key ‘life skills’ that will help them get on in the workplace. At Ark Acton, we focus on the following skills:

Confidence

Student using a camera

Social skills

Students chatting

Articulacy

Student speaking

Team work

Lacrosse team

The experiences that enable young people to develop these skills are the bread and butter of the private school system but are sorely lacking from many state schools. In order to address this imbalance and to ensure that our students can stand shoulder to shoulder with a student from a private school and compete on an equal footing we have designed our co-curricular programme to offer a diverse range of experiences.
 
Every student at Ark Acton participates in our co-curricular programme and tracks their participation and the skills they are developing through our Character Passport. Our co-curricular programme consists of 4 strands:
  • The Ark Acton extended day – this is our compulsory extended day for each year group which provides an opportunity for all students to learn new skills and have new experiences. Each day a different year group stays until 4.30pm to take part in a range of activities that is different for each year group.
  • Trips and visits – we take every year group out on 3 planned trips a year. These are designed to build on one another over the 5 years from Year 7 through to Year 11.
  • Voluntary clubs – we run over 50 clubs a week that any student can opt to attend. These range from Chess to Lacrosse.
  • Sport – alongside our PE lessons, we provide professional sports coaches every lunchtime and after school each day for students to do as much sport as they can.

 

Year 7 

  • All Write Now – a creative writing programme that fosters our student’s creativity and writing passion. It ends with a reading performance of their work and we then publish it in an anthology of Year 7 writing at the end of the year.
  • Volleyball – the students voted overwhelmingly to learn volleyball as a new sport. We bring in professional coaches and ensure all students receive high-quality sports instruction.
  • Into film – this is a club run in conjunction with the British Film Institute (BFI) that introduces the year group to the creative and technical decisions film directors make to get their message across.
  • Art club – this is an opportunity to foster the creative energy of the year group through helping them construct a piece of artwork that speaks to them as an individual.

 

Year 8 

  • Basketball – this sport is popular amongst students at break and lunchtime. We now have professional coaches to deliver basketball which allows them to learn the five key skills of dribbling, shooting, defense, rebounding and passing.
  • Fitness Suite – students get full access to our onsite ‘Everyone Active’ gym which is fully equipped with cross trainers, treadmill, rowing machine, and much more to allow students to improve personal fitness goals.
  • Lacrosse – a competitive team sport, where students train with a skilled member of staff who runs the core school team for lacrosse.
  • HIIT – high intensity interval training gets pulses racing! Students tune into workout videos with Joe Wicks and many more fitness instructors!
  • Football – led by trained football coaches, students form teams and play against each other with the hope of getting onto the school team.

 

Year 9 

  • First Give - The First Give programme inspires and empowers young people to take action to make a positive change in society. Students work with small local charities that address social issues they care about with the hope of securing a £1000 grant for them.
  • See how Ark Acton students stepped up to Save the Planet in February 2023.
 

Year 10 

  • Fitness Suite – students get full access to our onsite ‘Everyone Active’ gym which is fully equipped with cross trainers, treadmill, rowing machine, and much more to allow students to improve personal fitness goals.
  • Football – a popular sport led by trained football coaches. Students form teams and play against each other with the hope of getting onto the school team.
  • Table tennis – a very popular sport which involves students in groups of 4 players hitting a lightweight ball, also known as the ping-pong ball, back and forth across a table using small rackets.
  • Netball – students train with fully qualified coaches to form teams and enjoy learning the sport of netball!
  • HIIT – high intensity interval training gets pulses racing! Students tune into workout videos with Joe Wicks and many more fitness instructors!