Extra-Curricular Offer

We are proud that enrichment is a core part of school life for every one of our pupils. Our clubs offer complements and builds on this enrichment, allowing pupils more chances to develop their interests, talents and develop personally. 

Pupils can join informal sport, ensemble music experiences, support in the library, join chess comrades or drop into Art and Design Technology during their social time. 

Music Rota - Lunch Clubs

Sports Rota – Lunch clubs

Courts rota – playing basketball

Activity Studio rota – playing table tennis

Other lunch club opportunities

Our music offer is wide ranging spanning opportunities in the timetabled enrichment programme and well beyond as part of our extra-curricular offer. We encourage all pupils to play an instrument – this includes subsidising as a school instrumental lessons for all pupils (piano, strings, percussion, brass – we source teachers for whatever pupils are interested in in their transition meeting or when they join). We do subsidise the cost further for pupils with FSM. Our musicians are encouraged to take part in various instrumental ensembles throughout the week at lunchtime including our concert band, strings ensemble and two rock bands. We nominate pupils for the network orchestra (Ark Fusion) and they have a serious of Satrday rehearsals and an Easter residential.  

Our singers have lots of opportunities - pupils can take part in choir Tuesday lunchtime and during Thursday enrichment. Singers are also nominated for the Ark Spark network choir where they can sing as part of a substantial group. We also join performances with BEAT (Barnet Education and Arts Trust) and have performed 2 years running at the Royal Albert Hall as part of a Barnados charity show.

Both musicians and singers take part in the Ark Gala performance every year, an annual network show in the Barbican – this incorporated 38 Ark schools last year. We have our own Spring Concert which all of our groups feature and soloists at an earlier learning stage also perform to open the evening. In addition we have a school musical, last year Bugsy Malone and the previous year Little Shop of Horrors – rehearsals for this take place during Friday enrichment and after school. Pupils audition and volunteer to commit.

Note the choir have performed at the Royal Albert Hall for a Barnados Charity Gig- we sponsored participation/ t shirts required. Choir also performed at the Barbican last July at the Ark Gala, again we ensured pupils had necessary uniform, staff support and event at no cost. They also have performed in our own Spring Concert
 

In December we hold a school wide Seasonal Celebration & performance of a play. This includes pupils from Y8, 9 & 10 who rehearse weekly.

Lunchtime sports

Every lunchtime pupils have the opportunity to play sports, on a rota to allow different year group participation. This includes:

• Football on the MUGA
• Basketball on two half courts
• Table tennis in the dance studio

Pupils do not have to sign up and can opt in/out whenever they wish.

After school: Sports Clubs Timetable

Pupils can volunteer to join any after school club, which run Monday-Thursday up to 5pm.

In addition at school over lunchtime we have further clubs ad drop ins available for pupils:

• Our Library is open every day before school, break, lunch. Our Library Leaders run the space with our duty lead. Pupils can use the space to study, browse books, read or use the suite of desktop computers.
• Art & Design Technology clubs - drop ins encouraged during the week with different days for each year group. Pupils encourages to attend with a much coveted queue skip if they attend.
• Chess & coding club – this runs once per week on a Wednesday to encourage pupils to play and learn informally

We promote school community events and internal competitions to pupils via their weekly notices in form time on Monday, in assemblies and via the Pupil Council, as well as sharing via email and on the plasma. The aim of this is to encourage high participation amongst all groups. Events in 2022-23 included:

• Monday 3rd October – Black History month writing & art competition
• Thursday 13th October Number Hunt 
• Thursday 20th October - Pumpkin Carving Competition Launch
• 7th November – Pioneer-ing Voices competition launch
• W/B 7th November - French GCHQ language competition
• Thursday 24th November – Ark Hack competition (Y10 Computer Scientists)
• Friday 2nd December - Photography competition launch
• Monday 5th – 8th December -Pioneer Bake-offs competitions for each year group
• Tuesday 13th December - Pioneers Got Talent
• 3rd February – UKMT Individual Competitions Intermediate level (targeted pupils in Y9 and 10)
• Friday 24th February – Primary Badminton event at Pioneer
• Wednesday 1st March – Schools Club- Sylvia Workshop (drama group)
• Monday 6th March (all week) Easter-themed Bake Off competitions
• Monday 13th March: Netball Trip to Copper Box Arena
• Thursday 16th March Library Leaders Field Trip – Harry Potter World
• Wednesday 22nd March Sitting Volleyball (SEND) event
•  Thursday 23rd March: Year 8 First Give Social Action Project Final (whole year group)
• Friday 21st—Saturday 22nd April Y10 Duke of Edinburgh Expedition
• Tuesday 25th April Y7 & 8 Oxford University Trip (50 pupils)
• Tuesday 9th May Year 9 & 10 British Biology Challenge (60 pupils)
• Wednesday 10th May University of Bristol—Y10 Chemistry Visit (selected pupils)

It’s very important to us that pupils have a rich curriculum experience that goes beyond the examination specification. We offer trips to build aspiration, explore culture and go beyond classroom learning in each discipline. Trips can take place outside the school day and include longer residential trips. In the case of certain trips, we subsidise for all pupils, For all trip costs, we subsidise further for pupils with FSM and for families with siblings in the same year.

Here are some of the trips pupils went on in 2022-23:

•  12th July: Y9 End of Key Stage 3 Rewards Trip—Thorpe Park 
• 7th—10th July: Y7 & 8 Residential Trip to the Opal Coast, France
• 18th—20th July: Y9 Residential Trip to Paris, France  
• Tuesday 17th January: Y10 PE Pupils – Trip to Loughborough University – Sports Focus
• Wednesday 25th January Pillar Day & Trip to Bath University
• Friday 3rd February Yr 7 Trip to Tate Modern
• Monday 6th March – Y8 Trip to Globe Theatre
• Thursday 30thMarch – Y9 Trip to Globe Theatre
• Wednesday 10th May Y7 Rewards Trip to West End Theatre ‘Wicked’ the musical 
• Wednesday 24th May Year 8 Reward Trip - Science Museum
• Wednesday 7th & Thu 8th June Y9 University Trip—Royal Holloway
• 17th—19th July: Y7 Residential Trip to the Opal Coast, France

At Ark Pioneer, we are committed to encouraging our students to foster a lifelong enthusiasm for, and love of, reading for pleasure. The library offers an up-to-date wide range of resources to support this aim, including fiction and information books, manga and comic books and magazines. We hold regular events and competitions open to all to help create a school-wide reading environment; this year these have included a monthly ‘books and biscuits’ lunchbreak event, a Roald Dahl day Kahoot quiz, a newspaper activity for non-fiction November and a ‘read for raffle’ winter reading competition. We celebrate national initiatives, such as world book day, and are excited to have our first book club made up of year 11 PE students, who are currently reading a spy thriller. Our fantastic team of library leaders comprises of students from years 7-11 who take pride in assisting with the development of our library as it continues to grow with our school.