ActivitiesBooklet

The Bede’s Co-CurricularProgramme

“To know what you prefer is to keep your soul alive.”

- Robert Louis Stephenson

Introduction

We give equal importance to Academic, Pastoral and Co-Curricular aspects of life and we do this because every part of a person’s education is interconnected.This holistic approach to school is not just an add-on. It is our strong belief that learning takes place beyond the confines of the classroom, and with this in mind, we place creativity, service and action at the heart of the student experience.Students at Bede’s pick from a wide array of over 100 clubs and activities each week, guided by our fantastic Personal Tutors. We have structured our school day to focus on activities that are targeted, rigorous and inclusive, and prepare our students to see life as an educational journey.Co-Curricular choices are important, in particular for our older students for whom the programme offers them the chance to develop specialisms and meaningfully enrich their CVs. Our goal is to increase their confidence, tolerance and empathy for others, enabling students to demonstrate a high level of commitment and develop leadership skills.

Whether in our rigorous Sports Academies, which have seen Bede’s teams in Tennis, Cricket, Football and Hockey building national reputations, our range of addition-al courses or creative clubs and activities, sessions provide opportunities for students to challenge themselves, perform beyond their expectations and work collaboratively with students of different ages and friend-ship groups.

At Bede’s, we educate the whole person.

We help students to initiate activities too, and reflect on their role as leaders, guiding them to persevere with things they may find difficult and encouraging them to explore physical and creative lifestyles.Bede’s students also have innumerable opportunities to demonstrate service towards the School, community or wider world, including volunteering with local hospitals, holding ‘knit and natter’ ses-sions with local residents, spending time at nearby care homes or teaching English, Art, Mandarin, Music, Drama, PE and Science at local primary schools.As well as engaging with our consistently successful Duke of Edinburgh schemes, through our House Charity system and work with local and national charities every Bede’s pupil engages in campaigning and fundraising for a diverse range of very worthy causes.Through the work undertaken by our spe-cialist staff, using our unbeatable facilities and enabled by our innovative timetable, Bede’s students leave the school knowing who they are and what they want from life.Furthermore, they have the skills and expe-rience to pursue the things which matter most to them, whether that be a passion

for additional languages, qualifications in Climbing and Sailing or experience of breeding endangered species at our Animal Management Centre.Whatever a young person’s needs, passions or interests, the Bede’s Co-Curricular Programme will truly enable them.

Rachael WoollettCo-Curricular Deputy Head

rachael.woollett@bedes.org

Art and DesignArt Scholars Workshops p.4Car Restoration p.4Ceramics Club p.4GCSE Photography p.5Land and Seascape Photography p.5Life Drawing p.5Metal Work and Jewellery Making p.5Printmaking p.6Printing on Clay p.6Sewing and Dressmaking p.6

Computing and ScienceComputer Programming p.7History of Videogames p.7Science Discussion Group p.7Space Science Club p.8Zoological Society p.8

CookeryThe Great Bede’s Bake-Off p.8

Leiths Cookery Toolbox p.8

DramaDrama Club p.9Drama Scholars’ Play p.9Junior Production p.9Senior Production p.10Theatre Production p.10

Film and HumanitiesBBC School Report p.11Creative Writing p.11Debating p.11Economics and Politics Society p.12Film Club p.12Media Masterclass p.12Model United Nations p.12Theology and Philosophy Society p.12

Hobbies and Table GamesChess p.13Downland Walking p.13

Contentss

Dungeons and Dragons p.13Go Karting p.14Horse Riding p.14Miniature War Gaming p.14Mountain Biking p.14Rock Climbing p.15Snooker p.15Wine Making and Brewing p.15

LanguagesGerman Breakfast Club p.16Italian For Beginners p.16Modern Languages for Native Speakers p.16

MusicBede’s Singers p.17BTEC Band Rehearsal p.17Chamber Music p.17Jazz Band p.18Jazz Choir p.18Music Technology p.18Orchestra p.18

ServiceChess In The Community p.19Community Links p.19Duke of Edinburgh (Bronze and Silver) p.20International Relations p.20Reflection and Action Committee p.20Zoological Society p.20

Sports and FitnessAcademy Sports p.21Club Sports p.21Martial Arts and Fitness p.21

Weekend ProgrammeOverview p.22s

Art and Design

Art Scholars WorkshopThe art scholars group provides an oppor-tunity for gifted and talented art students to spend time on their chosen area of interest. Talented First Years work alongside top GCSE students and focus on a range of approaches to drawing, colour work, design and painting skills. The students experiement with new techniques or develop existing skills to refine their visual understanding or extend their repertoire. The group ensures that individuals find themes and ideas they wish to pursue in a supportive environment. Individual students will be encouraged to develop their own independent thinking, explore their own passions and collect images to work from which inspire them.

Car RestorationThe members of Car Restoration Club meet weekly to restore our project cars, which at the moment are an Austin 7 and an MGB GT, learning basic engineering and mechanical skills along the way.We always start by completely stripping down the project car to its bare chassis and removing all components before thoroughly cleaning them and checking for wear or damage. These parts are then either refitted or repaired, and some new parts are fitted.Engines and gear boxes are also removed and rebuilt if necessary, and we then carefully rebuild the cars bit by bit, putting them back together in their original state or, sometimes, making them even better!

Ceramics ClubLearn an art form that can improvecoordination, focus and sense of humour!Explore creating with clay, an ancient art form that is only becoming rarer as a subject in schools.Learn how to coil, slab and throw on the potter’s wheel, with a wide variety of projects available to try, friendly teachers and a consistently fun group of people.If you have an idea, you can make it!

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GCSE PhotographyGCSE Photography has been exceptionally popular course at Bede’s; students learn the significance and uses of Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO. They learn how to develop black and white film and they will explore how to fuse their knowledge to create and develop new ideas and concepts. Although Photography GCSE is not in the time-table, it takes place in activity time during the week. To do this course you will need to choose one GCSE Photography option in the week and we advise another Art Activity to help when doing Prep and hitting deadlines. This course is an Invite Only course and takes place over a two year period.

Land and Seascape PhotographyA Summer-term only activity, the Landscape and Seascape Photography activity was started in 2011.The club enables Bede’s students to explore our local area with their cameras, guided by teachers who are themselves enthusiastic photographers.From trips to beautiful locations around Sussex, pupils put together a portfolio of images reflecting the beauty of the local area with no expectation that they will be formally assessed.Students from all year groups are welcomed onto the activity whether they are studying Pho-tography as an examination subject or not - or whether they are any good with a camera!

Life DrawingThis activity is open to those Sixth Form students who intend to apply for art colleges and for those students specifically concerned with figurative painting.The sessions are delivered via an academically rigorous programme that is as exciting as it is demanding. Students study proportion and line, mark making and volume along with strategies for observation and measuring techniques.

Metal Working and Jewellery MakingFounded in September 2015, Bede’s Met-alwork and Jewellery Making Activity offer students the chance to engage in an intensive 12-week course in how to make rings, neck-laces and broaches.Open to pupils from all year groups, this activ-ity supposes you have no skills in or experience of working with metal or fashioning jewellery, although if you do you are still welcome!For those unto whom metalwork and jewel-lery-making are uncharted waters, each weekly session will guide you through a new tech-nique up until Week 8, after which you will be challenged to design and make a unique and precious object of your own creation.

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Printing on ClayLearn how to print onto clay using lino prints. Add transfers you have designed yourself to fired ceramics. Spend an afternoon learning a new creative skill that helps to improve patience and hand to eye coordination!One of the aims of the activity is to design and develop your own ideas from paper to clay. This decorative method can boost your making skills and to push your ambition with clay, and is open to everyone.

Sewing and Dress MakingThe Sewing and Dressmaking Activity is a weekly club which welcomes pupils of all abil-ities - those with years of textiles experience and those who have never picked up a needle and thread.Students who join the group are given full ex-planations of the techniques and materials they will need to best achieve their goals, whatever those may be.If you are looking to simply make-do-and-mend then we will happily talk you through every trick in the trade, but those students seeking some-thing more can acquire a depth and breadth of skills from stitching to embroidering, needle-work to high-end clothing design.

Print MakingPrintmaking is a new and exciting initiative here in Bede’s Art Department. We are extremely fortunate to have a beautiful, rare Victorian ‘Columbian’ printing press dating from1830. This is on permanent loan from a practising artist. Students are introduced to a range of tech-niques making use of this amazing piece of equipment and much more including collo-graph, mono print, lino cut and simple etching. Learning about mark-making, texture, surface designs and pattern, students who take part experiment with a selection of tools and materials. This activity is open to beginners through to A Level students.

Computer Programming

Computing and Science

Both C Sharp and VB programming activities are primarily designed for Year 9, 10 or 11 students who want to start or improve their programming skills in the Autumn and Spring terms.We cover concepts including Algorithms, Variables and Data types, Objects and Classes, Methods, Arrays and GUI’s, with students gaining a better understanding of problem solving and developing the skills to create and contribute to open source software projects, private enterprises and the development of websites, apps and games.

History of Video GamesFounded in 2013, the Bede’s History of Video Games Club isn’t just about playing games.Taking place once a week in the Bede’s Music Studio, members of the History of Video Games group play and then dissect iconic titles to explore what makes them tick, starting in the 8-bit era in the Autumn Term and moving grad-ually forward to the present across the year.Members of the activity learn about the stages of development, the history of the industry’s many genres and analyse how gameplay hooks, and infectious, catchy music come together to create a heady, compulsive mix of experiences.

Science Discussion GroupThis is an invite only Sixth Form activity, which is aimed at pupils who want to study Medicinal, Veterinary or Degree level Science at university.The aims of the activity are to get pupils think-ing about these subjects at a level higher than that of A Level study. By pushing them to begin to discuss relevant current affairs relating to scientific break-throughs or newspaper headlines, pupils begin to develop cross-linked thinking outside of the curriculum. We also discuss ethics in Science as well as the limitations of scientific research, which can vary from country to country worldwide.

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Space Science ClubFounded in Autumn Term 2015, Space Science Club welcomes students from all year groups with an interest in the inner workings of the Universe.Part of the group’s time is spent studying space, time and other complex concepts barely touched on at GCSE and A Level. Elsewhere, the Club provides training for the Bede’s UK Space Design Competition team and helps them prepare for this prestigious competition.Entry to the competition is via video and regional events, with winning teams taking part in a residential competition weekend hosted by Imperial College London.

Zoological Society Bede’s Zoological Society, which currently cares for some forty species three afternoons a week, provides an attractive, unconven-tional pathway to academic discovery and change. It is also a fun and fulfilling activity for anyone – no matter their year group – who has a pas-sion for animals, their care and conservation.Each term we have between 50 and 60 students with representatives from every year group taking part, which makes us the most popular non-sporting activity in the school, with members of the Zoological Society handling and caring for a vast array of species, taking part in visits to local Zoos and wildlife parks and enjoying talks led by visiting experts in the field of conservation.

Great Bede’s Bake-Off

Cookery

Inspired by the likes of The Great British Bake-Off and Masterchef, The Great Bede’s Bake-Off sees pupils compete in a series of weekly challenges throughout the year.Primarily designed as a training ground for First Year and Fifth Form pupils looking to enter the Eastbourne Young Chef competition in the Summer Term, the Great Bede’s Bake-Off is designed to challenge the culinary talents within the Bede’s community and see them reach towards creating fine dining dishes and those more elabourate cakes and pastries not encountered in Food and Nutrition lessons.

Leiths Cookery ToolboxLaunched in September 2015, the Leith’s Cookery Toolbox is a 12 week course de-signed to give students a thorough introduc-tion to cookery.Delivered to all First Year pupils as part of the curriculum and open to pupils in both the Fifth and Sixth Form during Activity Time, each session sees students preparing a staple meal involving key principles every chef needs, using the kind of ingredients and equipment found in a normal household kitchen.Students who complete the course receive full Leiths Cookery Toolbox certification.

Dance and Drama

Drama ClubThe aim of our Drama club is to engage students who have not opted for curriculum Drama to enjoy improvisation, devising and scripted drama. This club is intended to be a fun, practical activity and could lead to the creation of a performance if the students wish. No previous experience of Drama is necessary.In Autumn 2015, for example, we enjoyed working with a small group of Lower Sixth and First Year students exploring Drama through games, workshops analysing language in text and finally characterisation.

Drama Scholars’ PlayEach year, Bede’s Drama Scholars are set a challenge.They are asked with staging an intimate production in Studio B of The Miles Studio Theatre with minimal input from the Drama department or Bede’s teaching faculty as a whole; they are given a script and a director as a sounding board, and the rest is up to them.With the focus placed squarely on performance, the Scholars’ Play is designed to be a spare, actor-centric endeavour where students rise or fall in accordance with their own levels of determination.

Junior ProductionIn the second half of each Summer Term, with the exam rush over for our Upper Fifth and Sixth Form students, the Bede’s Drama department’s attentions turn to our First Year and Lower Fifth pupils.In contrast with our annual Senior Produc-tion, our Junior Production is open only to the youngest members of the Bede’s Senior School community, providing them with the opportunity to take centre-stage.Furthermore, to focus the minds of these young casts, we invite parents, members of the wider Bede’s community and a number of Sussex, Surrey and Kent Prep Schools to watch what our talented young actors have prepared.As with all of our plays and musicals, the set design, lighting, costumes and sound for our Junior Productions are managed by Bede’s pupils as part of the Theatre Production club.

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Senior ProductionEvery Academic Year, aside from the dozen or so Examination Productions produced at Bede’s, the school stages one Senior Play or Musical involving pupils from all year groups.A showcase of Bede’s incredible acting talent, the Senior Production operates on a two-yearly cycle; one year we will stage a musical, such as Sweet Charity in 2013-14, and the next a play, such as Noises Off in 2014-15.Our Senior Production for 2015-16 will be Into The Woods, which will be staged over three nights and a matineé at The Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne.With all of the make-up, set design, lighting and production management handled by Bede’s pupils, who work in partnership with industry veterans like Bob Bryan and Stephanie Carr-Gomm as part of the Theatre Production activity in the Co-Curricular Programme, these annual events are not to be missed!

Theatre ProductionIn the Bede’s Drama Department we aim for the impossible.We look to create productions with production values that are consistently beyond anything other schools even dream of. The technical theatre activity is there to support this ambition. We are fortunate enough to be surrounded by some of the best technical experts in the country: Glyndebourne Opera, Bob Bryan - one of the world’s top lighting designers, Ken Miller who won a lifetime achievement award for his contribution to British Theatre, and Howard Eaton and Stephanie Carr-Gomm - the team who built the Olympic rings. All are regular and enthusiastic contributors to our productions.We use students for all aspects of technical theatre - painting, lighting, sound, costume, design and building and aim to push them to achieve what they had not thought possible.

Film and Humanities

Creative WritingCreative Writing Club at Bede’s involves a lot more that sitting quietly writing stories!We believe that firing up your imagination is all about getting out into the world, seeing new things and using wierd and wonderful stimuli to craft truly creative stories.Each week we do something completely new - trips out to castles, sights, the beach and the like or visits from guest writers and speakers.Armed with plenty of chocolate and warm beverages, we then embark upon writing short stories either as individuals or in groups, with each week also seeing a new competition!

DebatingBede’s Debating Club is all about learning how to structure well-reasoned arguments under time-pressure before putting forward those arguments in a public forum.We compete against a number of schools in Sussex each year, including as part of the English Speaking Union Schools Mace Competition, which we hosted in Autumn 2015. We have also won the Wealden Schools Debating Competition on several occasions, and - as a group - are always on the lookout for fresh talent.This friendly club is open to all year groups.

BBC School ReportBBC News School Report is a collaborative project run by BBC News and BBC Learning every summer.The scheme gives 11-16 year-old students in the UK the chance to make their own news reports for a real audience.With support from BBC staff and partners, the activity sees teachers at Bede’s help students develop their journalistic skills to become School Reporters before schools take part in an annual News Day each March, during which the video, audio and text-based news reports they have published are linked to the BBC news website.

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Theology and Philosophy SocietyThe Bede’s Theology and Philosophy Society exists to explore contemporary and relevant questions of ultimate truth and meaning.Members meet for internal and external lectures, events and trips where the aim is to challenge our thinking, discuss and explore ideas. The chair of the society is the Head of Theology and Philosophy, Mr Stannard, support-ed by a committee of highly able students.The society takes members from across the school, although many of its key members do study the subject at exam level and many go on to Oxbridge and Russell Group universities.

Film ClubThe aim of the activity is to inspire students to look a little further than the usual hegem-onic Hollywood cinema found in the multiplex.Trying to expose students to filmmakers from all over the world and not just America opens doors to a plethora of new and exciting directors, actors, narratives and ideas.We look at stories that don’t naturally conclude in the ‘usual’ fashion, characters that are not merely good or evil and themes that apply much more strongly to nationhood and national identity.After watching the films there is then discussions about the new ways directors and writers have created cinema, and debates about how audiences respond emotionally to different concepts and notions across the world. With new films programmed for each term, attending Film Club never gets old.Oh, and, you can bring your own snacks...

Media Masterclasses Whether your are a Media Studies or Film student, you are welcome at the Media department for our twice-weekly Media Masterclasses. Each session provides a new opportunity for students to refine their skills and experiment with more advanced techniques in Bede’s two studio spaces, which include a Green Screen Room, as well as our two state of the art edit suites.

Politics and Economics SocietyThe Politics and Economics society is run by students and the heads of Politics and Economics. The society was formed for many reasons, but our main objective is to spread awareness of these two subjects. We organise debates, guest speakers and discussions, and write articles for bedes.org. The only prerequisite for joining is a keen interest in the topics!

Model United NationsModel United Nations is an international ac-ademic competition through which students learn about diplomacy, international relations and the United Nations. Involving research, public speaking, debating and writing skills, in addition to critical think-ing, teamwork, and leadership abilities, Bede’s MUN delegates attend annual conferences as an assigned country with assignments prepared for in advance. They formulate positions which they then debate while staying true to the actual position of the country they are representing, building alliances and trying to get resolutions passed.It’s globally respected and it’s a lot of fun too!

Hobbies and Table Games

ChessIn Bede’s Chess Club, we engage in friendly games for players of all abilities, from begin-ner to expert, in an informal atmosphere. The main purpose of Bede’s Chess Club is recreational although, as Mr Costley is an experienced and current member of the Sussex County First Team, he is on hand for coaching and providing occasional tips, on request!

Downland Walking Three afternoons a week, members of the Bede’s community from all year groups are invited to join Bede’s rambling group.We embark upon walks of different lengths and difficulty across the South Downs, through Friston Forest, around Arlington Reservoir and along the beaches of the Sussex Coastline.

Dungeons and DragonsDungeons and Dragons club encourages thoughtfulness and teamwork, as well as al-lowing certain students to embrace (unfamil-iar) leadership roles, together with forward planning and some mathematical thought (for those who get involved in the mechanics of the games). Based around the iconic series of pen and paper roleplaying games, our group has played a variety of story-based games in a wide range of settings, with a lot of creativity from both players and organisers. We’ve had sci-fi adventures in which the students had to try to fly a Siri-guided space shuttle, a fantasy escapade during which a brave warrior jumped into a pit of flaming tigers to successfully obtain a pair of Fabulous Shoes and another in which the party had to take a rabble of orcs shopping at a medieval superstore, it is easy to see why the club’s membership is on the rise... and that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

A great way to spend time with friends, stretch the legs and enjoy some fresh air – as well as taking in some of the most beautiful panoramas in the United Kingdom – Downland Walking is one of Bede’s most consistently popular clubs.

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Go KartingThroughout the Autumn and Spring Terms, members of Go Karting Club primarily repair and build a range of small automotive vehi-cles, learning basic mechanic and engineer-ing skills in a fun way.Specifically, students build new school karts from their bare chassis and repair our current karts; pupils also have the option to build their own kart or to improve one that they have brought in.Twice each term, pupils then have the oppor-tunity to visit a Go Kart circuit and take part in races, and during the summer months Karts are taken out into the school fields where auto test-type circuits are set up to test their skills.

Horse Riding Bede’s has a long and happy association with equestrian pursuits.For over 25 years our Equestrian Centre provided a wide-ranging framework for an extensive range of Equine education, and now we ride at a local equestrian park to which students are taken by bus. Everybody is welcome at Horse Riding Club, from those with International ambitions to those with even the smallest interest, with several Bede’s students competing locally, regionally and internationally in races and dressage.Learning how to ride and how to care for horses is one of life’s great pleasures, so it is our hearty recommendation that every student give the activity a try at some point in their school career. Who knows, you might love it!

Miniature War GamingMiniature war games see military tactics, dice and art combine to form an absorbing, addicting, challenging hobby.The students who participate learn a range of painting techniques, forward planning skills both for within the game and as they collect their armies and even a little mathematics (which, in this context, raises remarkably few objections!) Really however, Warhammer teaches people the art of weighing up multiple criteria to assess risk before using your knowledge to your own advantage.

Mountain Biking Founded in 2002, the Bede’s Mountain Biking Club goes out twice a week year round, rain or shine, and we are also a popular choice on Saturday mornings as part of the Weekend Programme.Most of our riding takes place within the beautiful surrounds of Friston Forest, which is situated on the South Downs Way, and we also ride in the picturesque national South Downs National Park.The majority of our riding is single-track, but we also ride cross country.Each activity session sees a minimum of 2 staff members and up to 10 students riding out, with numbers limited for safety reasons.All bikes and helmets are provided (Specialized or Marin) and we welcome all abilities from beginners to experts and do our best to make each ride as exciting as possible.

Rock ClimbingRock climbing is a growing activity at Bede’s, running now in its second year.The Bede’s climbing group travels each week to the Evolution climbing centre in Crowbor-ough to take part in a range of on and off-rope climbing. Evolution offers a unique environment which provides the opportunity for climbers to take part in both top-rope climbing and bouldering in the same building.All our students are working towards or have passed a range of National Indoor Climbing Award Scheme (NICAS) levels.

SnookerThe Snooker activity is open to all students, regardless of ability.In these modern times of technology and noise, playing a game as simple as Snooker can be therapeutic as students are asked to whisper in the snooker hall and enjoy an intelligent pastime.As their skills improve they will start to enjoy the game more and appreciate watching two of the world’s Top 50 ranked players practising alongside them and even take up the challenge of playing Mr Driver - if they feel brave enough!

Wine-Making and BrewingThis Sixth Form only activity was founded in 2012 and has only grown in popularity - something which should come as no surprise considering the fine tradition of Sussex ales and ciders.Bede’s is perfectly placed for this activity con-sidering its location; with Harvey’s Brewery in Lewes only 7 miles away and over 30 acclaimed breweries located in local towns and villages, there is plenty of inspiration of for participants to draw on.Pupils who join the group are provided with the opportunity to create a diverse range of bev-erages from scratch, from wines and dessert wines to ciders, lagers and ales, learning all of fundamentals of home brewing as well as gaining a huge range of scientific knowledge.

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Languages

German Breakfast ClubA new activity for January 2015, the German Breakfast Club runs every Thursday from 7.50-8.20am.The club is open to all Sixth Form students studying German as well as Bede’s Sixth Form German native speakers.Students enjoy a breakfast consisting of fresh German rolls (with lots of seeds on them) alongside Daim-chocolate spread, blueberry or gooseberry jam from Ikea’s lovely preserves range, watch German breakfast TV and snack on Jacob’s Krönung Kaffee or Frisian tea - while speaking exclusively in German, as you might well expect!

Italian for BeginnersThis activity allows pupils with no prior knowl-edge of Italian to begin learning the language from scratch. Pupils are taught by a visiting tutor who is a native speaker of Italian, and the emphasis is on learning how to communicate effectively, whilst working on the basics of grammar, using a wide range of different games and activities. Pupils may choose to continue for the whole year and work towards a GCSE qualification, or they may prefer just to learn for fun. Whatever the case, everyone is welcome!

Modern Languages for Native SpeakersNative speakers of languages other than English may use the Activities programme to enhance their knowledge of their mother tongue and the cultures with which is it asso-ciated, whilst also preparing to take public examinations (GCSE, A-level or Pre-U). This is a very popular option for our international pupils, and is currently offered in French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese) and Japanese. Pupils must have a near-fluent knowledge of the language to join this activity.

Music

Bede’s SingersThe Bede’s Singers is open to all students and is an opportunity to come and sing in 3 and 4 part harmony in a variety of popular and contemporary musical styles from Gospel to Musical Theatre.The Bede’s Singers perform in a number of concerts throughout the year, including Cabaret and Vocal Workshops.In January 2015, they performed with West End Singer, Tabitha Webb, in her concert ‘Love Changes Everything’.

BTEC Band RehearsalThis activity is open to all BTEC Music Performance students and provides them with the opportunity to get together and play in preparation of School concerts.These rehearsals culminate in a gig in the Bede’s Recital Room in the Summer term of each year.Primarily designed for other Bede’s students to enjoy, the BTEC gig normally sees a variety of performers, from skilled soloists to small ensembles and bands, doing their best to raise the roof.With full lighting and sound organised by the students themselves, there could be few better kinds of exam than this one!

Chamber MusicThis activity is provided for Music Scholars and those Music students with a high aptitude for performance and musical perception who wish to learn more about the refined art of Chamber Music.The purpose of the activity is to prepare stu-dents for the school’s Chamber Music Evening in the Summer Term and for other selected concerts in the school’s musical calendar.We focus on a wide range of repertoire.In recent years, this has included music by Frank Bridge, Beethoven, Mozart and Schubert amongst others.

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Jazz ChoirThe Jazz Choir is a 6-voice female close-har-mony group that performs many of the Jazz Standards from Gershwin to Cole Porter.The Jazz Choir performs in our annual Cabaret Evening, as well at Speech Day and in external events in the local community throughout the year, often accompanied by the Bede’s Jazz Band.

Music Technology Whether it’s commercially released music or music/sound for other media such as film, video, TV, radio production, live-sound or video games, there are many career avenues and professional arenas demanding skilled sound engineers, audio programmers and producers.In the Music Technology department at Bede’s,

OrchestraThe Bede’s Orchestra meets once a week to rehearse for regular concerts.They perform at least twice a year, being a well-established and integral part of the annual Cabaret Concert held in November and have their own concert in March.The repertoire covers classical works as well as film scores, show music and arrangements of popular and swing numbers.All players of orchestral instruments are welcome to take part.Recently the orchestra ran an exchange with the Sussex County Youth Orchestra from New Jersey and gave a series of concerts both in the USA and here in Sussex.The emphasis is on serious rehearsal as well as having fun - the joy of making music together cannot be over emphasised!

there is a strong emphasis on learning through doing. We have a very well-resourced studio facility integrating both analogue and digital technologies, and there are a vast number of concerts and other events where ‘Music Tech’ students learn live sound reinforcement techniques, working with outside industry experts on larger events and utilising state-of-the-art digital live sound consoles.In this activity, Music Technology students learn the principals of sound engineering and audio recording project management, working with software audio sequencers Logic Pro and Pro Tools HD to develop a portfolio which demonstrates the variety of sound engineering techniques and skills.

Jazz BandThe Bede’s Jazz Band has the standard ‘Big Band’ line up of trumpets, trombones, saxes and a rhythm section.They meet regularly, for two hours every Tuesday afternoon, and are a very dedicated and enthusiastic group.The Jazz Band rehearses for numerous public performances throughout the year including the Cabaret Concert, an annual Jazz Evening, an outdoor concert on Speech Day, and perfor-mances outside school at a wide variety of functions and dances. Repertoire includes standard jazz and swing numbers as well as rock, pop and show numbers.

Chess In The Community

Service

Chess in the Community is open to all year groups and aims to spread the enjoyment and wonder of the game of chess amongst local primary school pupils. Participating Bede’s students must love the game and have a level of chess competence, but they need not be experts! During the activ-ity they might teach children as young as four the basics of the game, although they likewise may find themselves coaching older pupils with specific strategies! Members of the activity enjoy the time they spend teaching the younger children and watching as they discover new tactics each week. If that sounds like fun, sign up!

Community LinksThe Bede’s Community Links project, founded in 2010, involves 40 student volunteers who volunteer their time to help local individuals, organisations and institutions throughout Sussex and beyond.Alongside their continued work at Park Mead primary school, Hailsham Community College and Ratton School, the pupils have this year delivered short courses at Woodlands Federa-tion primary schools and engaged in charitable work at Eastbourne District General Hospital.

With the invaluable input of Bede’s teachers, pupils have continued to invite groups of older people to the school from locales including Upper Dicker, Hailsham and Seaford for computer lessons, to have tea, play games and take part in tours of our increasingly beautiful campus.Aside from this the pupils have visited a number of nursing homes, including Alfriston Court, to offer their company to residents, and we also work with Chailey Heritage, an organisation which specialises in helping physically handicapped children.It takes a special kind of pupil to do the kinds of things our students are doing. Luckily, we have many, many special pupils at Bede’s who are keen to volunteer their time for good causes.

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International RelationsThe International Relations activity provides students with an opportunity to discuss and debate important issues in the world today.Subjects discussed in past sessions have included the war in Syria, Internet surveillance, and women’s rights in societies worldwide. The activity requires the active participation of students, but we do also watch documentaries on key international issues!The important thing for the students in the activity is that they can not only learn about events which sometimes are left out of mainstream media, but also engage with ideas of change and awareness. Our recent debate and discussion on the UK Arms trade allowed the students to engage with a delicate subject matter but several went on to sign petitions and sought to raise awareness in their Houses.

Reflection and ActionCommittee The Reflection and Action Committee is all about helping us to becoming whole and healthy individuals and contributors to society. We believe that there is a part of who we are that cannot be addressed through traditional educational opportunities and, as we reflect upon who we are, what we have, our place in the world and the awe and wonder of life itself, we move towards having a greater sense of individual peace which helps us to act upon our responsibility to others through charity fundraising and reviewing the School’s PSHE curriculum.

Zoological SocietyBede’s Zoological Society, which currently cares for some forty species three afternoons a week, provides an attractive, unconven-tional pathway to academic discovery and change. It is also a fun and fulfilling activity for anyone – no matter their year group – who has a pas-sion for animals, their care and conservation.Each term we have between 50 and 60 students with representatives from every year group taking part, which makes us the most popular non-sporting activity in the school, with members of the Zoological Society handling and caring for a vast array of species, taking part in visits to local Zoos and wildlife parks and enjoying talks led by visiting experts in the field of conservation.

Duke of Edinburgh (Bronze and Silver) There are three levels of the DofE Award; Bronze, Silver and Gold, and most new Bedi-ans join our Bronze group. The Award is divided into four sections; Skill, Physical, Service and Expedition. The first three sections are pursued independently by the participants. Many students will be able to complete some or all of these sections through the Bede’s activity programme by selecting appropriate activities in addition to the ‘DofE’ activity. Others will complete this, partly or wholly, outside of school time. The expedition section will be completed entirely through their weekly activity and the expedition weekends.

Sport and Fitness

Academy SportsBede’s has five Sports Academies which have year-round training programmes and special Invite-Only training sessions both on and off-site for Sports Scholars, with top athletes also enjoying free Strength and Conditioning Sessions and National or International-level sportspeople joining the Bede’s Emerging Talent Programme (ETP).Also under the banner of the Sports Academies, Bede’s fields teams and a diverse array of training sessions for pupils of all abilities in its five ‘Core Sports’, from Senior and exclusive 1st team training to Junior and purely recreational sessions in Football, Girls’ and Boys’ Hockey, Netball, Boy’s and Girls’ Cricket and Tennis.

Club SportsAside from the ‘big five’ Sports Academies, Be-de’s also has over a dozen Sports Clubs which also offer expert coaching, Invite-Only Training and busy fixture lists. Also like the Academy Programmes, the Sports Clubs are open to pupils from all year groups and aside from team and individual training each also offers purely Recreational Sessions for those who looking only to play sport for enjoyment.These Club Sports include Athletics, Badmin-

ton, Basketball, Cross Country Running, Golf, Indoor Football, Rounders, Rugby, Sailing, Squash, Skiing, Swimming, Target Rifle Shoot-ing, Volleyball (Girls Only), Windsurfing and Water Polo.

Martial Arts and FitnessDistinct from the Strength and Conditioning sessions offered to Bede’s elite athletes, all Bedians have access to the School’s fitness suite and training advice during the extremely popular Weights and Fitness activity (for Lower Fifth pupils upwards).Elsewhere, Jogging For Fun takes place three afternoons a week, weekly Kickboxing sessions are available for boys and girls of all ages, and a girls-only Zumba session takes place each Thursday.

For detailed information on our Sports Programmes, please check bedes.org

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Weekend Programme

Bede’s is a seven-day-a-week school and our Weekend Programme is open to all boarders and any Day Pupils who choose to ‘opt in’ via our MyBedes extranet service.The programme starts after school on Friday when a series of evening activities begin. These vary from week to week and include theatre, bowling and cinema trips to Hailsham, East-bourne or Brighton, meals out, movie nights and activities in the boarding houses as well as a series of onsite activities including quizzes, roller skating and academic sessions in Bede’s various academic and sports departments.

Each Saturday morning, Bede’s many academic departments are then open for a dizzying array of extended sessions, some of which last up for 3 hours to enable teachers and students to engage in more exciting, challenging tasks without the time pressures of the Monday-Fri-day school week.Aside from these many academic opportunities, which increasingly include coursework and revi-sion workshops as the term goes on, pupils also have the opportunity to take part in Co-Cur-ricular clubs including (but not limited to) Mountain Biking, Canoeing and Trampolining.On Saturday afternoons, a huge number of sporting fixtures then take place before pupils return to the boarding houses for evening entertainments, although shopping trips and a smattering of informal events in Houses and academic departments are also often available on Saturday afternoons. Each of the 5 boarding houses then hosts their own Saturday night events, which range from movie nights to talent shows, quizzes to parties, with one boarding house inviting all members of the Bede’s community to join in their special event each weekend. These ‘House Entertainments’ might be one of Stud House’s famous Casino Nights, Camber-

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lot House’s Silent Disco, Crossways House’s Hawaiian Barbeque, Dorter House’s Bingo Night or any number of other fun-filled evening activites; none are mandatory however, and boarders may choose to simply relax in their rooms or catch up on work after what will have inevitably been a busy week!Sundays are then a more relaxed day at Bede’s, with optional trips embarking in the morning to the likes of Chinatown in London, a number of amusement parks, a castle or historical land-mark, museums or natural beauty spots around Sussex. All students are welcome to join these trips but, again, none are mandatory and each House ensures that there is always some kind of relaxed activity to take part in at School.For information on our specific events for a particular week of a given term, please check the School Calendar or MyBedes, or – indeed – ask your tutor or Housemaster. The main thing to remember however is that whoever you are and whatever your interests, there will always be something on the Bede’s Weekend Programme to pique your interest (and

if there isn’t then please be sure to propose one to the School Council!).

Jerry LewisPrincipal Deputy Head

jerry.lewis@bedes.org

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Bede’s Senior School T 01323 843252Upper Dicker F 01323 442826East Sussex, BN27 3QH www.bedes.org