Co-Curricular

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award (DofE) is an important and popular part of the Cobham Hall experience. It is a personal challenge and not a competition against others and allows the students to push their personal limits and celebrate success. Students start the Bronze Award in Year 9 and many complete Gold in the Sixth Form.

DofE is part of the curriculum in Year 9 which enables pupils to start developing skills of self-confidence and self-discipline early in their school life. They learn how to lead, work together in a team and collaborate.

Through the Silver Award to Gold in the Sixth Form, our students become resilient and determined. The benefits of DofE do not end when an Award is achieved: it’s an asset for life and the experience gained lasts well beyond Cobham Hall and is highly prized by universities and employers alike.

Many students have taken on a new challenge for their award, such as learning a new skill for their Skills section, or taking part in a new activity to complete their Physical section. Many then continue to take part even after completing their Award because they found an unknown talent in themselves, or simply found something new that they really enjoy doing.

I thoroughly enjoyed my DofE experience, I made so many memories, learned new skills and discovered new-found confidence! – Harriet

 DUKE OF EDINBURGH

The popularity of our Model United Nations (MUN) group is demonstrated by the passion shown during debates, and the attendance at conferences. Students taking part in MUN speak about how it has raised their awareness of global topics and issues, as well as growing their confidence in public speaking and debating.

At its essence, MUN is a role-play activity where students become delegates for a given country and have to research and argue that from that country’s viewpoint on a given topic. The challenge comes from sometimes having to argue a viewpoint that may be contrary to your own belief. Students have the opportunity to attend conferences at other school and many comment how enjoyable they find these events, due to the social element as well as the debating.

Two Sixth Form students, known as the General Secretaries, lead the group, supported by our Head of Humanities. These students become powerful advocates within school promoting the group – and their passion is demonstrated at the annual whole school MUN conference in October.

Cobham Hall students like to debate and some of our Sixth Form have organised an MUN Conference as part of the Extended Project Qualification.

Wherever your artistic passion lies, the Art Department are ready to support you. With facilities including a dark room and a kiln room, as well as a Mac Suite, students are able to enjoy sculpting, painting, clay work, and photography.

It’s not uncommon to find our Sixth Form pupils making use of the Art Department’s facilities each evening, when they are permitted to use them until bedtime. There are also weekly prep evenings to support GCSE and A Level students.

As well as the annual School Production, which allows students to get involved behind the scenes as well as centre stage, we also offer Voice, Drama and Communication Skills lessons. These lead to London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) qualifications.

LAMDA lessons are the perfect place for pupils to develop their confidence, self-reflection and communication skills. With disciplines including Acting, Public Speaking and Speaking Verse And Prose, our students can cater their experience to further their interests. Depending on their chosen discipline, activities include learning monologues and performing, writing and delivering their own speeches or learning about poetry and how to read it.

In lessons, pupils work towards their LAMDA examination which take place at the school and range from Grade 1 to Grade 8, with the final grades earning valuable UCAS points for university applications. The lessons take place once a week and can be taken individually or paired with another student. We regularly have students obtaining Merits and Distinctions in a range of disciplines, including Acting, Verse and Prose, Reading for Performance, Public Speaking, and Musical Theatre.

No matter what direction pupils choose to follow in the future, these lessons provide the opportunity to nurture their natural abilities. These critical skills will enhance their self-confidence to engage and contribute fully, whether at school, in further education, at work or in the community.

Our School Choir is open to all, regardless of training or age. The aim of the choir is to share a love for music and singing for enjoyment. For those who are more advanced, our Chamber Choir, Benesonantes, is by audition or invitation.

Students who join these co-curricular groups have plenty of opportunity for sharing their love of music. It may be at one of Cobham Hall’s many concerts, in the local community, or even on trips to Eastern Europe.

Additionally, we also offer extra tuition in Voice, Piano and a variety of instruments, with external tutors sought when required. These may lead to examinations by the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music (ABRSM).

Our thriving Sports Department offer a variety of activities for the students. From weekly training sessions in our main sports – netball, hockey and swimming in winter and tennis, rounders and athletics in summer, with regular matches against other schools – to Inter-House competitions, our co-curricular sports activities see a large percentage of the student body taking part.

Our swimming pool is available for free swimming three times a week, in addition to specialist training once a week. The Fitness Suite and Dance Studio are available after school and at weekends for students in older years.

We often work with external venues to support additional training, including:

• Horse riding takes place at a local riding school each week.
• Tennis lessons are run at school with a specialist coach (individual or group lessons), who also runs our Tennis Academy.
• Students can take Golf lessons at Rochester & Cobham Golf Club, adjacent to the School.
• Trampolining taking place at school with a specialist coach.

Departments across the School are keen to engage students with their subject beyond the classroom and so offer a variety of clubs. Humanities Forums take place half-termly and see students debating topic issues; Carson Club tackles sustainability and environmental issues; World Film Club opens discussion of other cultures; Creative Writing and Media Team give students the opportunity to explore their writing talents. There are a wealth of co-curricular activities each designed to support classroom learning as well as promote new interests. The Sway document at the top of the page details all the activities available.