Extra-curricular provision
A very comprehensive range of extra-curricular activities is provided at SJL and includes:
Years 10, 11 and Sixth Form – Course and exam work support
Teachers offer group and one-to-one support for course and exam work and students are able to come in and use the computer rooms and workshops (staff supervision required) at lunch times and after school.
English
Anthony Glenn’s ‘Shaking Up Shakespeare’ providing interactive dramatic interpretations of Shakespearian comedies and tragedies studied at Years 7 - 9 and Year 11.
Ash Dickinson’s 'brilliantly surreal' Year 9 poetry performance workshop.
Theatre trips to productions of GCSE and A-Level set texts such as ‘Twelfth Night’, ‘The Crucible’ and Shakespeare’s Globe.
Poetry By Heart performance poetry competition – heats held at SJL then progressing to regional and national levels.
External providers
Sir John Lawes works closely with the following centres of scholastic excellence:
University of Hertfordshire who support EPQ students (see http://filestore.aqa.org.uk/over/pdf/AQA-EPQ-UNI-HERTS-CASE-STUDY.PDF).
Rothamsted Research (see http://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/learn-with-us)
GIFT (see http://www.giftltd.co.uk/ and /952/gift-courses.
Geography
Fieldwork is key to subject and evident in all year groups’ provision. In Year 7, local fieldwork is undertaken as it is in Year 9. At Year 10, a fieldwork day takes place and a geographical issue is investigated. In 2016/2017, this will take place in Southend, Essex. From 2017/18, there will be a further fieldwork day in Year 11 where data will be collected in an urban environment, likely to be St. Albans. At GCSE, there is also a 5-day residential trip to Iceland that up to 65 students can go on. In VI form, there is a residential fieldwork trip to Swanage as well as a day’s visit to East London where various surveys are undertaken and a trading floor of a multinational bank is toured.
In Year 9, an enrichment visit to Cross Farm in Southdown has taken place for a number of years. On this trip, students learn about issues currently affecting farming during an interactive tour led by Will the farmer.
For a number of years, Year 9 students have also been entertained by an hour-long enrichment talk on themes such as the building of the British Research Survey’s Antarctic Research Station and climbing Mount Everest.
Each year, Geography MASt students are invited to take part in the Geographical Association’s Geowise Quiz against other St. Albans and Harpenden schools. In 2014/15, SJL fielded teams from Year 8, 9 and 10.
The Faculty also holds a membership to the Royal Geographical Society and each year its VI formers are invited to attend two or three School Member’s Lectures at the Society’s HQ in London.
History
Extensive reading lists given to A-Level students to enhance their subject knowledge.
Year 9 trip to Normandy to visit the D-Day landing sites which allows students to reflect on the events that happened and how D-Day is remembered in Normandy.
Independent research project undertaken in Year 9 to improve students ability to think and work independently.
History mysteries club for Key Stage 3 students to examine intriguing historical events and figures.
Key Stage 5 students given the opportunity to take part in a Cambridge University essay writing competition.
Life Skills
Years 8 and 9 (January - March)
A great enrichment opportunity for our younger more able students is the National Magistrates Mock Trial competition. This competition is an extra-curricular activity that enriches participating students’ understanding of the criminal justice system as well as developing key skills such as public speaking, critical thinking and enquiry and student-led team work. The team also gets to visit a Magistrates’ court to sit in on real cases and get to talk to a practising Magistrate. For more information on the competition that is run by the Citizenship Foundation please visit; www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk.
Years 10 and 12 (September - November)
A great enrichment opportunity for our older more able students is the Bar National Mock Trial competition. This competition is an extra-curricular activity that enriches participating students’ understanding of the criminal justice system as well as developing key skills such as public speaking, critical thinking and enquiry and student-led team work. The team also gets to visit a Crown court to sit in on real cases and attend a workshop with a practising barrister. For more information on the competition that is run by the Citizenship Foundation please visit; www.citizenshipfoundation.org.uk.
RE
- University visits for Sixth Form for potential courses
- Lectures for Sixth Form on Philosophical and Ethical Issues
- Good and Evil day for GCSE full course students (external philosopher)
- STEP – Christian organisation providing workshops for Years 8 and 10
- Advanced reading material for students at GCSE and A level
- Additional resources available for students in Humanities personal library section
- Philosophy undergraduates magazine
School Trips:
- Florence and Rome, Italy (Year 10 & 11)
- Neasden Temple, North London (Year 7)
- Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury (Year 8)
