Students at George Spencer Academy are able to immerse themselves in a varied and exciting range of extra-curricular activities. We believe that being a part of these clubs and teams can really enrich their lives, help to build and maintain friendships and strengthen their love of learning. In addition to the huge choice of traditional sports and music clubs, students are also encouraged to recommend activities they would like to see and we endeavour to match staff with the right skill set and experience to then make these happen. Some examples include Warhammer club, Lego club, Computer programming club, Board games, Yoga, LGBTQ, Book club and many many more.
We also offer academic interventions for our exam year groups and we call these our Strive Sessions. Each subject may target a number of students to work with either at lunchtime or afterschool or they may be more wide reaching in the content and accessible for everyone. These interventions focus on a specific area in order to deepen knowledge, impact on progress and help students feel ‘exam ready’. Period 6 supervised independent study is available in the Lower Site Resource Centre (LSRC) for any students from year 7-11 who wish to work quietly on home learning tasks. This is open every day from 3:20-4:20pm (3-4pm on Wednesdays). Students in the Sixth Form also have dedicated study spaces available. The Sixth Form Resource Centre is for quiet, independent study and is available to use after school until 5pm. In addition, the common room is also a study area and students are welcome to use free classrooms in the Sixth Form buildings.
Alongside our full programme of lunch and afterschool activities open to all students, both our Inclusion and Wellbeing teams offer bespoke clubs for our students with additional needs. We also run the excellence programme and Brilliant Club to support, challenge and inspire our more able students as they prepare for the next stages of their learning journey. We continue to offer the much established and popular Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme and this year we are excited to restart planning and delivering our rich variety of trips and visits.
There is a wide range of extracurricular activities that are available to our Sixth Form students. These include opportunities within school ranging from sport to peer mentoring and being reading buddies for our younger students. There are also careers focused activities, such as a Law Society, for students to hear from those working in the field. Advocacy competitions are being arranged with other schools to give a real experience in this area. Students can also experience subject specific competitions, workshops and talks. The Psychology Society allows students the chance to explore this subject further. External opportunities include working with local charities and the National Citizen Service.
To find out more information on any of our extra curricular offers- please click on the relevant link below.
The Excellence Programme
The Excellence Programme aims to support our most able students in Years 10 to 12. In particular, we have built a link with Magdalen College, Oxford for reciprocal visits which help students to understand the Oxbridge application process and requirements. We also offer a range of activities designed to build confidence, independence and cultural capital, including the Higher Project Qualification (HPQ) and the opportunity to participate in a Mock Trial competition in court.
The Brilliant Club
Throughout the year, students in Year 8, 10 and 12 take part in the Scholars Programme. This is a national organisation that provides students aged 8-18 from non-selective state schools the opportunity to work with a PhD researcher/student to experience university-style learning. It helps them to develop the skills, knowledge, confidence and independence to secure a place at a highly-selective university.
The programme is structured around seven tutorials, complemented by two trips to highly-selective universities, last year these have been done online. Students are taught in groups of six, working alongside the PhD student to learn and complete a challenging final assignment, which is marked and moderated using university grades.
Last year, we had 48 students going through the programme as a result of a cancelled Group due to the pandemic: –
- 12 students in Year 12 Topic: Biomedical 3D printing and it’s business potential.
- 12 students in Year 10 Topic: Telling Tales: The Craft of Writing Fiction.
- 12 Students in Year 9 Topic: Why was there a French Revolution?
- 12 students in Year 8 Topic: STEM-Engineering: Illuminating the Human Body.
Many of our students have successfully achieved the higher grades of a 2:1 or 1st . Year 12 students can be offered reduced grade requirements for University places as a result of a 2:1 or 1st grade in the Scholars programme.
If you would like to find out more about the Scholars programme, please follow the following link:- https://thebrilliantclub.org/the-scholars-programme/ or contact smusson@george-spencer.notts.sch.uk
Duke of Edinburgh Award
At George Spencer Academy, we run DofE to the following structure, although we are more than willing to adapt and change this to suit individual needs and availability:-
- Bronze in Year 9
- Silver in Year 10
- Gold in Year 12/13.
Students are introduced to the DofE award through assemblies and invited to take part at the start of the academic years above.
For the expedition section, we have a small stock of equipment, such as rucksacks, sleeping bags and mats, which can be used by students. Other equipment like tents, maps and compasses are provided by the Approved Activity provider we use for the Expedition section.
If you would like further details of DofE at George Spencer Academy, please contact the following DofE managers:-
Mr S Musson – SMUSSON@george-spencer.notts.sch.uk
Mr J Wilson – JWILSON@george-spencer.notts.sch.uk
Trips 2022-2023
This list is updated each half-term. For more information about any of the trips, please contact your child’s Learning Manager
- 29th September: Science Museum and Houses of Parliament (Year 11)
- 6th October: Poetry together (Years 7,8 and 9)
- 22-28 October: Challenge trip to Nepal (Years 11 and 12)
- 1st November: University of Oxford visit (Year 11)
- 2nd November: Manchester City Champions League game (Years 7-11)
- 3rd November: University of Leeds – The Brilliant Club (Year 12)
- 11th November: Crimes on Centre Court theatre trip (Years 10 – 13)
- 18th November: GCSE PE Climbing (Year 11)
- 31st January 2023: Liverpool Gallery (Year 10)
- 10 – 17 February 2023: Ski Trip to Austria ( Years 8 -12)
- 13-18 February 2023: A Level STEM Computing and Science trip to New York (Year 13)
- 20-23 February 2023: Spanish trip to Barcelona (Years 8 and 9)
- 26 Feb -3rd March 2023: GCSE and A Level Computing Live – Paris (Years 10-13)
- 20 – 23 June 2023: Trip to Paris, France (Years 8 and 9)
- 6 – 8 July 2023: Ypres GCSE History trip (Year 10)
- TBC: Kingswood residential trip (Year 8)