Life outside the classroom

Enrichment

As well as the academic focus we strongly believe in enriching the lives of our students. To this end we run a number of activities to support their physical, creative and emotional wellbeing.

In line with British universities we dedicate Wednesday afternoons to social, cultural and sporting enrichment. Students can opt to play sport socially or at a competitive level, or they may choose to participate in gentler activities ranging from yoga and meditation to chess and debating. In addition, all our sixth formers complete a first aid training course.

We firmly believe students should enjoy their time at sixth form and that happy and enriched students are also free-thinking and academically successful students. As such, we visit venues such as Bletchley Park to discover the secrets of the enigma code and welcome speakers to our school from wide-ranging organisations, such as the Foreign Office and leading law firms and charities. The more voices a student can hear, the more enlightened their frame of reference and intellectual outlook will become.

Competitive sport

A number of our students each year represent their county, region or country at their chosen sport. All students visit the University of Surrey Sports Park where they receive coaching from the centre’s elite coaches. Many of our sixth formers are also involved in running coaching clinics and clubs for lower school students and members of the local community.

Arts

We aim to provide a suitable platform for all our sixth formers to exhibit their unique talents.
Amongst our sixth formers are many who are musically talented and play both in and out of school. There are a number of music practice rooms at their disposal. 

Our art department hosts visiting artists as well as arranging trips to local and national galleries. 
Drama students are involved in sixth form productions and have the opportunity to direct lower school students in their performances. Creative workshops are arranged with theatres such as The Globe on London's South Bank and Kingston's Rose Theatre. 

Community involvement

All Grey Court sixth form students are expected to complete 30 hours of community service in year 12. We have contacts with over 50 charitable agencies ranging from our sixth form charity - The Livingstone Tanzania Trust  which supports community projects in Tanzania - to The National Trust volunteering scheme. We are also members of PiXL Edge: a programme to introduce the development of life skills for young people. This scheme focuses on leadership, organisation, initiative, resilience and communication. Our sixth formers participate at masters level of this programme helping to enhance their university, apprenticeship and employment applications.

An international outlook

We encourage students to broaden their horizons. In order to foster this spirit of adventure we have developed links with schools in New Zealand, Spain, China, France and Tanzania. We run a biennial expedition to help build schools in Tanzania and our sixth form scientists are given the opportunity to visit the Hadron Collider in Cern, Switzerland, during year 12.

Work experience

Each of our sixth formers completes a week of work experience during July of year 12. Work experience provides an opportunity to develop and demonstrate employability skills for future careers. Completing a placement can demonstrate passion and commitment to a chosen area of interest. It also enhances CVs and provides an opportunity to network and gain references. We have found that our students return from the week having gained invaluable insight into industries and organisations.