Laura Williams, of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, takes a look at the growing importance of extracurricular activities in education

The role of schools is ever-changing, especially within the current climate. Education is no longer confined to the classroom; emphasis is increasingly being placed on the provision of a wider range of extracurricular activities and clubs.

A broadening remit

Parents, politicians and teachers are recognising that schools have an influence and responsibility that goes beyond the provision of formal education and academic qualifications: through the broadening range of activities they offer, they develop in pupils skills which help them throughout their lives; skills that enable them to relate to others, take responsibility, exercise initiative, work in teams and be positive, active members of the community.

A report published by Ofsted in September 2004 highlights this point, stating that ‘outdoor education gives depth to the curriculum and makes an important contribution to students’ physical, personal and social education’.(1) This demonstrates why schools are increasingly using broad activity programmes as part of their improvement plan and social inclusion agenda.
Outdoor education and activities hold a key place in many of these initiatives. In fact a new All Party Group has recently been created to ensure a higher Parliamentary agenda for adventure and outdoor recreation, and the Government is also recognising the significance of the provision of a wide range of  activity programmes, particularly with regard to the health and wellbeing of young people. Government policies for youth work encourage the accreditation of young people’s informal education, and the recent review of 14-19 education envisages a contribution to the education of all young people from wider activities, as stated in the interim report published February 2004:

‘Activities such as community, school or college service, experience of work and personal interests such as sports or arts can provide both opportunities for informal learning and personal development, and enrich young people’s lives and their engagement as active citizens within their local communities. We believe that they have a significant role to play, particularly in developing the ‘common skills’…’ (2) 

In his address to the NASUWT conference in Llandudno in April 2004, Charles Clarke MP, Secretary of State for Education, called for every child to have the opportunity to undertake a character building scheme, pointing to The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme as a good example of how this could be achieved.

The high profile of these broader activities programmes in recent months is, of course, partly a result of the recognition that the current trend towards ever more frequent examinations has pushed extracurricular activities increasingly to the sidelines, as schools are forced to focus on the relentless stream of hoops through which their pupils must be coaxed to jump if the school’s league table position is not to be compromised.

Speaking at the time of Charles Clarke’s announcement, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme Operations Director Steve Sharp said:

“At a time when young lives are so full of tests and exams, it is very timely for Charles Clarke to emphasise the importance of wider activities in the education of young people. He should know the value of The Award – after all he achieved the Gold standard when he was at school.”

Enjoyment, challenge and reward
The inclusion of a broad range of extracurricular activities in the core of the Government’s proposed new diploma system is welcomed by The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and is something the charity requested in its comments to the July 2003 consultation paper.

The Award correlates well with the the key principles of Mike Tomlinson’s proposed diploma – inclusiveness, challenge, quality and choice.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme is committed to providing 14- to 25-year-olds with an enjoyable, challenging and rewarding programme of personal development. Participation by a young person in The Award leads to the acquisition of qualities such as self-motivation, commitment, self-awareness, initiative, leadership, persistence, self-discipline and responsibility for themselves and their community. In addition, it provides a fun and enriching environment within which Key Skills, such as working with others, communication, problem solving, application of number and information technology are developed.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme consists of three levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold) and four main sections (Skills, Service, Physical Recreation and Expedition). The three levels differ in the level of attainment required to achieve The Award, and the four sections are designed to promote the development of new skills, an interest in sport and healthy living, teamwork, perseverance and community spirit. The Gold Award has an extra residential section, which takes participants on a week-long experience away from home.

The numbers speak for themselves ...
There are a number of nationwide programmes designed to give young people the opportunity to develop the kind of skills outlined above through extracurricular activities. Their continuing popularity with pupils and with schools indicates their importance in providing a rounded education.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, for example, is operated by around 55% of UK secondary schools and, at any one time, 250,000 young people are taking part in the Award across the UK. The Young Enterprise Programme also has an impressive 150,000 participants per year.

These programmes are usually offered to students through their school – so if you are interested in taking part in one of them, it is a good idea to check that they are on offer at your chosen school. Normally this will be very easy to establish, as schools are very proud of their pupils’ participation and achievements in these programmes!

References:

(1) Taken from page 2 of the Ofsted report, Outdoor education, Aspects of good practice, published September 28, 2004
(2) Taken from the 14-19 interim report, published February 2004

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