Service and Partnerships Activities

An opportunity for students in the Lower Sixth to gain valuable leadership and coaching skills before embarking on a short coaching journey with a younger student. This activity is carried out with students from across the town as part of the partnerships programme. It will require a weekly commitment from October until March. It presents a fantastic opportunity for anyone wishing to improve their interpersonal and listening skills as well as learning how to support both their own mental health and others.

There is scope for initiative and leadership. Tell us your special skills and interests: football, computers, music, art, etc. The usual commitment is for the whole school year, though this may be for a shorter time through prior arrangement if other activities clash in one term.

This is an opportunity for anyone from the third year upwards to learn about Astronomy in more detail and to enter for the GCSE exam in the subject if they wish. It is being run through the Abingdon Science Partnership and a number of pupils from other, local schools are also following the course. New pupils should discuss the practical details of taking the GCSE qualification before joining.

The New Views playwriting scheme is a National Theatre programme that guides students through the process of writing their own 30 minute play. A series of eight 2 hour weekly workshops leads to the submission of first drafts of students’ plays and then final drafts. Participants take part in a 2 hour workshop with a National Theatre playwright who returns after the first drafts have been submitted for a series of 20 minute one-to-one appointments with each student to offer feedback and further guidance ahead of the final draft. There is also the possibility of free tickets to a National Theatre production or live streaming.

Once all the plays have been submitted, they are read by NT producers and directors and a number are chosen for rehearsed readings by professional actors at the National Theatre in July. One play will receive a full production.

The scheme is open to students aged 14-19, and there are eight places available. Eligible students are asked to email [email protected] to express their interest.

We are running this programme in partnership with Larkmead School.

The main aim of the Oxford Academy of Broadcast Journalism is to introduce pupils from schools across the town to a range of broadcasting forms and outlets. This is an opportunity to learn how to write a blog post, create your own podcast and delve into the world of presenting. This is an activity that would suit someone who has a story they want to tell or have a particular interest in a career in media, but anyone who wants to learn more about these skills is more than welcome.

Students from Lower Sixth are invited to apply for the role of Peer Support Lead at the start of June. You will be interviewed and may be selected to work in collaboration with students from across the town as part of the growing partnership program. If successful in your application you will be trained in safeguarding, listening and counselling skills before supporting the pastoral care of younger students within the school. You will have the opportunity to work alongside students from Fitzharrys, John Mason, Larkmead, St Helen and St Katharine and Radley College. The aim of this program is to help you to develop your own interpersonal skills, while also getting to know young people from across the town. Your training will then be put to good use supporting the mental health and wellbeing of young people.

An opportunity for 5th Year and L6 Science Ambassadors to help run a weekly science club for children from local primary schools.

There are many opportunities to volunteer as a Science Ambassador for the Abingdon Science Partnership, including primary school science workshops; Science Oxford Saturday Science Clubs; Scout and Guide Science Badge evenings and the Abingdon ATOM Festival of Science and Technology.

“The Baker Award” (named after retired teacher, Mr Roger Baker) represents an Abingdon School junior version of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme designed to run over the course of a boy’s time in Lower School. All Lower School boys are automatically entered for the award. There are four sections: Skill, Service, Expedition and Sport. Boys are strongly encouraged to become involved in all sections, keeping track of their participation by using a record book. Satisfactory completion leads to a certificate, presented at the end of the second year.

Due to Covid-19, it is not possible to run the activity at the present time but it will return in the future.

A small number of lower school pupils can get involved in the Biology department helping out with a variety of tasks. Primarily they will be involved with the routine care of the animals in the department and maintenance of the fish tanks. At certain times of year work will need to be carried out in the departmental pond and we would also be looking to set up a wildlife area somewhere on the school grounds.

The Charities Committee organises and co-ordinates the key charity events within the school and is responsible for fundraising. The pupils involved help with the selection of charities to support as well as the planning, organising and promoting of events. Pupils find the work very rewarding and enjoyable.

CCF membership is voluntary and begins in the 3rd Year. Recruit training takes two terms and boys are expected to parade every week in uniform. Pupils are expected to commit to attending for a whole year at a time – and to keep their hair cut short and smart. The CCF is a disciplined organisation, which emphasises qualities of leadership and teamwork, common sense and responsibility.

It involves a variety of activities on Tuesday afternoon, parades and camps, exercises and field days throughout the year. At least one camp must be attended in each year, and in the first year this will be the Easter recruit camp.

Cadet training continues throughout their time with the CCF, in either the RAF or Army sections of the CCF; it involves academic work, adventurous and military training. There are opportunities to fly, shoot, take part in joint exercises, to train alongside the regular armed forces in the field, and to develop an understanding of why these forces are needed and how they operate. We are well supported and Abingdon’s CCF is highly regarded outside the School for its excellent standards. A number of cadets go on to join the armed forces as commissioned officers.

See information on recruitment for 2021/22 and joining instructions.

Eco Committee is open to any student with an interest in sustainability and the environment. We have worked on making Abingdon School more environmentally aware, both in its actions and through raising discussion with the rest of the students.

Students look into waste, recycling, plastic, wildlife, carbon emissions and Global Citizenship, and work with different groups within the school to try and help improve our environmental impact.

This year we organised our first ever Eco Week – including a panel discussion of local experts on the “climate emergency”.

The School has a fruit and vegetable garden at the back of Whitefield. There are opportunities to maintain this and develop it as a source of vegetables and summer fruits.

The Junior Equality Diversity and Inclusivity Committee will work together to foster an inclusive environment in Lower School where everyone feels comfortable and welcome, regardless of their age, ability, race, cultural heritage, gender, sexuality or beliefs. This will be the first year this committee will run, so the group will decide the areas it wants to focus on – but it is likely the group will research and prepare assemblies and articles to highlight such events as Black History Month, Pride, Women’s Day and religious festivals.

If you are a young person who believes that we can all learn from each other and celebrate our differences and our similarities, the Junior EDIC might be a group you want to consider joining. You do not need to have any particular knowledge or experience, just a willingness to listen to others and share your own ideas.

In the weekly sessions, third and fourth year boys learn how to prepare a language lesson (French, German, Spanish or any other native language), giving each other feedback and working together. They then go to a primary school at the end of each term to teach it to a group of pupils.

At the end of a full year boys gain a Language Leader Award, which can count towards the volunteering or skills section of the DoE award. This activity will develop both your leadership skills and linguistic skills.

The Library Team is open to students interested in supporting the running of the school library, increasing their understanding of how libraries work and developing skills in library administration. Regular activities include helping prepare books for the shelves, re-shelving books, tidying the library and discussing ways of improving the library service.

Students commit for a year at a time, at the beginning of their second or third year. For 4th Years, 5th Years and Sixth Formers, the Library Team is limited to boys who have previously committed.

Most students who join the Library Team remain with as they move up the school, taking on increasing responsibility for training and managing younger members of the team and developing valuable skills in ICT, information management, marketing and problem-solving.

Since 2000, Abingdon has been supporting the work of AGAPE, a charity working with young people in Moldova, the poorest country in Europe. There is an annual Sixth Form visit to Moldova to run a summer camp for disadvantaged Moldovan children. The project represents an excellent chance to learn about a culture very different from our own – and to provide support and friendship to those in real need of it.

The Third Year Service and Citizenship Scheme was set up to help pupils to develop a broader understanding of their place in the wider community (local, national and global) and to encourage them to make an active contribution to the society in which they live. All pupils in the Third Year who are not involved in CCF participate in the scheme.

A range of different activities is available for which boys are invited to express their preferences at the beginning of the school year. They are then put into groups, which will change on a termly or half-termly basis.

In some cases boys will go out into the local community to undertake activities ranging from visiting residential homes and entertaining the residents, to offering ICT help in the Abingdon town library. In other groups boys will be acquiring life skills such as managing personal finance or touch-typing. Contemporary global issues will be covered by activities such as Environmental Service, Leadership and Politics and Citizenship.

Within the scheme, pupils will have the opportunity to do a basic First Aid course or some expedition training that will be particularly useful if they are thinking of participating in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme in the 4th year.

With such a wide range of activities on offer, boys are able to gain experience of different aspects of service and citizenship and many choose to continue serving the community higher up the School.