Clubs and Activities

The pupils will have the opportunity to engage with new, exciting apps and websites to create their own animated avatars. They will practise photography, voice recording, animating, and layering using stickers, emojis and music. Come along and have fun using different apps and features on the iPads and computers.

A chance to develop our design skills, promote team work and solve a building challenge each week. There will be a variety of materials from Lego and Mobilo, to tubes and foam. In the first term the design team will work to produce a variety of homes for the tiniest of creatures to the biggest of giants.

Using our favourite RE characters to explore big questions in the Bible. How old is God? How did the world start? Why does God allow suffering? Come along for a fun look at these and other topical questions.

Pupils will learn how to create their own personal blog. A blog is an online diary or informational website, where pupils can record their opinions, stories or interests as well as photos and videos. Blogs can focus on a single topic or a wide range of themes and ideas, therefore, it is ideal for those pupils who enjoy writing and have clear ideas of what they would like to write about. Their blog will not be visible on the web, however, they will be able to invite family members to view their blog should they wish.

This club explores different books, iconic characters and brilliant stories. The group will also have the opportunity to write creatively with a variety of interesting objects to inspire.

Come and join us for Year 5-6 Brain STEMS where we will discover the world of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths), completing projects in the different areas and understanding the importance of each one in society. If you enjoy building, fixing or simply applying your knowledge, this club will be sure to motivate you.

This club provides additional opportunities and support for the ‘Tycoon in Schools‘ Enterprise competition, which all Year 7 pupils will be entering during their ICT lessons in the Autumn term.

Working together in teams, they will develop an idea for a product or service for which they will write a business plan and create a presentation to pitch for a start-up loan from the Peter Jones Foundation.

They will use their ICT skills to create a variety of sales and marketing materials including presentations, posters, videos and spreadsheets, leading up to a product launch at the Christmas Bazaar.

Chess Club takes place every week throughout the year. We play in a relaxed environment and boys of any standard are welcome. Boys are matched with similar standard players and are given individual advice to help improve their play. The house chess championship is a keenly contested event at the end of each year!

In Code Crackers club the boys are introduced to the basics of programming; selecting objects, making sequences and loops in order to create their own code. They will have the opportunity to play programming games and use cool coding apps such as ‘Beebot’ and ‘Daisy the Dinosaur’.

Construction club is based around a challenge to build a variety of structures that link to the topic of Fun and Fantasy, which the children in Pre-Prep will be covering over the term. Each week there is a different set of construction materials to experience, from Lego and K’nex to a range of junk modelling materials.

Pupils will develop a passion for food and will equip themselves with the skills to feed themselves healthily, with simple ingredients and enthusiasm! Each week we will be making something delicious to take home (if it makes it that far!) from tasty cheese and veggie pinwheel snacks to creatively crafted and delicious cupcakes. Sessions are run by Kate who is the owner of Cakes by Desire. Her speciality is cake art and as a trained Primary school teacher she aims to develop pupils’ love of cooking to find their inner chef.

The charge is £11 per session per pupil (which includes all ingredients) and will be applied to each pupil’s termly account in arrears. Please note that a charge for all sessions for the term will be applied regardless of sessions attended unless a pupil has been attending a school generated fixture or event and is unable to attend the activity for that reason.

Using iPads and the computers we will explore the cyber world! We will make videos, play games, explore different worlds, create cartoons and much more….

Each week a different issue is debated, with two speakers speaking in favour of a motion and two speakers speaking against. There are also opportunities to speak and ask questions ‘from the floor’. Recent motions have concerned Britain’s response to the Syrian refugee crisis, Britain’s membership of the European Union and the industrial action taken by junior doctors.

Have you been inspired by David Attenborough and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to turn the tide on global warming and plastics in our oceans? Come along to Eco club and help us make a difference here at APS!

Ever wondered how to build a water level detector or infrared motion detector? Well joining our new electronics club can show you the way! Open to all of Senior Section boys who have an interest in electronics and an imagination to match.

Each week pupils take part in fun activities based on one of the sciences, whether this is making bouncy balls with shop bought ingredients or building rockets and testing their projectile. We take part in individual and group activities where pupils can build their scientific enquiry skills. Pupils have a Eureka passport which gets stamped every week they attend providing them with bronze, silver and gold certificates.

Do you have green fingers? Can you grow plants as strong and tall as the beanstalk that Jack climbed up? Would you like to find out? Come along to gardening club and get hands on with the soil and seeds and see what you can grow!

German Club introduces pupils to the language and culture of German-speaking countries through a range of activities. Pupils have fun learning to communicate in German using basic vocabulary and phrases. They also find out about various customs and traditions of German-speaking countries too.

A fun session based around movement and games. Anything goes as long as we move. It might be team games, games with equipment, yoga and relaxation, moving to the groove or even walking in places we haven’t ever discovered before. Bring your water bottle and get ready to GOOOOO!

Every week the children will be planting and learning about seeds and bulbs, making crafts for the garden (bird feeders and bug hotels) and developing their gardening skills. They will help take care of our grounds and find ways of conserving our world.

HTML and CSS Languages are used for creating, styling and structuring web pages. The HTML Coding Club provides an introduction to HTML code for pupils in Years 7 – 8. They learn the basics of how to build and edit web pages using projects that are provided by Code Club.

Each weekly session will focus on hands-on science experiments that help build scientific enquiry, investigation skills and encourage a love of science. Using the children’s own questions as stimulus the experiments may vary. From exploring how an egg could bounce to making magnetic slime, we will discover the wonders of science and try to find answers to some of our big questions.

In ICT Comic Creations Club you will be able to use the iPads and computers to create imaginative stories and games. You will learn how to make your characters move and interact with each other just like in real life! You can also explore how to add voices, sound effects and music to your creations. When you have finished your story you will have your own online storage so that you can save your stories and share them with friends.

This enables pupils to learn the alphabet used by the Ancient Greeks and to be introduced to some Ancient Greek words, particularly those with English derivatives. By the end of the course, pupils should be able to read and translate simple sentences in Ancient Greek.

In this club, we will be looking at free writing for enjoyment. Every week we will tackle a new genre such as poetry, descriptive writing, stories and newspaper articles. The idea is that the boys can write for pleasure and can be creative, producing pieces of written work that they might not normally be able to within school.

In Kahoot Club we use the iPads to create fun multiple choice quizzes on different themes known as ‘Kahoots’. We will then all play these quizzes – the questions will be on the big screen and the iPads become the consoles. Points are awarded for being quick but be warned – positions on the leaderboard change rapidly!

Lego Club is open to pupils in the Junior Section (Years 3-4). In a relaxed and comfortable setting the boys are given freedom to design and build a variety of models. These types of activities encourage lots of interaction and role play; an important ingredient in a technological society.

The Lego WeDo robotics club provides an introduction to control technology and programming using robotics. Pupils learn by constructing their own models, such as a roaring lion and a goal keeper. They learn how to bring them to life by using the special programming blocks in Scratch, that interact with the motors and sensors in their creations.

Are you curious about other countries? Do you want to know how other people live, what they believe and how they celebrate events throughout the year? If you are then Mini Globetrotters is for you! A place to explore countries, cultures and faiths from around the world.

Ever wondered what it is like to be a gardener? Ever wondered what lurks within the soil? Ever wanted to grow the strongest plants? Well the answers to these and much more will be explored in Muddy Fingers sessions. From looking after our environment to planting and growing, we can assure you that your fingers will be very busy…and muddy!

The boys have the opportunity to learn about and connect with the natural environment through play and purposefully planned experiences in the school grounds. The ethos of Forest School is intrinsic and the boys gain new practical outdoor skills. Having fun is paramount and learning how to assess risk is an important aspect in their development. In Outdoor Explorers, safety procedures will be taught alongside activities. Planned supervised activities may include using a fire for cooking and small hand tools, knots, craft with natural materials and more importantly, approved activities the boys have requested. The boys have the opportunity to reflect and learn about themselves, each other and their environment.

This club enables Year 8 boys to learn everyday tasks which will set them up for independent living as a modern man. This ranges from polishing shoes and sewing on a button to simple cooking and much more thrown in. If there are any everyday skills that the boys want to develop (within reason) it will be tackled with a healthy dose of competition and fun. Are you brave enough to become a modern man?

Purple Mash Computer Club is where pupils can practise their coding skills using a building block interface within Purple Mash. They create everything from dragon-dodging wizards to dancing robots then blog about their designs.

The aim of Coding Club is to introduce boys in Y5-6 to understanding and writing code. Leading on from using Scratch in lessons, they are given the opportunity to use a programming language called Python. They learn the basic functions of how to create and draw patterns and images by moving the Python Turtle around the screen. By using the coding language, Python, boys are encouraged in their abilities to pay close attention to detail in order to debug their code, as well as using their own imaginations to develop their code further.

We are often blessed with young and lively outside speakers who visit us to lead the games and share some thoughts from the Bible. We look at a small palatable extract, discuss what it means and think how it applies to our lives. There is always fun and games involved too and we hold parties which are very well attended! It is a good chance to cement friendships whilst enjoying each other’s company in a fun yet supportive and calm environment and there is also opportunity to pray either in silence or aloud as each boy feels comfortable. Several boys have commented that QUEST is an important time for them in feeling refreshed and revitalised for the challenges of the week ahead and the quiet moments of prayer can be a good place to leave their worries behind. Although a Christian group, boys of all views are most welcome and the atmosphere is warm and inclusive and all questions are welcome.

There is also the Abingdon Foundation Prayer Group for parents. For information, please see the Abingdon School Prayer Group page.

Pupils use Scratch, a graphical programming language, to learn key coding concepts. They create interactive projects by simply dragging and combining code blocks to make a range of programs, including animations, stories, musical instruments and games.

In this club, we will be looking at extending the boys’ writing skills by allowing them freedom to experiment with words whilst sticking to a chosen genre. Genres covered will be varied and will comprise of poetry, descriptive writing, persuasive writing and word count stories, to name but a few. The boys will have the option of using ICT to create their work or they can still use pen and paper if they prefer. Writing for pleasure is important and this club aims to let the boys use their creative streaks alongside learnt skills that they already possess.

Using iPads, boys learn how to create short stop motion films (used to make animations such as Wallace and Gromit). These are made by capturing one image at a time, then playing back the sequence rapidly to create the illusion of movement. We bring objects such as Lego or plasticine models to life in short stories, written by the pupils themselves, using sets they have built.

Led by a professional dance teacher from Azure Theatre School, this club exudes energy and excitement. The boys learn a variety of street dance moves and put them together into a dynamic routine to music.

The charge is £6.00 per pupil per session and will be applied to each pupil’s termly account in arrears. Please note that a charge for all sessions for the term will be applied regardless of sessions attended unless a pupil has been attending a school generated fixture or event and is unable to attend the activity for that reason.

Pupils have the opportunity to hone their touch typing skills with the help of rock n roll goats and opera singing hippos courtesy of Dance Mat Typing and set themselves the challenge of working through different skills, culminating in the keyboard ninja challenges. Boys then progress to Nessy Fingers where they hone their skills, compete in races as they dash around five islands earning nuggets and trophies to be placed on Mount Glory. The real skill is – can you do all this with the keyboard covered!

Each session focuses on hands-on science experiments which help build scientific enquiry, investigation skills and encourages a love of science. Using the pupils’ own questions as a stimulus the experiments may vary. From exploring how an egg could bounce to making magnetic slime, we discover the wonders of science and try to find answers to some our big questions.

At Warhammer Club the boys are introduced to the Warhammer 40k game. They can build and paint their models, or use their completed models to play games against the other boys.

In the Wellbeing Club we focus on breathing, positive affirmation, yoga and meditation. The sessions help the children to grow their confidence, build self esteem and create a toolkit of strategies to assist them in coping with daily stresses.