Intent

The Barlow is a Catholic school: our Core Values of ‘Service’, ‘Prayer’, ‘Achieve’ and ‘Respect’ are at the heart of everything we do.  Alongside our extensive curriculum, we provide our students with a wide range of co-curricular activities, trips and events to provide opportunities help young people to explore and express their character and build the skills they need for resilience, empathy and employability.

Co-curriculum (including extra-curriculum activities) refers to the activities and learning experiences that take place in school alongside the academic curriculum.  Academic attainment is a key element of school life and it is complemented by a broad and enriching co-curriculum to provide a rounded education.

The purpose of any Co-curricular Event, Educational Visit and Activity at The Barlow are:

To improve academic performance

Some students worry that participating in co-curricular activities may take away too much time from their schoolwork, thus affecting their grades; however, co-curricular activities can actually improve your grades and your outlook on school in general.  Participating in activities you are passionate about can increase your brain function, help you concentrate and manage your time better, all of which can contribute to higher grades.  Studies have been conducted on the relationship between co-curricular activities and academic performance, and the conclusions being that students who participate in them have higher grades, more positive attitudes toward school and higher academic aspirations.

To explore interests and create broader perspectives

When you participate in multiple different activities, you’ll get the opportunity to explore a range of interests and unlock passions you never knew you had.

To increase self-esteem

The more you achieve success through activities you’re passionate about, the more your self-confidence will improve. Once your confidence improves, you’ll be more open to taking risks in all aspects of your life, not just the things you are good at.

To provide social opportunities and experiences students may not have been given the opportunity before

Each co-curricular activity you engage in provides you with another opportunity to expand your social network. Some opportunities offered to you might be activities, events or trips you have never had the opportunity to experience before.

To provide essential life skills such as, goal setting, teamwork, time management, prioritisation, problem solving, analytical thinking, leadership, public speaking

The more you push yourself in your co-curricular endeavours, the more you’ll develop these skills.

To support CV and College applications

Make your CV or College application stand out from the rest. Show them all the skills you have built that you will need for resilience, empathy and employability.

 Definitions:

  • Educational Event – an in-school activity that takes place outside of the classroom or timetabled lesson.
  • Educational Visit – an activity that takes place away from school.
  • Co-Curricular Activity – a regular activity that takes place in school which is not part of students timetabled lessons.

Implementation

Alongside the school’s ethos and taught curriculum there is strong provision for co-curricular activities. Our programme is designed to focus on high quality activities across a wide spectrum of different domains which enable our students to participate over time, learn and improve in their chosen activities and compete or perform as appropriate.

Educational Visits and Events that took place in 2019-2020:

Timetables

Student Quotes

“Great to see how well communities can unite and spread the message of God.” Marian Procession

 “It gave me an insight into what it would be like if I choose Drama at GCSE. It was also inspiring to watch Barlow pupils acting in a performance” An Inspector Calls Performance

 I feel like I understand the book more now from watching it.” A Christmas Carol Performance

“It was great to see where some of the money for our charities goes and it was interesting listening to how they train the dogs.” Guide Dog Visit

“I didn’t realise how young people were being manipulated into this, I always thought it was their own choice.” County Lines Workshop

“It made me feel like I had a big role in voting for the election.” School General Election

“My Mum and Dad got to watch my play – it was great.” Carol Concert

 “It is nice to be recognised for my hard work in school, being rewarded makes me put more effort into my lessons.” VIP Breakfast

 “It made Science fun, the dry ice was amazing when he poured it down the stairs.” Science Show

 “Today really challenged my confidence. I loved seeing and hearing about all the different jobs and the different salaries.” Capital FM Visit

 

 

Educational Visits and Events

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Half Term 1

Marian Procession  
Open Evening/Mornings
Macmillan Bake sale
Discovery Day – Marist Centre    
County Lines Workshop 
Street Doctor Workshop  
Aspire Afternoon Tea
Careers Workshop 
Wear Red for Racism Day

Half Term 2

Shakespeare Festival  
Manchester Youth Council  
John Rylands Library/Gothic Writing    
Peter Pan Goes Wrong    
An Inspector Calls Performance    
A Christmas Carol Performance    
Waterworld  
Aspire mentoring site visit – BNY Mellon   
Nandos – Football Beyond Boarders   
School General Election
Old Folks Party
Christmas Control sing in Didsbury Village
Carol Concert
Young Carers Christmas Party   
Guide Dog Visit 
Reward Breakfast and Movie – Big 3 Challenge
Half Term 3Savio House Residential Religious Retreat    
Ghyll Head revision weekend    
Dr Prabitha Chitsabesan – NHS Careers Talk    
VIP Breakfast
Holocaust Prayer Chain 
Science Show    
Capital FM Visit 
Tesco Bag Pack   
Maths Intervention Nando’s Trip    
Young Carers Awareness Day    
Half Term 4Polestar Planetarium    
Geography Formby Trip    
Irish Culture  
Knife Crime Assembly 
Macbeth Performance    
Maths Competition Xaverian College    

 

 

Activities that took place in 2019-2020:

 

Activities

Year 7

Year 8

Year 9

Year 10

Year 11

Basket Ball    
X Country  
Table Tennis and Badminton
Football
5 –a-side Football
Rugby  
Trampolining 
Girls Football 
Netball 
Grade 5 Theory   
Vocal Group   
Anti-Bullying Ambassadors 

 
Drama Club  
Choir
Lunchtime Support
KS4 Music Coursework Club   

Maths Lunchtime Club
KS4 Homework Club   
Art Club
Further Maths    
Maths Aiming High 7 to 9    
MFL Drop in    
Italian    
Library  
Prefects    
Maths Tutoring
Drums 
Guitar  
Piano and Vocals 
Music – Strings 
Music – Woodwind 
School Council
Band
Music Tech   
Aspire Group
These Girls can Code    

Impact

The Barlow plays an important role in ensuring that we offer a good range of co-curricular opportunities, so that all students are able to access them. We prides ourselves in the large percentage of students that participate in our co-curricular programme.

 Trips and EventsActivities
1 or more2 or more3 or more1 or more2 or more3 or more
Half Term 199%83%28%60%32%15%
Half Term 298%96%78%68%37%19%
Half Term 354%5%0.2%61%29%13%
Half Term 494%16%1%60%25%14%