Co-Curriculum

Intent

The Barlow is a Catholic school: our Core Values of ‘Serve’, ‘Pray’, ‘Achieve’ and ‘Respect’ are at the heart of everything we do.  Alongside our extensive curriculum, we provide our pupils 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 pupils 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 pupils 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 pupils to participate over time, learn and improve in their chosen activities and compete or perform as appropriate.

Co Curricular PE - 2024-2025

PE Extra Curricular Activities - Summer timetable 2025

Clubs 2024-2025

Educational Visits that took place in 2023-2024: 

Education Visits 2023-2024

 Activities that took place in 2023-2024:

EVOLVE (the clubs and trips management system used by your child’s school) includes a Consent Module which schools can use to seek online consent from parents and carers for activities. Each consent form is built by the school and sent to parents online via EVOLVE.

EVOLVE Consent Guide for Parents and Carers

“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