Education in the U.K has often been criticised in recent years for teaching in such a way that encourages students to learn in order to pass exams, rather than learning to understand the world that they live in and to become ready to join the workplace as well-rounded adults with employable skills.
The introduction of league tables, with their focus on end results, probably significantly encouraged this type of teaching and learning.
It is now more commonly being realised that it is highly important to prepare our next generation with skills that go beyond merely being able to recount taught facts and opinions in the examination room. They also need to be taught how to live as fully-rounded adults with good life skills.
There are many skills useful in adult life that children won’t simply get taught in the classroom from core subjects. Though it is of course essential to have a good knowledge of those subjects, an education is supported and enhanced by extra-curricular activities.
Often those privately educated are said to have an upper hand when it comes to employability and in obtaining general life skills. Whilst it is true that meeting and retaining future connections can partly be responsible for finding it easier to enter competitive industries, there’s no doubt that a broader syllabus can positively impact future employability.
Skills within the social or physical sphere are required later in life but not automatically taught in the given curriculum. These skills can be gained through extra-curricular activities that will directly benefit the child, for example learning to play an instrument or a particular sport, but their importance is also in the additional skills picked up through this learning that are invaluable, such as self-discipline, sociability and perseverance.
Schemes like the Duke of Edinburgh or debating clubs, for example, lead to positive social interaction that increases confidence and allows the child to mix and gel with a variety of people and, sometimes, ages. It’s this confidence, and the ability to learn for the sake of learning rather than merely passing exams, that helps children grow in to self-assured and knowledgeable adults.
When choosing a school for your child it’s important to place as much importance on extra-curricular activities as academic achievement. Bromsgrove School is an independent school that has made it as important to leave the school system with experience of the world beyond the classroom.
As well as the D of E award, they run various schemes that give their pupils a chance to interact with society and learn new skills. All their fourth form work towards their Bromsgrove Badge, which offers a range of experiences from orienteering through to public speaking, and cultural and historic events.
Pupils also have the opportunity to engage in community service. This is important as widens their sphere beyond their peers and allows them to see the ‘real world’.
Humanity, sociability and confidence are all as important for their future success as exam grades are. For those who put weight and emphasis on grades and employability, consider this - with so many children coming out of the education system with top grades and good degrees, it is likely that evidence of commitment to extra-curricular activities will make them stand out from the rest.
About The Author
Written by Samantha Luther, a blogger with a background of working in independent schools
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