Opportunities
Opportunity is at the heart of The Lenham School as we drive to offer a range of opportunities for students to engage in. We run a number of lunchtime and after-school clubs offering opportunities for all students to engage with. These have previously included:
- STEAM Club
- Gym Club
- Weightlifting Club
- Art Club
- Panto Club
- Geography Club
- F1 Club
In addition, The Lenham School is proud to run the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, currently offered at Bronze and Silver level. The school first offered the award in 2022 with our initial Bronze cohort graduating in our Duke of Edinburgh Award ceremony in January 2024. The award is a growing strength of the school with cohorts increasing in number each year. More information on how the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme works can be accessed here.
The Lenham School believes in developing the range of sporting opportunities offered to our young people. Our extra-curricular clubs include Football, Badminton and Netball. And we are active league participants, running year group teams. We also have Inter-Trust sporting competitions such as Inter-Trust Football and Netball. As a school we have also developed close links with Pro-Soccer Academy (PSA) who will be facilitating a Football Academy in our Sixth Form, offering taster sessions to our Year 11 students and running after school coaching for the girls' football team.
As well as developing our students' physical skills we also want to develop their Sporting Leadership skills. We have a number of Sport Leaders across a variety of year groups who work with local primary school students in developing their sport skills. As a school we are formalising this process with students being able to achieve a formal Sports Leader Award.
Dance is well established in the school, with a vast range of opportunities for single or multi-disciplined students. Dance club runs during lunch times for Key Stage 3 and 4 with each club taking on different styles. These clubs have led to performance opportunities in our own showcases, across the Trusts festivals and this year also taking Dance Dash to local village, primary schools and even a supermarket to raise money for Children in Need. In addition, students can join Cascade Dance company, run on a Wednesday after school, whereby students can perform in wider showcases across Kent.
Drama has grown over the last few years, with increasing opportunities in the local community, across the VIAT Trust and in our annual school production. Students are offered Drama Clubs at lunchtime, a KS3 club running with regular attendance led to performance opportunities in our showcases and VIAT concerts, with performances ranging from Shakespeare to Blood Brothers. In addition to this, from September to January students have the chance to join our school production team, this is open to all year groups and every student, everyone is welcome! The casts are increasing each year with over 60 performing in last year’s production of Oliver. As the productions have grown so have students' opportunities in our local community, with performance offers to local primary schools, Lenham Lights and the Village Showcase.
Within Performing Arts, the extra-curricular opportunities allow our students to be challenged in their own abilities and enrich their lives. As well as vast performance opportunities and clubs students also have the chance to experience live theatre and dance to inspire them in their own journey. Regular visits to The Marlow Theatre and London expose students to the world the arts have to offer, experiencing a range of genres, immersive Great Gatsby, challenging Metamorphosis, dance pieces like Message in a Bottle and uplifting Musicals.
In January 2024 Performing Arts students were lucky enough to embark on a trip to New York, this allowed them to explore the city's culture and history as well as what it has to offer performers. Students were able to take part in a workshop with Broadway performers and Musical Directors, learning their own routine to All That Jazz and spending time interviewing the performers about how they made it to Broadway. A trip of a lifetime!
Music opportunities have increased dramatically in the last academic year, including a senior vocal harmony group, a junior choir, samba band and a band programme. We have over 100 pupils attending these clubs on a regular basis, which run during lunch breaks and after school. The pupils who are involved in these music ensembles have had the chance to perform in our Showcases which are held in school every other term. This gives them the opportunity to experience a professional environment, with the best possible sound and lighting production to back up their fantastic performances.
Outside of our school the pupils also perform at the many large Trust wide events, including the VIAT Summer Concert and V in the park. The Lenham School has a longstanding relationship with Andrew Parry Music, who provide not only one to one tuition to our pupils on their chosen instrument, but also provide invaluable support to our ensembles and pupils when they are performing on stage.
