Opportunities for personal development are built into all pupils experiences at Ipswich School. Every pupil is encouraged to join a range of clubs which can take place before, during lunch or after school. We also encourage and support students to start and organise their own clubs in areas they are passionate about, no matter how niche.
We hope that our vast range of clubs will introduce new skills and develop new ones to complement our students studies. Please find the club list for Michaelmas term here.
Examples of Ipswich School Clubs:
Additional Art
This Club is run every day at lunchtime and after school for those pupils who are taking GCSE or A Level art and would like to consolidate their course work.
Book Club
The Book Club meets every week to talk about books and eat biscuits! Each term we read a different selection of books (generally either chosen by the group themselves or from book award shortlists). The books are then discussed and given a score out of ten. The discussions that take place about the books are usually very lively, with the group having very strong opinions about what they have read. The highlight of the year is the shadowing of the Carnegie award – possibly the most prestigious of the Children’s Book Awards.
Chapel Choir
The Chapel Choir sings at school services, plus concerts at Snape and elsewhere. The choir has sung Evensong at most English cathedral
Chess Club
Come along and play chess with old and new friends. A chance to play this wonderful game in an informal atmosphere. All abilities welcome. If you can’t play we can teach you!
Drama Club
Drama Club takes place at lunchtime in Fison’s Foyer. Depending on the term there is the opportunity to work on a performance to get ready for your year’s school play and also work on improv exercises and fun games. This is a great club to mix with peers outside your form group and build your confidence for the stage.
Fives
Fives is a hand ball game in which two opposing pairs of players hit a 4.5cm ball around a three-walled concrete court using padded gloved hands. The court has a number of ledges and a buttress that project into the playing area and so makes it a fast game in which the ball can make sudden changes of direction. All you need to play is a pair of trainers as the balls and gloves are provided by the school. It was described by a former Headmaster as “One of the best of all ball games.” Simply turn up at the courts behind the cricket pavilion to have a go.
Lego Robotics
At the LEGO Robotics club the popular and powerful Mindstorms system is used. There are a number of EV3 and NXT systems that are used to build robots. The first half of the year is concentrated on building and then programming the robots. The challenges that the robots will solve are set by the First LEGO League competition designers and we travel to compete in this event in January. On returning from the competition we then turn our minds to a sumo wrestling competition, with robots trying to push one another out of an arena without driving themselves out of play accidentally. In the final half term we begin preparations for the new year by programming our robots to collect a basket of sweets, which we can then eat.
Mandarin Club
In this club, you can learn about various aspects of Chinese language, life and culture. The students have the chance to try various different Chinese/Asian confectioneries, look at Chinese celebrations for national holidays giving a view into the daily life of Chinese citizens. Pupils can also enjoy learning the different aspects of Chinese characters and their origins.
Model House of Commons
This club takes place in our Chapel and all year groups are welcome.
Do you want to know how Government works? What about the current climate emergency? Speaking is not required, you are more than welcome to just sit and listen. Ideas for future debates and hot topics are always welcome.
Music Ensembles
There is an array of music ensembles run by the Music School these include: Big Band, Saxophone Ensemble, Brass Ensembles, String Ensemble, Stage Band, Chamber Orchestra. The music department publishes a schedule each term of the clubs and when rehearsals take place.
Show Choir
This is a pupil-led choir who practice together popular show tunes and attend performances at a variety of the school’s musical events or in the community.
