Clubs & Activities

we offer boys the chance to participate in all sorts of clubs and activities, including Debating, Computer Science, History of Art Club, Cooking Club name a few. Below are just a few highlights from this term.

Bell Ringing

For over a year a small group of enthusiastic pupils from Sherborne and Sherborne Girls have been learning to bell-ring It looks easy, but it’s actually quite hard, particularly as the Abbey bells are fairly hefty (the tenor weighs 2 3 tonnes, making the bells the heaviest ring of eight in the world!) Nevertheless, the pupils have worked hard to learn bell control and are now able to ring in rounds (all 8 bells ringing in order without getting out of time) By itself this is quite an achievement as it can take months to master this skill; however, we were particularly pleased to be able to field an allschoolboy / girl band to celebrate the Coronation earlier in the year Although this campanology society is relatively new, the School has a long tradition of supporting ringing –John Hesse (g 24) arranged for the recasting of the tenor bell in 1933 and it was paraded through the streets of Sherborne by a team of pupils Nevertheless, the Coronation School band was the first time in over a century the Abbey bells have been rung by a group of pupils - quite a feat! In fact, a local news crew got wind of our plans and filmed us as part of their programme on Dorset’s coronation celebrations The footage should appear on Channel 4 later this summer, so keep a careful lookout! Aside from the physical and mental challenges of ringing, it’s fun, engaging, and offers a fantastic opportunity to meet local people and to support our community The Abbey Band have really enjoyed our company too and have told me many times how wonderful it is to welcome such polite and eager students into the Abbey tower

Tim Filtness Deputy Head Academic

Board Games

Board Games Club continues to run on a Monday afternoon with five regular players and a few occasional extras It is a relaxed and friendly club where all are welcome We have enjoyed a range of games this term including Anomia, Carcassonne and Blood on the Clocktower

Claire Greenrod English Teacher

Creative writing and The Holiday Prize for writing

Fridays at 5 00pm is when boys gather to write They write short stories, poetry, song lyrics, film scripts and even novels They are a committed group who after a long day of lessons settle down to produce something new, something of their own When AI is making a play for the territory of writing, it is more important than ever that human beings invest in what only human beings can do – be creative, not generative. Each year, the Holiday prize is awarded to the pupil who has contributed the most to creative writing and this year, the winner is Robbie Foster (U6a) His prize is to have his work printed as a collection and it is an excellent one, full of nuance and finely crafted

Rebecca de Pelet English Teacher

Academic Music Club

Academic Music Club has mainly focused on Oxbridge preparation this term – Max Lewis (U6a) is applying to Cambridge next year Earlier in the year our focus was mainly on advanced theory

Robert Costin Head of Academic Music

Barbell Club

We will continue to run Barbell Club on a Thursday and are looking to expand to other evenings too

Barnaby Allen Head of PE

wEllBEInG

This term we welcomed back the organisation Beyond Equality to complete the second of three workshops with the Third Form focusing on Positive Relationships They were also invited to talk to the Fourth Form who discussed a range of views on masculinity, mental health and relationships

Crossfire

Crossfire (The School’s Christian Union) has met most Thursdays at 5 45pm We have enjoyed meeting together regularly to share a meal and listen to a visiting speaker, or to look at a passage from the Bible This term we have been looking at different prayers in the Bible

Nick Scorer Chemistry Teacher & Housemaster of Harper House

Junior water Polo Club

Junior Water Polo Club is on a Friday after School We usually have around 10 players who enjoy developing skills and strategies and playing a friendly match The Junior House Water Polo tournament took place on Tuesday afternoons this term After a tense final with School House, The Green retained the trophy for the third year running

Claire Greenrod English Teacher

A joint event took place between Sherborne and Sherborne Girls where the RAP Project were invited to speak about university life and a joint workshop focused on consent and building healthy relationships were run by both staff at Sherborne and Sherborne Girls lastly, we hosted a talk on Diversity, Inclusion and lGBTQ+ led by Ian McClary, Deputy Head Co-Curricular at Sherborne Girls with our Third Form pupils, inviting them to think about these key topics during Pride Month we look forward to inviting back speakers on the topics of Gambling and Risk, Teenage Brain development and digital balance next term. Also, plans have been made to host joint pupil led workshops with pupils from Sherborne and Sherborne Girls on topics such as harassment and online reputation in the Michaelmas Term.

Nikki Bowerman Head of Pupil Wellbeing