Clubs and Societies

Our extensive co-curricular programme continues to grow and thrive each year. We offer over 80 different co-curricular activities, including a number of clubs and societies.

St Peter’s 2-8

Spotlight on St Peter’s 2-8 School Council

Members of St Peter’s 2-8 School Council wear special badges and carry out very important work in school. From selling sunflower seeds for a Ukrainian charity in York to delivering used batteries (three bags full) to the Geography department for recycling through Eco Club, the council’s hard work makes our school and the local community a better place. Well done! At the beginning of every term, pupils stand for election and everyone in the class gets to vote for two class representatives, 18 in total! The group meets weekly to discuss items relevant to the school community and the world around them, trying to care for both and make positive changes, carrying ideas forward from the classes. Involvement in the council helps children feel empowered and aware from an early age that they have the ability to make a change. It develops confidence and encourages the children to take responsibility and learn about democracy hands-on.

The School Council led an assembly in March, showing an amazing BBC short film Wonderful World, narrated by Sir David Attenborough. Each member of the council explained how each one of us can play our part to help in this mission. The council explained how and where we can recycle items that often end up in waste bins. Later that day the children met with Mr Robinson, our Catering Manager, to discuss improvements planned for the dining room to improve our environmental impact.

St Peter’s 8-13 Checkmate

In St Peter’s 8-13 and across school we have a thriving chess community and high-standard clubs. Congratulations to the Junior Chess Team who played in the York Interschool Tournament at the end of November and came a close second.

Dance Group

Dance is an important creative art across school, with several dance genres represented and great standards of performance. The St Peter’s 8-13 Dance Group rehearsed hard ahead of the Yorkshire School’s Dance Festival in November, held at the University of York. They performed in assembly before the big day to rapturous applause, and performed excellently well on the day. Congratulations to all who took part.

Alex gets First Junior Duke Gold Award

Pioneering Alex (J2) in St Peter’s 8-13 is the first pupil to complete the Junior Duke Gold Award. He completed seven challenges including budgeting, washing the dishes, ICT and even baked a splendid loaf of bread. He says he “particularly enjoyed the music task and is hoping to take on the platinum award next year”. Mrs Hick said: “I am so thrilled Alex has achieved this brilliant award; he has really thrown himself into some incredible activities and makes the most of every opportunity. The Junior Duke is a brilliant way of developing current interests and finding new ones. We only introduced it this year and I’ve been so impressed with the number of pupils ready and willing to take on this challenge. What a wonderful way for the pupils to cultivate resilience and independence.”

This year saw a total of 11 pupils at St Peter’s 8-13 complete the Junior Duke awards. They undertook a range of personal challenges including First-Aid, swim, cookery, domestic challenges, caring for others, puncture repair, litter picking, volunteering, budgeting, making a presentation and many other fun things. We were delighted with achievements at all levels throughout the year.

One pupil said: “I’ve really enjoyed having the excuse to complete the challenges with my family, so much fun!”

St Peter’s 13-18

Keystone Shines

In June 2021, the latest edition of Keystone, the pupil-led school magazine, won the Rising Star award at the Shine School Media Awards, the most prestigious school media award in the UK! In September, Keystone’s chief editors Natasha and Freddy, and creative director Annabel, travelled to the Guildhall in London to receive the award on behalf of all those who worked tirelessly to produce the outstanding magazine. At the award winners’ lunch, pupils were presented with a certificate. The pupils were treated to speeches by former winners and had the opportunity to meet leading figures from the world of journalism.

Ccf

At the start of the year our Fifth Form cadets completed their basic training course and were presented with their berets in November. The award for best recruit went to Maggie who also received a promotion to Lance Corporal. She said: “I’ve really enjoyed being a part of CCF and getting involved with everything it has to offer. I am so pleased to have been awarded Best Recruit and to have been promoted to Lance Corporal. I can’t wait to see what the future holds!” Captain Sal Sleigh, Contingent Commander, said: “All cadets who received their berets have been really impressive from the start. They have approached their training with enthusiasm and work as a team particularly well. We are very proud of how far they have come in the past year and are excited to see them continue to develop in the coming months.”

This year’s annual week-long camp took place at the Cadet Training Centre in Driffield where cadets enjoyed a wide variety of activities. Two days were spent in the field honing fieldcraft, tactics and leadership skills, culminating in section attacks. The day on camp involved a plethora of activities, from shooting and STEM to a gun-run competition. A day was also spent at the Adrenaline Outdoor Centre, consisting of challenging high ropes and assault courses. Overall, an excellent week learning new skills through fun.

In July, Fourth Form (Recruit Platoon) were also awarded their berets on completion of training covering skill at arms, fieldcraft, navigation, drill and military knowledge. The Head Master awarded them their new Yorkshire Regiment Berets. In addition, Andrew and Serene were promoted to LCpl and Andrew was awarded the best recruit. We also took the opportunity to promote Ella to Sergeant and next year’s Head of CCF.

This was also Captain Tom Smith’s (MBE) last training session after six years with St Peter’s as he moves on to pastures new. We thank Captain Smith for all his hard work over the years. He will be greatly missed!

Alfred Martin, Old Peterite and cadet, said: “All credit to these cadets. I’m honoured to work with them. Covid restricted access to training but now we’re back in full force.”

ESU Debating National Finalists

ESU Deabting National Finalists

A team of three Third Form pupils from St Peter’s were delighted to progress to the National Finals of the ESU Schools’ Mace Competition in London in March. The team were very well prepared and spoke with authority and style. The English-Speaking Union’s Schools’ Mace, the oldest and largest debating competition for schools in England, hones pupils’ debate skills in a fun, competitive environment. Working in teams, pupils enhance their speech writing, public speaking and critical thinking, helping them to excel both in and out of school and giving them a sense of pride in themselves and their achievements.

Earlier in March, the Public Speaking team from St Peter’s School were also named runnersup in the ESU Churchill Speaking Competition regional finals. It was wonderful to see our pupils participating with such confidence in both regional and national competitions.

Duke of Edinburgh Awards Round-Up

As part of the training for their Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award Gold expedition, our Lower Sixth pupils completed a six-hour outdoor first aid qualification awarded by ITC First in January. The pupils spent most of the day training with instructors from Adventure Training North East, ending the day demonstrating how they would deal with a variety of first aid scenarios that might arise on expedition.

A Bumper 38 Lower Sixth pupils complete Gold DofE!

Thirty eight Lower Sixth pupils successfully completed their Gold DofE expedition in the North Pennines in the last days of summer term. Working in groups, pupils at Gold Level Award have to plan a four-day unsupported expedition, including routes of over 20 kilometres each day, navigating the hills and valleys of the North Pennines while organising campsites and nourishment. St Peter’s staff were on hand in remote supervision just in case. After the last few years, it was great to see pupils out in the countryside and to share their relief and triumph as they reached the traditional finish line at Cow Green Reservoir. Well done to every pupil and to the St Peter’s staff who gave up four days to ensure pupils successfully navigated the ups and downs of their Gold DofE expedition. A marvellous achievement equipping them with lifelong skills.

Chess Club

We launched our very own chess club and tournament series at St Peter’s 13-18 this year. Everyone is welcome to attend, from experts to beginners, and the pupils have thoroughly enjoyed developing their chess skills through friendly competition.