4 minute read
School News
Today’s Uppingham Experience
Uppingham endeavours to curate a holistically enriching experience for pupils, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to become courageous, ambitious, courteous adults, who genuinely want to make the world a better place. While the academic curriculum is undeniably important to the experience pupils receive, the School offers more than just world-class teaching within its exceptional facilities. In this year’s School update, we focus on some of the co-curricular areas that help create the wonderfully, well-rounded version of education offered today.
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The “Upp and Out” Co-curricular programme
Sarah Delaney, Assistant Head CoCurricular, is leading an evolution in the non-academic side of Uppingham life. At its core, the Upp and Out programme helps pupils to understand who they are as people; what drives them, what values they want to live by; the importance of their health and wellbeing and how they can create a positive impact in the world around them through their actions. Upp and Out supports pupils to develop skills that help them tackle real world problems by considering issues they encounter, defining innovative solutions and analysing outcomes from different points of view. It also tests them to challenge their own preconceptions and assumptions that might distract them from the best possible solutions. On a practical level, activities are delivered under four banners: • Physical • Spiritual • Creative • MAD (making a difference) – an overarching concept that embodies the other areas of the programme through practical activities. Pupils tackle areas of need, in School and local communities. From volunteering in local care homes and primary schools, working with local countryside conservation groups, walking local residents’ dogs, to supporting Uppingham in Bloom, there are many opportunities for pupils to make a difference.
Eventually, Sarah hopes that Upper Sixth pupils will act as leaders of the programme, directly utilising the skills they have developed to guide their younger peers.
Sport at Uppingham – transforming lives and changing the world through coaching
Recently appointed as Director of Sport, Nick De Luca’s vision is to make a difference to the life of every pupil, by engaging positively with each of them and creating sporting experiences that create a lifetime of achievement, enjoyment and wellbeing. He aims to instil a relationship with sport that helps them manage their health and wellbeing and become the best version of themselves.
Sport at Uppingham has three missions:
• To ignite a passion for sport that lasts a lifetime.
• To be the world’s leading sports programme for talent development.
• To create resilient, adaptable, compassionate leaders.
Through expert coaching, pupils are guided to understand that character traits, such as commitment, accountability and effort, will help them in whatever they go on to do, and the ability to focus under pressure, set and reach goals, and plan and evaluate meticulously, will only help them excel in all walks of life.
Nick firmly believes:
Youth STEMM Award
STEM, the acronym commonly used to bring together the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM), is arguably the most important field of expertise required in the modern economy. The continued growth of tech giants like Amazon, Apple, and Google, as well as the constant stream of new technology companies entering the market, demonstrates the opportunities available to young people aspiring to work within the STEM specialisms.
In this instance, a second M has been added to the typical STEM grouping to represent the field of medicine; another vital profession that young people need to be motivated to enter, especially given the events of the last 18 months, and the challenges still to come. To inspire young people into these areas of study, and to help them be successful, Uppingham has joined with 40 independent and state schools to offer the Youth STEMM Award. Available to pupils aged 13-19, and similar in structure to the Duke of Edinburgh scheme, the award requires them to undertake STEMM activities outside the normal curriculum.
Head of Physics, Emma Ellis, who joined the School in 2020, champions the award throughout all year groups. She expects pupils to proactively search for and develop the activities they undertake, helping them to shape their experiences around areas that interest them.
To complete the award, they must dedicate 45 hours to STEMM activities outside their scheduled lessons. For those wishing to progress further, they can move on from their bronze award to silver (90 hours) and gold (150 hours) and, while they have to complete activities across each of the STEMM disciplines, they have the opportunity to spend more time in the specialisms that interest them most. The award mirrors many elements of the co-curricular programme with a structure broken down into four sections:
• Inspiring the next generation
• Engaging the public
• Developing their skills and knowledge
• Shaping their future. Activities such as supporting younger pupils, or leading STEMM exhibitions, supports progression through their Upp and Out journey, as well as contributing to the award. Entry into the STEMM scheme is entirely elective, but those that choose to take part will explore a world of interests that will help define their path into continued education and their eventual careers.
As a society, we need young people from all backgrounds and demographics to be inspired to pursue these exciting specialisms.
