Co-curricular

At St Martin’s we believe that learning does not just take place in the classroom but can occur anywhere. To reflect this, not everything we do takes place in school. Our location allows us to visit a plethora of places.

Pupils have access to a variety of day trips which include museums, galleries, hospitals, theatres, educational centres, national parks, castles, farms, woodlands, rivers, as well as places of religious significance.

Every year pupils from Year 3 to 8 also attend residential trips to help extend their learning. These include visits to educational centres, team building retreats and outdoor activity centres. We also run a football tour to St George’s Park and bi-annual skiing and cricket tours to various destinations overseas.

Wednesday afternoons in Main school are dedicated to our extensive activities program. We firmly believe that a wide range of activities should be on offer to all pupils. A rotating timetable provides variety and the ability to explore and learn new skills and develop current ones. Whether it’s water polo in the indoor heated pool, climbing on our indoor wall, learning about Greek mythology, taking the first steps towards becoming a Chess Grandmaster or being taught how to code –  we have something for everyone.

At St Martin’s we aim to offer a wide range of clubs and activities for our co-curricular programme which is varied each term and shaped for the needs of the pupils. This programme enriches pupils and provides them with an important and exciting opportunity to discover skills or to further develop existing ones.

Clubs run every day after school and there are options for every child from Nursery to Year 8. Clubs are run by a combination of school staff and external providers, which allows us to offer an extensive array of clubs which includes art, climbing, STEAM, golf, yoga, dance, table tennis, Gaelic football, NFL flag football, chess, forest school, music bands, cooking and debating, among many others. We currently run 61 extra-curricular clubs a term. There is always something for everyone as we look to carefully craft our co-curricular provision to ensure the best opportunities for all learners.

Every holiday we run our SMart Camps which are extremely popular. These are open to current pupils as well as their siblings who may attend other local schools. During SMart camp attendees are given opportunities to take part in a variety of activities on site which include swimming, climbing, art workshops and  cooking, to name just a few. There are also day visits to local attractions such as Go Ape, Top Golf, Ninja Warrior as well as external providers coming into school to deliver sessions.

Music plays a central role within our academic curriculum and our co-curricular programme here at St Martin’s. Studies show that students who undertake music lessons score significantly higher in core subjects than their non-musical peers. Regular lessons exercise a child’s cognitive abilities including their short- term memory, planning and inhibition which lead to improved academic performance. We offer lessons in Voice, Drum Kit, Violin, Viola, Cello, Double Bass, Trumpet, Classical Guitar, Trombone, Euphonium, French Horn and Piano.