Head of Chapter House and Queen’s Kindergarten, Karen Kilkenny, explains the importance of offering enriching extra-curriculars from a young age. By offering learning opportunities that go beyond the standard curriculum, students can thrive wherever their passions lie.
By offering learning opportunities that go beyond the standard curriculum, students can thrive wherever their passions lie. Our school ethos is ‘to be the best I can with the gifts that I have’ and for us, that means creating a diverse learning environment where children are exposed to a wide range of activities to help them discover what they love and what they excel at. Offering a variety of activities, classes and experiences keeps our students enthused about learning as activities they love can be mixed into their school day. And, for our busiest parents, having our wide choice of onsite extra-curricular activities and fun wraparound care options means that their children can attend sessions they would otherwise struggle to get to.
Learning About the World
Within the school day, all students in Years 1-5 study Spanish and Mandarin under the tutelage of native speakers. They enjoy cooking and baking classes in a specialist food technology room and can attend our QE Kitchen Gardening club, which is run onsite by our Chefs and Catering Team to teach pupils about planting, growing, and harvesting food. Our onsite Forest School encourages students to play, explore and discover in a natural outdoor environment under the guidance of our Level 3 Forest School Practitioner who plans sessions around the seasons and children’s interests. Pupils enjoy a mix of activities including being creative with natural materials, campfire cooking, flora and fauna recognition, den building, searching for minibeasts, and taking risks in a safe environment.
Sport and Movement
Throughout the school, all pupils follow a sports programme under specialist coaches that focuses on multi-skills to keep every individual motivated and engaged in physical activity. Outside of the PE curriculum, there are ample opportunities for children to compete in external sport competitions including the ISA Junior Athletics tournament and local football and cricket tournaments.
All our students have weekly swimming lessons taught by a specialist swim coach in our on-site 25m swimming pool, located just a two-minute walk away from our classrooms.
At Key Stage 1, we have daily Movement for Learning sessions led by our Occupational Therapist which are designed to hone children’s motor skills whilst developing greater control over their bodies.
Creative Arts
All students can enjoy art, dance, music, and drama curriculum sessions. For those passionate about music or dance, there are several instrumental and dance classes available onsite which are taught by specialist teachers. Those who love the stage, can attend our King’s Academy where they can work towards LAMDA qualifications and be part of an end of year production. The school also regularly hosts assemblies where pupils can showcase their talents.
All students can enjoy performing in school productions and nativities. The most gifted children across all arts can enter local and national competitions and perform at our annual Speech Day Celebrations. Our older students can also perform routines in our annual Gymnastics and Dance Display to an audience of over 500.
Contact us
Chapter House is a small, family-feel school for students 3 months to Year 5, nestled between Harrogate and York. To find out more about Chapter House, visit www.qe.org or book onto our Open Morning on 27th January 2024.