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There’s a lot to fit into a school day, but we believe it’s all about balance.

The Senior School day runs from 8.25am – 4.00pm, comprising of seven teaching periods, break and lunch. Where possible, we schedule as many of the sporting and co-curricular activities into the lunch break period so pupils using our bus service can participate as much as possible. We also offer a breakfast club from 8.00am and after school supervision in the library until the late bus leaves at 5.45pm.

We want our pupils to be ambitious in their goals, to challenge themselves, to have a go at new things and to achieve – both inside and outside the classroom.  Pastoral care, alongside our high academic reputation and broad co-curricular programme is central to our impressive school where each child is valued, encouraged, challenged and supported to unleash their potential.

As a co-educational school, where you can pursue the sports, subjects and activities that suit you as an individual, not just your gender, we value the benefits of empowering pupils to challenge themselves and be challenged and supported at their own pace.

Read more about school life in our specialist subject pages below:

Sport

Music

Drama

Art

Design and technology

Pupil voice and leadership

Sport

With 100 acres of pitches, courts, athletics facilities and sports hall with gymnasium, sport can play a big part of life at Claremont.

Our girls focus on lacrosse and netball and boys focus on rugby. As we are a truly co-educational school, both boys and girls take part in cricket. Both also take part in athletics, tennis and cross country, with all sports supported by specialist teachers and coaches. There are many more sports on offer via our co-curricular programme, including the very popular girls football team, gymnastics, archery, fencing and badminton.

Afternoon games are a feature of the weekly timetable and we have a strong fixture list against local schools and participate with increasing success in county and national competitions.

All of our fixtures and results can be found in the sports section.

Sports fixtures

Music

The music department in the senior school is a vibrant place and music is considered a very important part of school life, be it from house assemblies, year assemblies, whole school assemblies, or public performances in and out of school. There is a running programme of concerts and instrumental teas, alongside such important events such as Remembrance, Christmas and Easter in which orchestra, choir and soloists play a major part.

Academically the department offers fifty-minute lessons per week to our lower school students (year 7-9), and lessons are committed to experiencing the theory of music through the practice of playing/singing within classroom lessons. It is our goal that all students will read standard music notation, all students will be able to play and compose using state of the art keyboards and the latest Sibelius Ultimate software. All students will perform in a classroom setting in groups and individually, be it in free improvisation or sharing their original compositions. Our recording studio is there for our advanced students who wish to work on Logiq software enhanced by Spectratonic sampled sounds, and doubles up for our two DJ Club sessions which run as a club open to the lower years in the school.

By running smaller groups at GCSE and A level, this allows targeted teacher to student time, resulting in better results and an enhanced experience. Some of our students go on to University to study music, music therapy, music management, and the department prides itself on preparing our students for these important roles in the Arts.

We inspire musical achievement and prepare students who benefit from 1-to-1 peripatetic instrumental and vocal lessons. Lessons take place throughout the school day on a rotational basis to avoid disruption to academic progress. ABRSM exams are also arranged in the summer term for those students progressing up the ranks.

Drama

Drama plays a key role in the personal and social development of our pupils and offers a secure, creative environment in which to develop self-esteem and responsibility. Through drama, pupils gain confidence and refine communication skills, vital for strong interpersonal relationships with friends and family and to succeed in academia. Drama is studied throughout KS3 and as an option for GCSE and A level. There is also a busy co-curricular schedule with clubs, pantomimes, the Shakespeare Festival and whole school productions.

Art

We have a healthy up-take for GCSE and A level art and photography and we are proud that all of our art students in Year 13 attain places in their top choice art foundation or degree choices. Pupils get to use a range of materials to produce their pieces and enjoy getting stuck into anything from lino printing, to potery. We run weekly life drawing classes for A level artists in the autumn term and the department offers many opportunities for pupils to join in with extra sessions in a creative environment. The summer exhibition is an excellent chance to see examples of work from GCSE and A level pupils.

At A level, we offer the opportunity for students to study photography where they acquire skills in digital photography; computer aided image manipulation and chemical photography. We have a dedicated studio for this subject.

Design and technology

The Sir Sydney Camm building is home to science and technology subjects at Claremont. Our state of the art facilities mean that students have the opportunity to design and make things that they didn’t even think was possible. We offer computer science, design technology, food and nutrition and textile design as part of our rotating carousel curriculum from years 7-9, so that pupils have the chance to discover what they enjoy. Many pupils go on to study these subjects further at GCSE and A level where they enjoy more research trips. Textiles design students at GCSE and A level get to present their final work in a summer exhibition for friends and family to enjoy.

Pupil voice and leadership

Few things are more empowering than being given the opportunity to contribute ideas and plans to actively influence the day to day running of the school. When pupils see their ideas come to life, the motivation propels them forward in their academic work and beyond.

With an emphasis on improving their fellow pupils’ experience at school, pupils are elected to the school council by their own year group and attend regular meetings chaired by the deputy head boy and girl to share, prioritise and report progress on ideas.

Skills blossom across a number of areas such as public speaking and negotiation, coupled with growing confidence across the board. Whether it’s meeting with senior staff to assess a project’s feasibility or our PTA to support fundraising, pupils’ are learning what it takes to work with others towards shared goals in a tangible, real world context.

Recent council initiatives include the installation of a number of picnic benches across the grounds and a brand new bike shed, the sourcing of a smart, warm school coat and a refillable water bottle.