Clubs and Societies

A wide variety of clubs and societies are active at both the Junior and Senior School. These are a few examples.

Archaeology

This year only sixth formers attended the club's activities, which dictated the type of activities undertaken.

One of the key partners in the club is the Canterbury Archaeological Trust. They lent us a pack with shards of pots and bones from different periods, starting for the Neolithic up to the Victorian period, all discovered in the Canterbury area. This study allowed us to investigate the development of Canterbury from Neolithic to the twenty-first century through archaeological reconstructions. On a practical level, club members attempted to identify the shards by material shape, usage and date. Further, we attempted to reconstruct the size of a pot from a small shard of its rim.

A trip to Richborough, which is arguably the most important Roman fort and amphitheatre in Britain, was planned for the summer term and a DVD from the Time Team programme enthused the members to develop their own interests for a region or in a period, which resulted in investigating interesting case studies and excavation reports. Members also informally presented their own research.

Future activities include possibly joining local archaeological digs in the summer months, investigating university courses in archaeology and looking at career opportunities in the profession.

Film and book club

The Film and Book Club focuses on the appreciated and enjoyment of books and film, following a selected themes. Recent activities have included the book, Z for Zachariah and the animated film, called When the Wind Blows, made in the 1980s when the threat of nuclear war seemed real. Both explore the nuclear war and the possible devastating impact of atom bombs.

On the theme of time travel, the group of Lover Fifth read Time Travel Enforcement Department, quite an exciting adventure story/thriller with a bit of romance on the side,butwhich left a lot to be desired in the proof reading department. The film was Next, starring Nicholas Cage as an American magician who could see two minutes into the future.

Dr Linda Ashby, head of science and Mrs Lesley Humphreys, school librarian, run the Club, which meets at lunch time on Thursdays. The club members enjoy the books and films and it is hoped to develop the club more, perhaps inviting other Year Groups to participate in the activities.

Forum Debating Society

The society was recently revived under the aegis of English teacher, Mrs Melanie Robinson and current Lower 6th pupils, Michael Hawkes and Alasdair McMaster. A inaugural debate was held in April between four sixth formers with the subject being 'This House Believes in Political Correctness'.

After each debate, a record is kept of the proceedings in line with the traditions of former years. It is hoped that Forum will meet regularly in the new school year.

In addition, Michael Hawkes, Alasdair McMaster, Louise Garrett and Jamie Tuttall in Lower 6th competed in the Benenden Sixth Form Debating Championships in March.

Mind Games Club

Every Monday lunchtime, a small group of interested pupils venture into the history classroom not for the past but to stretch their minds by attempting to answer, with guidance from Mrs Mander and Mr Knight, the range of brain-teasers now found daily in our newspapers. Suduko, Kenken and Kakuro now hold no terrors for the group; The Times crossword does.

Stage Crew

The school's drama productions are supported by an enthusiastic group of 'boys and girls on black'. In the run up to a show, the stage crew help build and paint the set, install and test the sound equipment and drag out props from obscure storage areas hidden around the Hall. During a performance they operate the sound and lighting desks, control video projections and run all the scene changes fuelled by a diet of pizza and chocolate. After the final night, they do the less glamorous work of returning the equipment to its original state and clearing the stage for normal drama lessons