Enrichment

Enrichment 2023-2024

Our enrichment programme aims to encourage pupils to explore their potential by trying new and varied experiences such as community activities, additional sports and the arts. The core provision forms part of the timetabled curriculum for pupils in Years 7 and 8, while the extra-curricular enrichment programme runs outside the formal school timetable so all pupils can get involved.

By working in partnership with experienced practitioners, coaches and artists we believe that these experiences will build confidence, fuel curiosity and broaden our pupils’ ambition before they go out into the world.

Core Enrichment – Years 7 and 8

Pupils select one enrichment from each of the three groups over the year: Imagine, Create and Move.

Imagine enrichments fuel our pupils’ intellectual and imaginative curiosity offering a broad range of activities including:

Creative Writing is taught by our professional Poet in Resident, Dan Simpson. Dan works with the pupils over the term to produce a published anthology of poetry – Bermondsey Beats. With two collections behind us we look forward to hearing and reading what our pupils create.

Card Gaming is run by our inspiring and creative DT Teacher, Ms. Douglas, as she take students behind the scene to see how our most famous card games are imagined, developed and made. If you ever wondered how Pokémon or Uno came about, this is the enrichment to find out.

Chess enrichment is new to The Charter School Bermondsey, but has a very particular local resonance. It was our Bermondsey Hero, Ada Salter, who introduced the playing of chess as a sport to Bermondsey in the 1920’s. Pupils are taught by the brilliant young chess player, Omar Ali, who works with Chess in Schools.

Create enrichments build our students confidence, resilience and creativity through a stunning range of activities including:

Film Making with Sparks Arts enables our pupils to experience every aspect of film making including script writing, directing, sound, acting and editing. They have made four short films over the last two years covering a range of stories and genres from horror to gritty realism.

Leatherwork is one of our founding enrichments set up by an early member of the The Charter School Bermondsey Community, Gary Meehan. Gary’s legacy continues today as pupils learn the craft of leather making with award winning designer and leather craftsman, Yusuf Osman. Yusuf takes pupils through the building blocks of the craft from conception, design, realisation and production. Pupils have produced some stunning work! They will also visit Northampton University where they can explore what it means to study the craft at University and the many careers beyond. Our Leatherwork enrichment is generously supported by the Worshipful Company of Curriers.

Sewing is led our tailor and seamstress, Ginette Nsasi, who introduces our pupils to the fundamentals of sewing and tailoring, building on the fantastic work undertaken by Ms. Douglas in DT. Students make a range of products based their own creative and inspiring ideas.

Musical Theatre is run by our wonderful Ms. Shoeman whose extensive experience in music education coupled with her passion for Musical Theatre is none other than truly inspiring. She takes pupils through the classic songs that we all know and love as a pathway to taking them into the more challenging and ambitious works of this life affirming experience.

Move enrichment encourages students to move not only their feet, hands and bodies but to used their minds and imaginations to work out how to play as a team, how to develop their skills and how to be the best. Students have the opportunity to train with:

Ballers Academy have been training our pupils for the last three years. They blend professional ambition with pupil-centred training, enabling our young players to reach their potential on the pitch with brilliant results. Ballers Academy is based in the heart of Bermondsey.

Basket Ball is run by our Head of PE, Matt Flowers, whose passion for game translates into a rigorous and strategic training programme. It’s the perfect training ground to be spotted for the Charter School Bermondsey Basket Ball Team.

Mixed Marshall Arts is run by professional MME fighter and practitioner, Steven Cooke, as he and his team take our pupils through the disciplines, skills and art of what it means to combine three of the best known competitive fighting sports: boxing, judo and karate. He was recently featured in a stand-alone documentary, The Good Fight Club.

Rugby is a first for Charter Bermondsey! We are delighted to be working with Southwark Tigers. Tigers who are building our first team from scratch as pupils learn, train and compete in a truly international sport that demands resilience, integrity and the ability to play truly as a team.

Table Tennis is taught by our professional coach, Tyler Anderson, who works with the ground-breaking charity, Greenhouse Sports. Greenhouse believe that through an engaging, consistent and demanding coaching programme, pupils can realise their potential in the sport whilst developing their skills of strategy, resilience and aspiration. Our unique Table Tennis Programme is supported by The Worshipful Company of Pewterers.

Afterschool enrichment

We also run an accessible and ambitious afterschool enrichment provision including: Chess, Leatherwork, STEM and most recently Warhammer with our very own Head of English and gaming master, Mr. Piper. There is no cost for the students to our afterschool activities.

Extra-curricular Enrichment Clubs 

Open to all year groups as below:

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday
Breakfast Club: 7:10-8:40AM		Table Tennis​ (Greenhouse students) ​ Sports Hall​ Coach Tyla		Table Tennis​ (Greenhouse students) ​ Sports Hall​ Coach Tyla
Lunch Time: 1:10-1:35PM	Sports Hall​ Year 11​ Mr Flowers	Sports Hall ​ Year 11​ Ms Kidney	Athletics​ Sports Hall​ Mr Flowers
After school: 3:30-4:30/4:45PM	Table Tennis​ (Greenhouse students – Year 7 and 8 ) ​ – Sports Hall​ Coach Tyla​ (3:30-5:00PM)​ ​ Warhammer club ​ – F204​ Mr Piper	Netball ​ (All Years) ​ Sports Hall​ Ms Kidney​ ​   Football (Boys)​ Y9, Y10 & Y11​ BALLERS​ ​ STEM​ F118​ Mr Sayedi​	Trampolining ​ Sports Hall​ Ms Kidney​ ​ Greenhouse Table Tennis (Girls) ​ Sports Hall​ Coach Tyla​ (3:30-5:00PM)​ ​ Football ​ Astro-Turf​ BALLERS​ ​ Leather Work ​ G207​ External Teacher​	Greenhouse Table Tennis​ (Greenhouse students) ​ Sports Hall​ Coach Tyla​ (3:30-5:00PM)​ ​ Football (girls)​ All years ​ Astro-Turf​ Ms Kidney​	Table tennis (Greenhouse students 2:30-4:30)​ Coach Tyla​ ​ Basketball ​ Year 11​ Sports Hall​ Mr Flowers Basketball (Year 11) Sports Hall Mr. Flowers

Beyond: We take students out regularly on field trips, Museum visits, Art Galleries and to the Theatre. Beyond The Charter School Bermondsey formally acknowledges and celebrates the additional exploration our students undertake in their core academic curriculum and is led through the departments. This element includes but is not exhaustive to external projects including: Brilliant Club, Greenhouse Table Tennis, Old Vic Theatre Club and Play On Shakespeare. 

Talks: These are events with professionals who are invited to share thoughts and field questions from selected students. Their aim is to support in raising aspirations of how discrete subject areas of groups of subjects support in the advancement to certain careers or sectors of work. These have included visits from economists, engineers and even film stars.

Collaborate: These projects aim to engage students over an agreed period of time and enhance their academic, social and personal understanding of their education and the world beyond school. This is done through collaboration with external partners who work with our students in several different settings on site. These have included ESTEEM, Future Frontiers, Ballers Academy, Boyhood to Manhood, workshops with the Old Vic Theatre Club and peripatetic lessons.

Trips and visits

The ability to explore the world around us is core to our vision, with ‘exploration’ as one of our values. Therefore, we are committed to ensuring that students explore beyond the school and their local community, to the City of London, to other parts of the UK, and beyond.

Over the course of each school year there will be a number of opportunities for our pupils to participate in trips and visits and share their experiences on our twitter page, in our weekly and termly newsletters, Charter Buzz.