Newmarket and Ely Living Dec 2019 - Jan 2020

ADVERTISING FEATURE
the leys cambridge
“A successful education is not only to be
measured in examination grades, in the
same way that no person should ever be
defined by those grades.” Mr William Earl,
Director of the Wider Curriculum at
The Leys School, Cambridge.
An education at The Leys is built on 3
foundation stones; the academic, the
pastoral and the wider curriculum. Wider
Curricular activities form an integral
part of the school week for all pupils
with a significant amount of time in the
afternoons and early evenings devoted
to it. This is why, here at The Leys, we
refer we the Wider Curriculum rather
than the Extra Curriculum; education
extends beyond the classroom allowing
pupils to benefit from the breadth of
skills, personal qualities, experiences
and attitudes that are developed
through performance, participation and
engagement. These skills are transferable
to the working life of the pupils and
therefore huge benefits can be derived
from undertaking them. Pupils at The
Leys experience how hard work can yield
excellent results and the programme
of over 100 weekly activities, clubs
and societies actively encourages a
healthy, active lifestyle that supports their
physical and emotional wellbeing.
Everyone takes part in sports three times
a week, whether as a member of a team
in the major sports of hockey, cricket,
netball, rugby and tennis or individually
in areas such as rowing, squash,
water polo, sailing, athletics, dance
or badminton. The Sports Academy
supports the school’s top sportsmen and
women by monitoring and enhancing
their performance, setting goals,
improving fitness and developing links
with clubs. Many pupils play at County,
Divisional and National levels. The school
takes considerable pride in pupils’
sporting successes and achievements
and is equally proud of those who
may not be at the ‘elite’ level but still
contribute to sporting life.
In Year 9 pupils start working on the Duke
of Edinburgh’s Bronze award, progressing
to Silver and Gold in Year 10 and
beyond. As part of the school’s Personal
Development and Leadership Scheme,
pupils from Year 10 – Lower Sixth take
part in the army and navy CCF syllabus
as well as providing volunteering services
to the local community.
Musical enrichment opportunities are
vast; pupils can choose to participate in
10 different musical ensembles and there
are numerous options when it comes
to live performance including overseas
“Pupils at The Leys experience how hard work
can yield excellent results and the programme
of over 100 weekly activities, clubs and societies
actively encourages a healthy, active lifestyle that
supports their physical and emotional wellbeing.”
tours (Croatia, Slovenia and Malta most
recently) and the Chapel Choir who
regularly join forces with choirs from the
University’s College Choirs at Evensong.
This year they were delighted to sing at
St. Paul’s Cathedral and a number of
concerts take place at the school every
term culminating in the End of Year
Concert at Saffron Hall in Saffron Walden.
In addition to this over 200 individual
instrumental lessons take place each
week.
The school’s Great Hall plays host to
numerous dramatic performances, at
least five major productions each year
and, for those who prefer time out of
the spotlight, the Backstage Theatre
Company offers opportunities for helping
with the ‘behind the scenes’ work such
as theatrical makeup, sound and lighting
and set-building. The Leys’ strong
connections with the Charing Cross
Theatre in London also enables pupils to
train and perform away from the school
environment.
Whether physical, artistic, cultural
or practical, the Wider Curricular
opportunities are enormous and their
benefits cannot be over-estimated.
For more information or to visit The
Leys contact the admissions team
admissions@theleys.net or telephone
01223 508904. We look forward to
meeting you.
12 | www.newmarketliving.co.uk