As a school, Sevenoaks places significant emphasis on building a relationship with the local community. Its service programme gives students the opportunity to provide help in local schools, homes for the elderly and centres for children and adults with physical or learning difficulties. Some more details of a few of these projects are as follows:
Working with the elderly
Thursday Club
At Thursday club students host a group of local elderly people, spending a couple of hours chatting to them over tea and biscuits. Each week entertainment is provided by other students in the form of musical performances, or sometimes members of staff who deliver presentations on topics of personal or school interest. The Thursday club students organise a weekly raffle and have been known to make the odd cake or two! It is a wonderful opportunity to learn inter-personal skills, including listening, talking to others with sensitivity and maturity, as well as to learn about some fascinating life histories.
Working with children and adults with disabilities
Special Needs Computing
This activity takes between four and eight visitors from local residential homes for adults with learning difficulties. Students use the Internet as a teaching tool, play games as well as chat about the lives, families and hobbies of the people who come, some of whom have attended for over five years. They look forward to the afternoon sessions as a time then they can gain some one-to-one attention, and both the individuals who come the students who run the activity learn a great deal from each other.
Sailing
Dorton House School for the Blind provides opportunities for disabled people to experience sailing and develop various kinds of physical skills. The boats used are specially designed for disabled sailors, are very stable and safe, but fun to sail. Sevenoaks pupils help with all aspects of the activity.
Riding for the disabled (RDA) takes place at Bradbourne Riding School on Thursday afternoons. Students are engaged in individual support for children with various physical and learning difficulties, helping them to learn how to ride horses and accompanying them on trails.
Valence School is a local residential school for disabled children; our students make weekly visits, providing learning support in various ways, including within classrooms and in physical activities such as sports.
Primary schools, Music and ‘Minimus’
Each week quite a number of students in years 10-12 visit a range of local primary schools to work with children of various ages. Activities include helping with reading, playing games, music, putting up displays or using computers. Some go specifically to lead musical activities. We even have a Gamelan Orchestra for use in primary schools. This traditional instrumental ensemble from Indonesia is a wonderful way to make music in a group and children who are taught how to play really enjoy it. In addition, one further group provides extension and enrichment to particular children by teaching them Latin and aspects of Roman culture using the textbook, Minimus.
The service is enjoyable in that we are able to experience the joy of educating young people in a subject that is not normally available to them. The textbook gives an easy and enjoyable approach to learning not only the language aspects but also some of the myths from the Greek world, which the children like reading aloud, performing or drawing. Not only do the children benefit, but we learn a lot from teaching. For example, I have learnt many skills with how to go about teaching in different ways depending on what I am teaching that day. It also is useful in confidence building, and general skills such as planning ahead.