Sometimes teaching is just not enough. The classroom cannot
and should not ever be the only thing you turn up at school for. But what if
there is nothing else?
We cannot all have the facilities offered in the most well
equipped schools. Some are certainly fantastic. Eton has its own boating lake;
some have their own theatres and Gymnasiums, swimming pools or even golf
courses. That is not possible in most cases. However it is possible in the
local area. The big five that schools would
all wish for are the Sports fields, Gym, Theatre, Art Studio and Swimming pool.
Sports Facilities
Pitches, courts, astro turfs, cricket nets, bowling greens
even. The websites underneath will help you find Sports facilities across
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are just the starting
place for your search. Local councils will often have lists of available
facilities local groups, teams, leagues and opportunities for young people.
Gymnasiums
The sites below can be used to seek out Gyms in your area.
Alternatively you could use one of the well-known brands
that will often have good deals for students.
Often local universities or council facilities will be just
as good, if not better.
Theatres
Theatre as an art form does not actually need a theatre, but
the support of other actors, specialist equipment and experience which can make
all the difference. The page below lists every theatre in the UK, useful for
seeing what is in your area for performances.
More importantly however are the groups and amateur
dramatics that can be found on sites such as
The facilities are only ever as good as the people who use
them. I have had the fortune of working in schools with some of the best
practitioners of theatre education in the world and they have been amazing in
what they have created from such small spaces, limited budgets and short
rehearsal times. I have seen dreary productions in half filled purpose built
theatres and I have seen HMS pinafore put on in an exam hall. There is no limit
to what can be achieved if the people involved are committed.
Art Studios
Art can be as easy as a sketch book and a bowl of fruit,
however without the support of teachers, peers and wider spaces there is no
room for the budding artist to develop outside a few curriculum lessons at
their school. The three websites below are good starting places for getting
details from the local area on art groups, classes and opportunities in art.
Better still is to contact the art departments at the local schools. This is
advice not just for art teachers but for all teachers. If there is something
you want to try and achieve for your child then ask the people who may be in
the know. I can assure you that if they are not they will have access to
someone who is.
Swimming Pool
Swimming pools are the Ferraris of the school world. They
are status symbols that require massive expenditure to maintain and provide
only a single benefit to the school. The majority of smart schools in the past
few years have either sold off or redeveloped their pools and have taken to
hiring out local facilities, often newer and better for a fraction of their
costs. Underneath is a massive website that can act as a starting point for
contact with local pools and classes for students.
Taking a short investigation into a town with a pricy
standard of living there were some interesting results.
Approx Bill for Edinburgh, UK
- Membership
of Gym and Swimming facilities though Edinburgh leisure - £378 p.a.
- Playing
membership of an Edinburgh Rugby Club - £20.00 p.a.
- Youth
membership of an Edinburgh Hockey Club - £100 p.a. + £1 per training session
- Membership
of an Edinburgh Theatre group- £20.00 p.a
- Leith
School of Art – Painting and Drawing evening classes - £495 p.a.
The extras are quite generic and there are certainly cheaper
ways of doing it, but art, theatre, sport, swimming and gym membership are all
available for less than £1000 p.a. This is a large sum and not within the realms
of possibility for many families which is why this investigation would be the
starting place especially for elements such as extra art classes. What it does show
is that you can access these areas in the UK. The question is what is your local area like?
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