Figure 1.--.
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Figure 1.--. |
We found children at preparatory schools engaged in a wide range of activities beyond the academic program. Many activities were conducted at most schools. Other activities were conducted at only a few schools. Each school had its own unique range of activities and approach to those activities. Most schools scheduled days for clubs or occupations. Most schools offered some choice so the children could persue their interests, but this varied from school. The size of the school was a factor here. Also the schools generally incouraged the children to at least try new and different activities. Often children will only want to persue familiar activities or activities for which they already have some skills. For relatively small schools, most prep schools offered an impressive range of activities. A variety of factors affected the particular mix of activities offered. The interests of the children were similar at the different schools. Thus an important factor was the interests and skills of the staff. Of course no one school offered all of these activities, but quite a few schools offered quite a number of them, but often not at the same time.
Archery is important in English history. For centuries the English longbow was the most important weapon of English armies. The achievement of English longbowmen was lengendary. While this ended with the introduction of firearms, archery was in the Victorian age a popular sport. It was also practiced in America, but I am not sure to what extent it was due to the English influence. Archery was offered at many English schools as an activity. I'm not sure how common this was, but in the early and mid-20th century, it was a common activity at prep schools. This continues to be the case, but I think it is less common than it once was, in part because most schools have a much more extensive activity program than was once the case.
A number of schools had interesting, well maintained aquariums. This was not normally a club activity. Often it was the work of a master who has pursued tropical fsh as a hobby. He or she is normally assisted by some of the children. Normally there is no shortage of volunteers eager to participate in the project.
Many schools have an art club or similar activity. Children who enjoy art may hoin the art club. Normally this is an unsructured activity. Rather than like art class where teachers often assgn projects, usually in art club the children persue their special interests. And often the teacher has more gime to assist and the art room facilities are less croweded than during an art class.
Astronomy is another subject that fascinates children, especially the boys. There is not a great deal of time to approach the subject in the science curriculum, but it is often made available to the children as a club activity. This usually depends as to whether there is an interested staff member. Of course Britain with its often cloudy skies is not the best place to persue astronomy, but the children are often very enthusiastic.
Badminton is probably less common than it onc was, but it is still played at many schools. It is often played during the spring term. It is normally persued in Physical Education and in freed time. Occassionally there are matches with other scools, but free time play is more common. Often the school will arrange a tournament which can tak various forms. Some times there are house tournaments or knock-out competions are also arranged.
Many British children used to ride their bikes to school. This is less true today, esecially for prep school children. The traffic has increased to a point that it is not very safe, partiularly for younger children. But there are usually some children at day schools who live close enough to bike to school. Rules vary at boarding schools. Some allow children to bring bikes to school or may have a few bikes at school for recreational purposes.
We don't know how many prep schools actually bought billard tables. We did note some maginicent tables at the schools. But they seemed to be tables that came with the old mannor houses that served as the nucleus for many schools, especiallt the boarding schools set in rural areas. These of course provided a popular recreation for the boys. Billiards does not seem to have some of the adverse ethical connottions common in America and illustrated in one of Professor Hill's song from "Music Man". Billards and Snooker was more of a gentleman's game in Britain. The tables are used in a variety of ways. There is free time recreational usage as well as competations organized. Some schools made it a club activity which provided a degree of instruction. In America the term pool is normally used. In fact there were a variety of different games, includding billards, pool, and snooker as well as several others.
Board games, with the exception of chess, are mostly played at boarding schools. This is simply because of the time needed to play most popular board games. One of the advantages of boarding is there are always plenty of friends available to play games. They are mormally played during free time, especially during the weekends when more time is available. Some schools make board games a kind of club activity. Most schools have quite a range of board games available for the children. Chess of course is a board game, but it is really a separate activity of its own.
Boating is a great favorite among the children. This is an activity that seems to interest both the boys and girls. Here there were limitations because it can only be offered on a regular basis if the school has some kind of pond or stream. Some schools with extensive grounds had suitable faciities. Boating can be offered at smaller schools, but usually only on the weekend when there is time to drive to a suitable boating facility. There are also seasonal constraints. Normally boating is only possible during the Summer Term when the weather is warm. There are different kinds of boating, including row boatsm canones, and sail boats.
Boxing was once not just an optional activity at prep schools, but commonly a part of the PE program. It was considered to be part of the toughening up process which was an important part of the school program. Boxing was often mentioned in the schools stories popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This changed substantially after World War II. By the time we visited the schools, very few schools still offered boxing, even as an optioal activity. Many parens especially the mums did not generally approve. We did find a few schools which still had a boxing activity, but supect that the activity has since been dropped. Quite a number of schools replaced it with judo.
Carpentry was once a major activity at prep schools. It is now much less important. This reflects the much larger range of activities now availavle to children at the schools which this page reflects. Some schools still have carpentry or wood working shops as they are commonly called. Here the probem is usually finding a skilled staff member. Some of the skills are a little difficult for the younger boys at a prep school, but the olders boys are capable of quite high standard work.
Chess
Most schools have a good selection of board games for rainy day activities. This is not usually done as a club or occupations activity. Chess is especially popular not only bcause of the nature of the game, but the fact that the matches are realtively short and thus can fir easily into the school schedule including short periods of free time that the children migh have. The exception here is chess. This varies from school to school, but at many schools chess is very popular. There are organized matches and tournaments. This included both inter- and intra-school events. Chess seems most popular with boys, but we noted that quite a few girls also played.
Computers were just being introduced to the school program in the 1980s. They quickly became an integral part of the school program. Schools not only began to train children in basic computer skills and orograms, but teachers also begun to use computers in the classroom. Such was the interest in computers among the children that many schools also organized computer clubs. Computer usage at first was limited, but as the price of computers fell the schools were able to rapidly increase the children's access to them.
Boys love building things. Even infants have a go with blocks as babies. As a boy I remember first my Lincoln Logs and then my Erector Set. This is called Mechano in Britain. We didn't notice any of this at the schools, but perhsps this is an activity at some schools.. Everything now-a-days seems t0 be plastic. We did notice Lego sets at several schools which the younger children, almost boys, have fin with. This is both a free time activity and a club activity.
Cookery used to be an activity primarily for girls. It was no normally offered at most boys' schools. There still is notable gender differences with activities and sports at most prep schools. Cookery is not one of these. Boys at most schools have demonstrated an interest in cookery when offered. I am not sure precisely why this is. I think most see cooking as a fun activity. I suspect that given limitations on snacking at boarding schools, the opportunity to cook up a sweet treat is an enducement. I don't think the boys have thought this threw, but the fact that young adults usually live alone for a few years as bachelors means that cooking skills are very valuable. Not to mention that modern women expect their new husbands to lend a hand in the kitchen.
Some of the minor sports like golf and squash are done as clubs rather than major school sports. In the case of cricket this is a major sporing activity, but some schools include a cricket club in the activities programas well. This is for students who want a little extra coaching and practice period. It is generally chosen by children already very good at cricket. Given the substantial time devoted to cricket in the Summer Term sports program, it seems a little strange that boys would want even more cricket, but quite a number of boys take sports very seriously and choose the Cricket Club for
Cub packs were once very common at prep schools. Scouting was very popular and many boys wanted to be Cubs. It also provided a useful activity for the boarders. Prep schools before World War II were much less endowed with recreational facilities than modern prep schools. There are now fewer schools with Cub packs. There are a variety of reasons for this. Scouting no longer has th cahet with the children it once had. Schools now have a much wider range of recreational activities which attrat the unterest of the children. Scouting also has become more beaureacratic responding to a range of possible liabilities. Several schools have closed their Cub Pack because of the administrative complications. In a few cases schools have substituted Cubbing with a kind of school-center camping activity. Not all schools have pulled out of Scouting and there are still a number of Cub Packs at the various schools.
There is a strong tradition of debate in British schools. This is true of the public schools and the prep schools endevor to provide debating experiences to the students so they are prepared to debate in theor public schools. The schools use some time in their English classes working on debate. Debates are staged at various times in the school day. Many schools have as debating society for children especially interested in debate.
We do not know very much about fencing. It was an activity offered by a few schools. Here a limiting factor is having a knowledgeable staff member.
Fishing is an activity that is mormally approached liesurly by individuals with considerable time on their hands. This is not the case of prep school children who have rather limited anounts of free time, especially during the week. In addition, for fishing to be a viable prep school activity there needs to be a stream or pond on the school grounfs that the children can take advantage of in their free time. This rather limits the number of schools. There are some activities that are possible even without a pond. We noticed the children being taught to fly fish or at least how to cast. Also we note at some schools fly tying which of course is a real art.
Fives is another British sport related to several racket sports, but played without a racket. Like squash an enclosed court is needed. The name presumably derives from five fingers as the hand is used rather than a racket. The gme is believed to have been first played using the buttresses of larger church buildings. Very similarvto handball which is played in America. Several prep scools have suash-five courts or access to one. The sport is generally played as a recreational intra-school activity.
Gardening is a common actvity at many prep schools. It is another activity that was probably more popular at earlier schools. Many schools, however continue to promote the activity. Schools employ a variety of approaches. Some schools once made this a mandatory activity. This is now much less common. A few schools make gardening a competition. The children are usually allowed to chose what they grow, resulting in very eclectic gardens.
Golf is not an important sport at prep schools, but quite a number provide an interduction to the sport. There are not normally inter-school competitions. Golf is some times done as a club or activity. There is an annual IAPS tournament.
Many activities have the same or very similar names at different schools. Hiking is a little different. It has widely different names at various schools. It might be called hiking, but is not really demanding hiking like orienteering. That is a different activity. Many schools call it country walks or the countryside club. Many boarding schools are located in the country side and have access to attractive country hiking trails. Hiking is a popular activity with younger children, especilly if ponds or streams are along the route. The hikes allow the children to learn about local plants and often abundant wildlife.
A popular activity at many coed and girls schools is horseback riding. This activity is especially popular among the girls. There are some boys who participate, but the great majority are girls. I am not entirely sure why this is. I suspect that it is in part because the boys are so involved in team sports. Thus they just do not hasve time for horseback riding.
Judo is a fairly recent martial art compared with other martial art disciplines. It was developed by Dr. Jiguro Kano in 1882, when he founded his Japanese judo school. Judo was derived from the ancient sport, or martial art of jujutso, which is still practiced in Japan, as well as other parts of the world, although not nearly as popular as judo. Judo consists primarily of throwing techniques, or “nage waza”, but also includes techniques of grappling on the ground “osaewaza”, and choking techniques “shimewaza”. The art of judo is primarily practiced as a sport, but it is also a highly effective self-defense technique. Judo became an Olympic sport in 1964. Quite a few prep schools have the martial arts as an optional activity durng the late 20th century. In most schools with this activity, it was judo.
Many schools have life saving programs. Even though it can be demanding, Life Saving This is popular as it primarily means saving people who are drowning and thus is a swimming activity that it part deals with improving swimming skills. There are probably more of these programs at school now because more schools have swiming pools. In addition, fewer schools have Scouting programs and life saving was often persued in Scouting.
Every school has an enthusiastic group of children interested in model building. Often they are organized in to a models club. Various terms are used. Normally they are mostly boys. Just about all boys are interesting in building models. Airplanes are favorites, but there are many other options.
Many schools try to accomodate the boys by setting aside a model ot hobby room where the boys can keep keep their equipment and supplies and work on their models. Some times there is room to set model enactments, often of famous battles.
A very popular game for the boys is raceing model or toy racing cars. Not very many schools have sets up for the boys to race. A few do nd they are very popular with the boys. Girls rarely participate in the fun.
Several schools we visited had impressive model railtoad sets. Not only were the layouts often well developed, but some of the systems were set up to issue tickets to visitors. The children were often quite enthusiastic. Britain unlike America still has a major passenger rail system--British Rail. Most children are quite accustomed to useing the railroad. In fact some children even come to school on the train. The best layouts of course are at schools when a staff member is a keen model railroader.
We note one school that had a Mythology Hobby which met on Saturday. Here the children learned about the great Greek myths. They rather appeal to children because they are such fascinating stories. We are not sure how common a hobby or club like this was. Normally an activity like this is taken by the Latin master.
Music is not normally done as a club activity. But this varies from school to school. We notice a few schools which have a variety of nusic centered clubs for various purposes. At one school a club was promote an interest in instrumental music among the younger children.
The children tend to be very interested in nature, especially animals. The younger children in particular are fascinated by animals. There is also an interest in plant life, but it is the animals tht really intrague the children. Thus many schools have some kind of natural history activity or club. Some are more specialized such as bird watching clubs.
Prep schools use newpapers in a variety of ways. They may be used for a variety of classroom activities. Schools may have the children study various features of a newspaper. Schools also may make the production of a newspaper class or activity project. Usually this is a short term project rather than the production of any regularly published paper.
Radio Controlled Cars
Orienteering is an activity that many childre, especially the boys enjoy. Courses are set in senic countryside or wilderness areas. The participants are given a map to use and using the map and a compass attempt to negotiate a pre-planned course. This is often done in a meet and the partiipants compete for the shortest time.
Prep school age children love to have their photographs taken. And some children also like tasking photograsphs. This seems more popular with the boys thn the girls. Some schools have active photographic clubs. And with all the activities going on, there is lots to photograph. The photography clubs help the children with both taking and developing photographs. When we visited the schools this was all chemically based photography. This has now all changed and the children work with digital photography.
British schools are very good at developing public speaking skills. Public Schools in particular attach some importance to public speaking and the prep schools make sure the children are prepared for this. This is often done as part of the classroom program, but the children are also encouraged to particvipate in both intra- and inter-school competitions. Almost all schools have a school public speaking competition of some kind.
Religion plays a role in school life, although this has declined somewhat in recent years. This also varies somewhat from school to school. Religion is a curriculum subject at most prep schools and there are religious covocations at the periodic assemblies. Boarding schools arrange a Sunday service, either at the school or a nearby church. In addition to these religious activities, there may be a religious club activity. This normally is Christian Union, depending on the schools denominational affiliation.
A common activity at the girls' and coed schools is sewing. This is an activity that the girls enjoyand even some of the yonger boys may get involved. We noticed the girls working on sewing kits. Popular beginning items or soft toys or hand puppets. Older children get involved in more advanced projects.
Shooting is a very popular activity with the boys. Not all schools have ranges, in part for safty reasons. Quite a number have set up ranges and many of the boys want to partiipate. It is normally done as an optional activity, coomonly reserved for the older boys for both saftey reasons and to limit the number of participants to manageable levels.
Some of the minor sports like golf and squash are done as clubs rather than major school sports. In the case of soccer, which is an important sportng activity, some schools still include a soccer club in the activities programas well. Soccer or football as it is more commonly called uis not given as much emphasis as rugby and cricket. It is, however, emensely popular with the boys. This is for students who want a little extra coaching and practice period. It is generally chosen by children already very good at soccer. Given the substantial time devoted to cricket in the Summer Term sports program, it seems a little strange that boys would want even more cricket, but quite a number of boys take sports very seriously and choose the Soccer Club for
Many prep schools now have sports halls. They are used during the day for the PE program. It is particularly useful in a country where it can rain quite a bit because it provides a facility than can be used regardless of the whether. It also provides facilities for a range of sports that are not easy to set up outside. Thus the sports hall can be used on rainy days and on during the Winter. The Sports Hall can also be used for other part of the program such as the school play, depending on the other available facilities. Another popular use of the Sports Hall is for games in the evening. Much of the school year is during the Fall and Winter when it can get dark very early. Thus outside games are not possible. The Sports Hall provide facilities for a wide range of games in the evening.
Squash is an indoor racquet game. The name derives from the relatively soft or 'squashable' hollow rubber ball used. A much harder ball is used in Racquets from which Squash evolved. Squash is engaged in by two players or four players for doubles. The ball is struck by with a racket. The game is played in a four-walled court. Squash appears to be another sport which evolved at a British public school. Some historians belive the game developed at Harrow School during the 19th century. That is a little difficult to confirm, but the first Squash court appears to have been built at Harrow in the 1860s. The came became popular in private clubs and with the British Army as well as crossing the Atlantic to America. Squash is often done as a club activity.
Some schools have a stamp collecting club. I think stamp collecting is not as popular as it once was , primarily because there are so many competing activities availasble. Even so there are still some avid philatelists. Most schools have some foreign students or parents who are abroad and the stamps on their letters are eagerly sought after.
Table tennis ia popular game at many schools. Quite a number of schools have a table set of that the children can use in their free time. There commonly are boys waiting patientkly to take their turn. Some schools arrange matches with other scgools and there ofen are energetically contested intra-school matches.
Theatricals are persued at all schools, although the emphasis varies from school to scchool. Theatricals can take a variety of forms. The most bvious is theschool play. Every prep school piuts on a least one big performance each year. In addition there may be drama nights which generally meanss performances by the different forms or even clubs. Some schools have a drama club. We also notice film societies at the schools. This tends to be a popular activity as it primarily involves watching movies.
