Community Action is a big part of Forest School – and it takes shape in many forms and under many guises!

School

Within school we have a hugely successful mentoring programme, both within the senior school and across the pre-pre, prep and senior school.  The Year 12’s are involved in a weekly programme with our Year 7’s, our Year 10’s a reading mentors for the pre-prep children and the Y7 and Y8’s also volunteer in the pre-prep school.  This gives students opportunities to learn new skills as well as contributing to the community service aspect of the forest diploma and the Duke of Edinburgh award.

Forest in Action Days

The purpose of ‘Forest in Action’ days is to engage pupils in learning activities outside the classroom. These are working school days that are challenging and purposeful, offering opportunities for pupils to develop skills and characteristics in a different setting. Forest has always prided itself on offering an excellent all-round education. These three days offer clear opportunities for enrichment within our educational provision.

‘Forest in Action’ days are a development of more focused, higher impact learning opportunities outside the classroom. The aim is to embed these days in the larger picture of the Forest co-curricular which, as you know, contributes so much to the development of our pupils, giving them a range of experiences through which they can broaden their knowledge and develop appropriate skills.

Each year group has a different focus for their days which builds on and develops the 4 individual FiA themes:

Year 7 pupils spend their first day learning about what community action really is and what it should mean to them. They have the opportunity to explore community projects on a local and global scale and work to research, create and develop their own community action proposals. They then spend the following two days out and about around London supporting community projects and organisations.

Year 8 pupils spend the three days in creative and active pursuits developing teamwork, resilience, confidence and physical skills.

Year 9 pupils expand their cultural capital across the three days, exploring local and wider London. They are introduced to the Duke of Edinburgh award and made aware of the potential to broaden their cultural horizons. They also learn more about the culture of tourism with a visit to the seaside.