Tell me all about Woldingham after school clubs please!

[Extraafterschool]

I posted in Secondary a few days ago and someone mentioned I'd get more knowledgeable answers here!

Dd is starting at Woldingham as a boarder in Y9 in September. I really would like her to use as much of the facilities that the school offer and on the open day it looked as though there was a lot to do. They have a rough list of clubs on their website but it isn't clear what she can pick from in Y9 yet. I was hoping some ladies here might be able to advise what would possibly be on offer? Do they do them for an hour after school? Is there a limit on how many activities they allow them to take each week, for example? And how much do they cost? Sorry for all of the questions - I really just want to give her as many opportunities as possible and she is very excited already. Her grammar only has lunchtime activities which run for half an hour, but I would really like her to have a proper hobby as at the moment she is all academics and lunchtimes are precious!

Thank you all in advance!

Hi @Extraafterschool this is a little late in reply. There are a tonne of lunch time and after school activities. Most incur no charge but some do need to be paid for e.g. horse riding, tennis and Leiths cookery school.

There is an app that makes the process quite simple and easy.

In terms of what's on offer it is broad, lots of art and drama, technical thetre, sports practice, swimming, choir, debating etc... There are also lots of house competitons and events that can take place after school.

We have found that sometimes there are clashes for the things DD wants to do so that does need communication with the school to adjust timetables.

Incidentally the incoming head gave a really good presentation only yesterday. She starts in September and will be joining from Queen Margaret's girls' school in York, the current small independent school of the year, and she has said she wants to improve on the existing provision which is good to hear.

Thank you so much for replying @daddyanxious that is very helpful. I assume the app is something like iSAMS where you can log in for your child and book through that? I think DD has heard rumours of a few clubs they run which sounds as though they cover her interests already but more options are always wonderful! I am not sure how/if it's necessary to meet other parents or if there are the usual WhatsApp groups, as she will be getting the train in daily. Secondary seems a lot less "hands on" as a parent, so far.

Thank you also for clarifying about the new Head. It sounds as though she has some exciting ideas. DD is so excited to start!

There are a fair few Apps! ISAMS is mainly for the academic side of things. myEvolve is used for club bookings.

In terms of parent meet ups, there is a pretty active WhatsApp culture. The school and PTA host welcome events and they have a decent social calendar plus parent reps put on meet ups as well. In my daughter's year there are meet ups around Clapham / Wandsworth for those that live that way or are able to travel up as well as meet ups much further south, for those who live closer to the school. But it absolutely isn't necessary to attend if you don't need / want to.