Meet the Other Phone. Flexible and made to last.

Meet the Other Phone.
Flexible and made to last.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Secondary education

Connect with other parents whose children are starting secondary school on this forum.

How many out of school activities do your dc do?

8 replies

Dancergirl · 22/07/2012 10:24

Dd1 is going to secondary school in September. She's going to a girls' indie which was our first choice so v happy. I am trying to work out how much she can do out of school with allowing for getting homework done but also having enough down-time. She's a keen ballet dancer and does a lot of classes but luckily they are condensed into 2 days, Mon and Thurs. She also goes to Guides which is also a Mon, it's a busy day but at least it gets it over in one day.

She has just been accepted into a youth ballet company that runs for 2 terms, has performances in March and then finishes. She would love to do it but I'm just worrying it will be too much. But it's a lovely opportunity which she may not have the chance of again and perhaps Year 7 is a good time to do it rather than higher up in the school. Rehearsals are on Fridays, 1.5 hours each week, although it's a bit of a journey to get there.

How do your dc manage balancing school work with other activities?

OP posts:
Bunbaker · 22/07/2012 10:26

DD does guitar lessons and Guides.

BeingFluffy · 22/07/2012 10:44

I would go for it. My DD2 is involved in a children's opera which runs annually for the autumn term and a lot of year 7s who participated in year 5 or 6 dropped out which is a shame.

DD2 does drums and singing as well but on Saturdays and DD1 does music for the whole of Saturday morning. Both have piano on Friday evening.

ByTheWay1 · 22/07/2012 10:47

Piano Wednesday straight after school, Karate Monday at 6 and Thursday at 7 (the karate is movable, the piano is not).

I would go for it - they get a lot of homework though, so you need to develop a good timetable for that between you....

ClaireBunting · 22/07/2012 16:55

Mine all do church youth groups, and my girls do guides.

Dance, drama, piano and singing all take place in school.

BringBack1996 · 22/07/2012 18:49

DD does trumpet lessons, orchestra and guides. In total that's 3 nights a week and she has totally free weekends. I would definitely be happy for her to do a fourth activity if she wanted to, but she's not yet started secondary and, when she does, I would be fine with her dropping one if she's too tired. If she starts going the ballet, would she be able to drop it if everything becomes too much?

DS, on the other hand, has just finished his GCSEs and did an activity each day after school until 6 o'clock (rowing and music) as well as regular weekend commitments for rowing. If I'm being honest, it was too much and his grades did suffer as a result.

However, every child is different and I know that DD will be better at finding a work/leisure balance than DS.

BringBack1996 · 22/07/2012 18:50

That is, if your DD was to start the ballet.

misstrunchball · 22/07/2012 21:47

My DD1 dances Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Rangers on Tuesday, helps at Guides on Wednesday, paper round Wednesday(ish) and plays netball after school on Tuesday. Most nights finished by 9 except Tuesday when it's 10 but manages to get homework and revision done (just finished Y10) and has been doing this since 10 years old...... I'm knackered just taking her and picking her up but she wants to be a dancer when older so I guess the sacrifice is worth it....Smile

She is lucky in the respect that she finishes school at 3 and is home by 3.25 so has an hour or so to get homework sorted, started or even finished!! There have been times though that she has done her homework on the bus to school but that's another story.

Tell her to go for it as she may regret it later in life if it's something she really wants to do and good luck xx

BackforGood · 22/07/2012 23:16

I live by the saying "If you want something doing, then ask a busy person".
I think that applies to dcs too - some children just thrive on being busy, and others need more 'doing nothing' time. It does depend a bit on your dd's personality rather than her age.
When activities break up for holidays, or come to a natural end for one reason or another, none of my dcs suddenly think that's time freed up for homework! Wink. Generally it's more down to the practicalities of you getting them from one place to another , how silbings cope with this, and when you are going to eat your family meals together.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread