WHAT IS CCF?
A CCF is a Combined Cadet Force. Within a CCF there are ‘Sections’, these can be either Royal Navy, Army, Royal Airforce or Marines. Rydal Penrhos School will be starting with an Army Section and we hope within a short space of time to have expanded sufficiently to start either a Royal Navy or Royal Air Force Section. The CCF will meet weekly to conduct training, this will include, drill (marching), fieldcraft (survival and administration during outdoor pursuits), field tactics, navigation Skill at Arms (weapon handling & marksmanship), as well as lots of adventure training (biking, hiking, kayaking, parachuting, sailing, diving etc).
The CCF aims to promote the qualities of responsibility, self-reliance, resourcefulness and a sense of service to the community.
Forty per cent of a cadet’s time will be spent on adventurous training activities. By joining the CCF cadets also have the opportunity to get involved with volunteer and charitable work in the community and to gain nationally recognised qualifications such as the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and BTECs.
Joining the CCF provides an opportunity to take part in Army activities and events, all of which will focus on building confident, responsible and independent thinking young people.
ACTIVITIES
There is lots on offer in the CCF, with so many activities to choose from, there’s bound to be something for everyone!
The Combined Cadet Force offers an exceptional range of exciting activities for cadets to enjoy. As well as adventurous pursuits, many of the activities cadets can explore are focused on helping to gain new skills, improving teamwork, confidence and leadership.
Training will be split over parade afternoon/evenings, field days and occasional weekend camps and courses. Parades take place weekly at the school. This provides the basic training across a number of different areas, which is further built on during field days and weekend training camps. In ‘the field’ cadets will be given more time to develop particular skill, or work towards qualifications.
One of the major strengths of the school is to be found in the school’s Drama department. Not only are academic examination results outstanding, but throughout the year the department produces a range of whole school, senior, junior, house and examination productions.
The school offers extra-curricular Speech and Drama lessons for pupils who want to improve all areas of performance including Public Speaking, Acting, Interview and Audition preparation. Clear speech and conversation is practised, and pupils can further their study through UCAS-accredited LAMDA examinations.
School Show
Every year the Rydal Penrhos Dramatic Society stages a school production involving pupils from Year 7 -13.
Past plays include:
Stage
Key to the success of our drama productions, is the work of the ‘back-stage’ team. Lighting, sound, scenery and set movement skills are developed to ensure the high standards on stage are complemented by those behind the scenes.
Clubs
There are a number of other opportunities to participate in Drama, including the Lower School Drama Club and the Drama Society. In addition, the annual House Drama Competition is an opportunity for all pupils of all ages and abilities to be fully involved in creating performances.
Since it began in 1956, The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award has been dedicated to the personal development of young people from all backgrounds and is now widely recognised as the world’s leading youth achievement award.
It certainly is a real adventure from beginning to end, helping young people to develop their independence and leadership qualities.
Rydal Penrhos School is a DofE Directly Licensed Centre and offers all three levels of the Award, beginning with Bronze in Year 9, continuing on to Silver in Years 10 & 11, and culminating with the prestigious Gold Award in Years 12 & 13.
The Award is achieved by completing a personal programme of activities in four sections (five if you’re going for Gold).
You’ll find yourself helping people or the community, getting fitter, developing skills, going on an expedition in the Welsh mountains and taking part in a residential activity (Gold only).
The programme can be full of activities and projects that get each pupil excited, allowing them to develop existing talents and discover new ones, whilst meeting new friends and learning a great deal about themselves along the way.
The Award Scheme at Rydal Penrhos is supported by several enthusiastic staff, including Dr Lewis and Mrs Coates.
Expedition training, advice and encouragement are delivered throughout the year as part of the co-curricular programme.
There are a wealth of opportunities for pupils at Rydal Penrhos to be involved in music. There are numerous concerts and performances both in school and in the wider community that allow all our musicians to develop their crucial performance skills with full support from the school’s highly experienced team of music professionals.
We actively invite all pupils to learn a musical instrument and/or study singing.
Opportunities for music at Rydal Penrhos include:
Instrumental Ensembles
The Speech and Drama programme has been an important part in the school’s excellent tradition of performing arts over several years.
More than simply building pupils’ skills in performance, presentation and communication, Speech and Drama can have a transformative impact on children and young people in terms of their self-confidence, self-expression and ability to work and thrive in a team.
Participating in Speech and Drama can help develop a child’s speaking and listening skills, creativity and imagination; the very skills that, in this fast-paced and highly interconnected modern world, young people will find invaluable as they navigate education and the workplace.
In today’s digital age, where young people increasingly communicate online rather than in person, Speech and Drama lessons take on an ever more important role. Speech and Drama lessons include training with regards to conversation skills; in LAMDA exams, pupils are also graded on their ability to initiate conversation with their examiners.
Speech and Drama lessons take place on a weekly rota basis during or after the school day and are led by Christina Bloomfield BA, PGCE, GSM&D, ALAM, who brings over 30 years’ teaching and professional experience to her practice.
After studying Linguistics at university, Christina gained a diploma in acting and speech at the London Academy of Dramatic Art (LAMDA) before starting her teaching career. Aside from teaching, Christina’s career has included work as a Director, Presentation Coach, Drama Therapist and voice-over artist.
Under Christina’s tutelage, pupils not only build skills and experiences but also work to achieve UCAS-accredited LAMDA-qualifications, which are awarded in over 40 countries around the world.
The Speech and Drama programme has been incredibly successful in propelling pupils to the very highest levels of attainment in recent times. This year, the school returned another excellent set of results; from the 36 candidates entered at the senior school for LAMDA exams, 24 achieved Distinction and 12 achieved merit, with 0% fail rate.
Not only do these qualifications benefit university and job applications, with UCAS points awarded in grades 6 to 8, they also inspire a sense of assuredness and confidence in one’s own ability to perform and excel.
If you have any questions about the Speech and Drama programme, or would like to book lessons for your child, then please contact Christina Bloomfield at info@bloomfieldacademy.co.uk.
Our sporting provision is vast and has brought with it some truly incredible achievements that stretch back for generations.
The diverse and challenging sporting opportunities on offer cater to any child or young person interesed in sport, giving them a great platform to boost additional skills they may not learn within a classroom environment.
Rydal Penrhos School is an important part of the local community in North Wales, and pupils are actively encouraged to give something back by taking part in community service or charity work.
As well as allowing pupils to develop a wider understanding of the world around them, such work helps to foster vital communication, leadership and teamwork skills.
Held every year during Activity Week at the end of the Summer term, All pupils undertake volunteer work in the local community such as cleaning up local graveyards, clearing debris from rivers or tidying parks and woodland.
Teas for the Elderly are held once a month for people over the age of 75. The Colwyn Bay Tea Party had been under threat of closure due to the former host moving away from the area; however Rydal Penrhos School stepped in to organise the event and to secure its future on behalf of the charity Contact the Elderly. Taking place on the last Sunday of every month, pupils give up their afternoon to prepare food and entertainment for the event as well as chatting over a cup of tea.
Rydal Penrhos School has set up links with Kitooha Primary School and the Development Studies Centre in Mbarara in southwest Uganda. In addition, Rydal Penrhos works with the Methodist Relief and Development Fund and partner organisation Rural Health Promotion and Poverty Alleviation Initiative (RUHEPAI). Working trips to Uganda are held every two years and many events take place throughout the academic year to raise money for the projects.
Tŷ Gobaith is a children’s hospice run by the charity Hope House. It was opened in 2004 and provides regular periods of respite care to more than 70 terminally ill children and their families living in the North Wales area.
Rydal Penrhos is regularly involved in fund-raising projects for Ty Gobaith, the latest being a very successful Christmas Market organised by the Sixth form Charity Committee.
Rydal Penrhos offers a broad range of clubs and societies to allow every pupil in the school to follow their interests and develop their talents. Clubs and societies meet at lunchtimes, in enrichment time, and in some cases during the evening. In addition, academic departments run catch-up clinics throughout the week to allow pupils to access one-to-one help with their academic work.
Tel: +44 (0)1492 530 155 (Senior)
Tel: +44 (0)1492 530 381 (Prep)
Fax: +44 (0)1492 531 872
Email: prep@rydalpenrhos.com / senior@rydalpenrhos.com
© 2023 Rydal Penhros School