October 4th 2024
Director of Activities Mr Noble talks us through The Moulsford Award
After-school activities provide the Moulsford children with multiple opportunities to learn, to grow and to develop their skills in many different ways. Our ethos is driven by a desire to allow children to enjoy their passions, but so too to step out of comfort zones and to realise how rewarding it can be to learn a completely new skill.
The Moulsford Award, first introduced in the Prep School in 2017, puts this ethos into practice, as the children are incentivised to participate in after school activities from the five key areas of: Healthy Living, Performance & Arts, Self Development, Adventure & Challenge and Community & Service. To achieve a Bronze Award (Years 3&4), Silver Award (Years 5&6) or Gold Award (Years 7&8), the boys will need to commit to activities across all five of the key areas, across a two year period. There is also a recently introduced Platinum Award, open to any Prep School children, for outstanding effort and progress. Staff and coaches provide a rating for each child at the end of the activities cycle, focused on their attitude and progress: Pass, Merit or Distinction. In the 2023-2024 academic year, I was delighted to award a fantastic number of badges, as follows:
Platinum Award (Open to any year group) - 13
Gold Award (Years 7&8) - 43
Silver Award (Years 5&6) - 49
Bronze Award (Years 3&4) - 32
This week, I have talked to all six year groups (Year 3 to 8 inclusive), to reinforce how the Moulsford Award system works, and to highlight the exciting new programme of activities that will kick off after Half Term. I encouraged the children to look carefully at their activities choices with parents, during the window that Schools Buddy will be open for activities sign up (Saturday 5th to Sunday 13th October), so apologies in advance if they are keener than ever on this! A reminder that allocation is not run on a first come, first served basis.
It is clear from talking to the boys that they are collectively really engaged by the programme and the award, and how wonderful to see the school value of curiosity very much to the fore, as the boys sample the variety on offer through the programme. Form Heads remain a really good source of information for the children; all have access to Moulsford Award records and are able to keep the children up to date with their progress, from term to term.
