PRIMARY PHASE

  • Playground Leaders

Year 6 Playground Leaders are responsible for organising and leading activities for younger pupils at playtimes. Our Playground Leaders show enthusiasm, empathy and leadership in their role – wonderful qualities that they can be justly proud of.

  • Year 6 Monitors

Year 6 class monitors are assigned to a younger year group and are responsible for lining their group up sensibly at the end of breaks and lunchtime, ensuring that the younger pupils enter their classroom calmly and helping them to settle before the start of their next lesson. Year 6 monitors are excellent role models to our younger pupils and fulfil their roles exceptionally well..

  • Pupil Parliament

As part of the SHARES cluster of schools, each year two children from year 6 apply to be our Pupil Parliament representatives. Through regular meetings, representatives develop an appreciation and understanding of democracy and get to ‘see in action’ how working together can bring about positive change. In 2023-24, our Pupil Parliament representatives met Gary Hart, Parliamentary Outreach Officer for the UK Parliament; and participated in a debate. The debate topics were:

  • Should there be a price cap on food prices during the current economic crisis
  • Should there be a 4-day working/school week

Also in 2023-24, there was a visit to the Council Chambers. After every experience, our Pupil Parliament representatives feedback to their classmates.

  • Rainbow Hub

Rainbow Hub is a local charity that provides child brain rehab services to children and young people with physical disabilities. In 2023-24, a group of year 5 pupils visited and learnt about the different disabilities of some of the children who attend the centre. Our pupils helped the children in a variety of different tasks and were a credit to themselves and to our school.

  • Choir

40-50 primary phase pupils, from across the year groups, joined our school choir in 2023-24 and performed at our Winter Fair and Summer Fete. We were very impressed by their commitment and enthusiasm.

  • Writing Competition

Each year, during the Autumn Term, the Primary Phase is encouraged to take part in a writing competition where themes have ranged from Environmental Poetry to Game and Film reviews. There are great prizes for the winner and runners up including vouchers and a selection of books. The winning entries are displayed in the school.

  • 100 books to read before you leave

Each year, teachers recommend 20 books to be read by the pupils (of which 5 are covered as class texts) and pupils are invited to produce a blog review of each book they read, with a half termly prize for the best review. Pupils are challenged to participate each year, logging their progress, until they have read 100 books from the recommended list. There is a class prize each term for the child who has read the most books.

  • Mad Science Club

23 pupils, from across the different year groups, have joined our Mad Science After School Club. The interactive sessions encourage creative thinking and problem solving and cover a wide range of science topics led by a trained science instructor.

  • Interschool Sports

Each year, pupils from Y3-6 participate in interschool sports events, including football, dodgeball, basketball, Park Run, athletics and the swimming gala. Our pupils always represent themselves and our school brilliantly, showing excellent teamwork and sportsmanship.

  • World Cinema Club

Each year, Miss Lunn introduces our pupils to a range of age-appropriate ‘world cinema’ films. Children learn about different cultures and sample the cuisine of countries from around the world.

  • Guitar Club

Each year, KS1 pupils experience Miss Jones’ Guitar Club, working on a range of simple chords and songs. As well as being lots of fun, playing the guitar has been shown to improve hand-eye coordination.

  • School Council

Our School Council is a group of peer-elected pupils from each class in KS2. The children attend regular meetings; representing the views of their classmates. During 2023/2024 we helped to develop our primary outdoor space as part of our OPAL project (Outdoor Play and Learning) and raised money from our Tuck Shop sales to buy an outdoor performing area for our children to use.

  • Primary Phase Magazine team

During the summer term, year 5 and 6 members of the magazine club come together each week to create an exciting edition of 'The Inspirer Junior.' We look back over the academic year and report on the successes of the school as well as keeping readers up to date with progress on the playground. There are also interviews, recipes, jokes and other articles put together by the team, providing an overview of life in school. Keep a look out for the next edition!

 

COMING SOON…

Y1 & 2 multisports

Y1 & 2 football

Y3 & 4 Park Run

Y5 & 6 Park Run

Y5 & 6 basketball

Swimming Gala

 

SECONDARY PHASE

  • The Salters’ Institute Festival of Chemistry

A group of year 8 science pupils has been entered into the Salters’ Institute Festival of Chemistry at Liverpool John Moores University every year in recent years. The aim of the festival is to help promote an appreciation of chemistry and related sciences amongst young people. In 2019, we were delighted to announce that Maharishi School’s delegation of four

students won first prize.

Unfortunately, due to pandemic-related cancellations, we have not been able to enter since 2019. We are looking forward to having the opportunity to enter another group of budding scientists in the near future.

  • Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme (DofE)

Maharishi School is a Licensed Duke of Edinburgh Organisation, giving us the ability to run the programme in our school. Our school is one of the most active in the region, with almost every pupil in year 9 signing up to do the Bronze Award every year. We regularly run the silver award for year 10 (in 2023/2024 we had 13 pupils completing their silver award) and many of our pupils go on to do the gold award at college.

Pupils show real initiative and independent focus, choosing and completing a variety of skills, volunteering opportunities and physical activities, for example: learning to touch type, volunteering at Children’s Society charity shops, doing St. John’s first aid courses and with supporting activities in school, eg. running a Welbeing Champion group, supporting staff in the Out of Hours Club, becoming School Leaders through the  AYLA Young Leaders Award, etc.

Our very experienced Expedition Leader has helped our pupils succeed in completing their expeditions , locally and in the  Peak District and Shropshire, where they showed exceptional levels of leadership, communication, cooperation and perseverance.

We are especially proud that, for the second year running, two of our pupils have been invited to do the Young Leader Award this year. This involves two training seminars where our two pupils will learn how to support the DofE manager in guiding and supporting other young people when they prepare for their expeditions; managing an inventory of the school’s DofE equipment and fundraising for the DofE programme in the school.

 

  • Young Leaders Award

As part of our DofE offer, pupils can choose to do the Archbishop of York Young Leaders Award as their volunteering and skills sections. Pupils meet once a week to learn leadership skills and then take part in two challenges that have a strong volunteering aspect. In our first year the groups raised awareness for homelessness, dementia, youth sport and the BHF. Pupils receive a certificate when they complete their course.

  • Wellbeing Champions

As part of the connection with our Careers Business adviser, we created a Wellbeing Champions group. Our first group of 25 pupils, from across all year groups, had 6 training sessions where different career professionals talked to them about: resilience, healthy diet (Ayurvedic), the importance of being outside and spending time in a community, as well as looking at anxiety – what it is and how we support ourselves and others. The group has since been involved in many activities - meeting one lunchtime a week where they spend time together. They have done promotions for neurodiversity and mental health issues like anxiety. All pupils are welcome to join the sessions.

  • Secondary Phase Magazine Team

Our current School Magazine Team is made up of pupils from across the year groups. They have worked tirelessly, initially with staff support, to produce a number of editions that they can rightly be proud of. From initial concept, content creation, interviews, reviews, reports, short stories, illustrations and editing, the team has proven that they can all work together as a team independently of adult leadership. They have shown dedication and commitment, organisation and communication skills and a willingness to compromise and listen to the views and suggestions of others.

  • School Prefects

This year’s Y11 prefects have organised themselves into teams and taken responsibility for areas of school life that are of interest to them, including: Sports Prefects, who lead warm ups and alternative activities at PE; Fundraising Prefects; who promote and encourage participation in our fundraising events; and Head Prefects, whose focus is wellbeing.

  • Lunch Club

Lunch Club takes place each day with pupils having the opportunity to play board games, enjoy literary pursuits and craft activities, such as crochet, sewing and knitting.

  • D&D lunch club

When there is sufficient interest there is a D&D lunchtime club. Pupils learn to play this roleplay/tabletop game where they use strategic thinking, numeracy skills and teamwork skills to achieve the same aims.

  • Booster Classes

Currently, pupils can access booster sessions in Spanish and higher tier maths. These are voluntary weekly sessions aimed at consolidating and deepening pupils’ knowledge, competence and confidence in these subject areas.

  • Homework Club

We offer all secondary phase pupils the opportunity to attend a lunchtime Homework Club every lunchtime, supervised by teaching staff. The club offers pupils an opportunity to catch up on homework in a quiet environment..

  • Oxford University Outreach Programme

A group of year 8-11 pupils, with the current highest academic potential, visited Lady Margaret Hall College at Oxford University in January. This trip was run by a former Maharishi School pupil, Grace Walters, who studied English language and literature at Oxford University and now works for Oxford University as an Outreach Officer, promoting and encouraging pupils from state educated backgrounds to apply to study at Oxford University.

Grace previously visited the secondary phase and delivered an inspirational presentation to all secondary pupils about higher education and Oxford University. Having attended Maharishi School, and subsequently gone on to attend Oxford University, Grace has inspired a number of our pupils to consider applying to Oxford and Cambridge, having previously never considered this as an option.

  • Lunchtime Book Club

Ms O’Neill will be leading a Book Club on alternate half terms which will begin in the spring term.

  • After School Extra Art Club

Extra Art Club will restart in February. It is open to all Year 10, Year 11 and photography pupils who would like to spend more time on their art or photography projects. It’s a great opportunity to have access to the art room with all its facilities and materials, as well as a chance to ask questions and get advice from their teacher between timetabled lessons.

  • After School maths sessions

Revision sessions will be available for all year 11 pupils (higher and foundation tier).

  • After School History Drop In Sessions

Revision sessions will be available for year 11 pupils.

  • Extra Science Sessions

Revision sessions will be available for year 11 pupils.