Outdoor Education
Each year group from Junior 6 to Senior 3 spends a week during the Summer term at a residential outdoor centre. The potential for personal and social development is considerable. Boys and girls learn to live and work together away from home, enjoying activities as diverse as rock climbing and canoeing.CCF
Through its Royal Navy, Army and RAF sections, the CCF offers pupils the opportunity to develop qualities of leadership and self-reliance. Apart from a weekly programme of activities, there are opportunities to join numerous adventurous training camps and courses, both during the holidays and at weekends.Although boys and girls wear Services uniform (provided for them) for certain activities, the CCF is not a specifically military or recruitment organisation: its aims are similar to any of the uniformed youth groups, with the advantage of access to specialised training teams and equipment which the others do not enjoy. All pupils in Senior 3 must join the CCF, but they may opt out of it in later years.
The Duke of Edinburgh's Award Scheme is introduced in Senior 3. All pupils will have the opportunity to complete the Bronze level expedition during the residential week in May. Pupils who opt out of CCF after Senior 3 may still continue on the Award Scheme.
Holiday Activities
During school holiday periods, Kelvinside Academy has teamed up with a number of organisations to provide wrap-around care in the form of sports and arts camps. The holiday clubs are hosted by the school using the main school campus and Balgray Playing Fields. For further information on camps available, please visit the Extra Curricular Activities section of the website.The CCF contingent holds camps in the summer holidays, and there is an adventurous training week over Easter. Sports tours are a regular feature of school life and many countries have been visited in recent years.
Social/Non-Sporting Activities
All pupils are encouraged to join the clubs which meet at lunchtimes or, in some cases, after school. It should be noted that the situation changes year by year as new clubs are founded and old ones decline according to shifts in pupils' own interests.School dances, ceilidhs and discos are organised for different age groups. There is also a programme of Inter-House competitions, embracing music, debating and other activities.
Charity and fundraising events occur throughout the year. Indeed the trips to Kenya have established a link with a school in Nairobi which is the focus of sustained fundraising.
The over-riding principle in these and all other activities is that the more a pupil is prepared to contribute to the life of the school, then the more he or she will gain from it.
