Holiday Activity Programmes Sevenoaks (HAPS)

HAPS enables students from local state primary schools who are highly engaged in science, art, drama, maths and music to develop their knowledge, skills, and aptitudes in these subject areas. Specially designed courses are run by Sevenoaks School teachers.

Aims

The aim of these programmes is to support students from local primary schools, and give them the opportunity to meet like-minded children, experience Sevenoaks School, and encourage their love of a subject.
 
The immediate beneficiaries are local schoolchildren (usually Year 4 and Year 5) from primary schools in Sevenoaks and the surrounding area. 

Background

The project was started by our former Senior Deputy Head, who had a particular passion for partnerships and for ensuring the school was perceived as an asset and a contributor to the local community. The programmes are also an extension to our links through our extensive community service VSU programme, and our ongoing primary school partnership  activity.  

HAPS has been running for 13 years, and the Maths programme for the last 3 years. Both are well established within the schools’ processes and calendar, and enjoyed by staff, students and participating schools alike.

Impact

Qualitative feedback is captured at the end of the week from all attending students. Anecdotal feedback from the attending schools is also good, and we are delighted with the number of schools that participate annually.

Pupil Involvement

The pupils attending are aged from  9-11 years and the programmes are fully co-educational. 

Sevenoaks School students act as helpers and ‘teaching assistants’ during programmes. 

Some Sevenoaks School students are also involved in the setup, planning and logistics of the events.

Frequency

These programmes are annual events, and the school plans to continue to run them for the foreseeable future.