Education-Extra (Ed-Extra)

There are two parts to the after school extra curricular programme at Highlands: 

• Compulsory Wednesday afternoon clubs and activities for all students in year 7 and 8
• Other clubs and activities running over the rest of the week for all year groups.

Wednesday afternoon Ed-Extra for years 7 and 8 

Each week, on Wednesday afternoons, lessons finish at 2:10pm and staff take part in two hours of professional development and training. Years 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13 go home. Year 7 and 8 remain in school for our Ed-Extra programme of clubs and activities. Wednesday afternoon Ed-Extra comprises a carefully selected programme of activities, with a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths), sport, creative subjects and music. Examples of the clubs running this year are coding, judo, musical theatre and science sparks.

Why do we run Ed-Extra like this on a Wednesday? 

We believe that a school’s extra-curricular programme is key for personal development, and at Highlands it is a right, not a privilege. By having the whole of year 7 and 8 participate in the after school programme on Wednesdays, we know that every single child (nearly 500) across two year groups is taking part in enriching after school clubs and activities.  

Details of the entire programme are sent to parents in years 7 and 8 before the start of each term - Ed-Extra programme.

Other clubs and activities 

Highlands offers a further range of clubs and activities to all year groups on other days of the week. This includes our very successful sports teams. Highlands has an excellent track record in sports such as girls’ football and this year we have, in response to student feedback, launched a rugby team and hired a basketball coach. The programme of these clubs can be seen below. 

PE clubs programme 2024-2025

How to join a club

• Meet after school in the PE changing rooms.

• Students must wear their Highlands PE kit to take part.

• If students do not have a PE, dance or drama lesson on the day of their club, then they must wear their school uniform to school and get changed after school in the changing rooms.

• Bring any medical devices, e.g. an asthma pump.

• All clubs are for all students in the year groups stated. Year groups and clubs will change each half-term. 

• Students must inform parents/carers that they are attending a club and. Their finishing time at school will be no later than 4:00pm or 4:30pm depending on the club.

• Basketball club with the Enfield Scorpions coach is limited to 30 spaces. The list of students who are on the registers for this half-term is on the PE noticeboard and Google Classroom pages.