Senior Co-curricular

Sport is highly valued at Westbourne, with our dedicated PE department determined to ensure the ‘physical’ element is very much at the forefront of physical education. Our aspiration is that pupils take the enjoyment of physical exercise beyond their school days!

Pupils of all ages are encouraged to participate in a wide range of individual and team sports, with a broad range of opportunities at our campus in Penarth and across the local area. We are proud that a number of our students take their passion for sport to a higher level, representing their school nationally in a range of sports in everything from tennis to karting and horse-riding.

Just some of the sports on offer at Westbourne include swimming, netball, basketball, cross country, athletics, tennis, golf and football. Our boarding students are also provided with state of the art gym membership and support with joining some of the excellent competitive sporting clubs within the local area.

We are fortunate to be located only a short drive from some of the UK’s most outstanding sports and leisure facilities, which we use as part of our sports programme, including white water rafting, sailing, ice rink and the 50 metre swimming pool at Cardiff International Sports Village.

From harp to flugel, cello to piano, there are a wealth of extra-curricular musical opportunities available to Westbourne Senior School students, each supported by a specialist teacher and individual lessons.

Students are encouraged to play for the pure pleasure of learning and the discipline of mastering an instrument. They are also encouraged to enter the formal grading system and opt for GCSE music, but equally can learn to play simply as an additional skill.

Westbourne pupils can join the school choir, our drama club or explore a wide range of instruments, including the harp, trumpet, piano, flute, violin, cello, drums, flugel, guitar and the organ!

The dynamic programme of extra-curricular clubs at Westbourne aims to extend key skills and competencies learned in the classroom, including resilience, decision making, teamwork and confidence. They also provide an unbeatable opportunity to form even closer friendships with peers.

Clubs vary from term to term and may include, among others, Electric Formula 1, Coding Club, Debating, Duke of Edinburgh, Eco Club, Golf, Tennis, Netball, Basketball, Football, Model United Nations, Welsh Club, Latin Club, Chinese Language and Culture Club, Athletics, Sailing, Climbing, Ice Skating as well as a host of easy-to-access co-curricular activities in and around Cardiff Bay and Penarth.

Students on our Student Council have the opportunity to voice their opinions on pressing issues and raise issues of importance to the student body. Likewise, our lively, student-led Eco Club leads initiatives to help achieve Green School Status.

At Westbourne, we place a focus on ensuring the happiness and wellbeing of every single student, and teachers take time to get to know each student on an individual level. We deliver strong pastoral care and have close relationships with parents to check in, monitor and update on student wellbeing at all times.

We are proud to have recently launched an innovative wellbeing app to all Senior School students and boarders to encourage them to monitor their wellbeing and happiness levels more closely, as well as introducing yoga, mindfulness and creativity sessions across the whole school, in addition to our already busy programme of clubs, individual and team sports, and outdoor learning opportunities.

At the end of the Summer Term, we also run a cross-school Wellbeing Week for all students, taking them on a range of excursions throughout the local area and running wellbeing and mindfulness activities at school.

Ensuring the wellbeing of boarders

Boarding at Westbourne is a happy experience for our students. We run a variety of activities and initiatives for our boarders to ensure their continued wellbeing, from excursions to local coastal and countryside beauty spots, sightseeing across spectacular South Wales, to clubs and societies, film nights, bowling and volunteering in the local community to feel a valued and integrated part of where they live.

Saturday Sports encourages our students to develop a positive relationship with health and fitness and to keep moving even after the school week is out.

With a mixture of basketball, team games and individual strength and conditioning drills, there is something for everyone, all led by our highly qualified fitness coach. Sessions run at the Senior School every Saturday during term time.

UK and international trips and excursions play an important part in Westbourne Senior School life, including day trips to complement a particular theme or topic in the academic curriculum, as well residential trips to nearby sites of important historic or natural interest, which allow students the chance to form closer friendships in addition to enlivening their learning.

Some trips are designed to complement biological or geographical field work, others to broaden cultural and sporting horizons.

We also offer an exciting programme of STEM-focused trips and learning opportunities for all year groups, which bring STEM learning thoroughly to life through hands-on exposure in an array of stimulating settings.