At Tormead, creative curiosity and personal development are fostered through an exciting range of extra-curricular activities which enable us to offer an exciting and progressive education. We see extra-curricular involvement as an aspect of our pupils’ lives which is vital to their holistic development and complementary to their academic enrichment and pastoral support. We offer every girl the opportunity to find something for which she has passion and at which she might excel, be that in the traditional fields of performing arts, Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme, team sports or the more idiosyncratic pursuits of Lego Robots, Kickboxing or Glee Club.

While academic success requires the development of many important skills, it is through pushing themselves outside the classroom that girls develop the grit, determination and self-confidence needed to go out into the world and make their mark. Trudging through the rain encumbered by a heavy rucksack may not be much fun at the time, but the sense of pride and accomplishment a girl feels after tackling a Duke of Edinburgh’s Award expedition with resilience will furnish her for life. Similarly, standing alone on stage to perform a musical piece or working with others to compete as a team in a national sporting competition will challenge in ways that the traditional curriculum does not.

We are immensely proud of the Tormead girls’ many achievements and varied contributions to the wider community. Our pupils have had their work exhibited at the Royal Academy of Arts, volunteered to help communities in Zambia and Vietnam, performed at the Edinburgh Fringe, won Young Enterprise and Wings of Hope Awards, been awarded black belts in Taekwondo and excelled at national sailing, athletics, netball, ice hockey and gymnastics competitions.

Girls are also encouraged to broaden their horizons by helping others less fortunate than themselves; every form group stages a fundraising event per year for the three school charities, while the Tormead Community Challenge offers girls the chance to work with local good causes. Individuals are also encouraged to support their own particular areas of interest. A Year 10 girl organised a whole-school collection for a local food bank, while a group of others walked to raise over £7,000 for Cancer Research. In this, as in so many things, the school community came together to support those less fortunate than ourselves.

We celebrate these achievements in regular assemblies showcasing our girls’ talent, congratulating them for their hard work as well as inspiring others to follow in their footsteps. In accordance with one of our school values, the extra-curricular programme at Tormead really does ‘bring out the best in our girls’.