Co-Curricular

Our modern Music School at the Prep has dedicated studio space, a theatre and comprehensive sound and light facilities where children can write, produce and perform.

Our teaching staff work together to support the children in a range of productions throughout the year celebrating individual excellence and an understanding of what can be achieved with effective collaboration.

Relaxed and friendly but still with a sense of occasion, the Informal Music Concerts, held in the Music School, celebrate the successes of our talented musicians and provided audiences of parents, siblings and friends with an evening of entertainment.  Children have the opportunity to play in familiar surroundings to an admiring audience enjoying the music with light refreshments.  The Boarders’ Concerts allow those children in the boarding community to perform to their parents on exeat weekends.  Once a year Grandparents are welcomed in for a tour, high tea and concert hosted by their grandchildren.

The academic year opens with a Scholar’s Concert; the children across the Foundation who are music award holders host a concert preparing us for the delights of the year to come.  The Christmas and Summer Concerts feature the ensembles based at the Prep.  Strings, Woodwind and Choirs along with some of the older soloists perform to a high standard with beautiful and memorable performances.  The Spring Concert is an opportunity to amalgamate music across Foundation as ensembles and choirs come together – the older and more experienced pupils are the emulation model for those just beginning their musical journeys.  The repertoire ranges from traditional folk tunes, West End musicals, Classical and contemporary to modern pop and film music.  These are always highlights in the school calendar and really show case the best musicianship at the Prep.

Instrumental Lessons

Every pupil at Mount Kelly has the opportunity to play a musical instrument which is an essential part of a broad and balanced education.

There are many studies which show the considerable benefits to the pupil including increased fine motor coordination, visual processing and social confidence especially when taking part in a musical ensemble.

Later in their school careers, pupils find the experience of playing music provides a refreshing diversion from academic studies especially during exam periods. When applying to university, pupils are finding that admissions tutors are particularly impressed by those candidates who have had the dedication and determination to pursue music alongside their other studies.  It is also worth noting that every Head Boy and Head Girl for the last three years have been active musicians!

Lessons in the full range of instruments, including singing, are available within the school from a team of dedicated and experienced teachers, with a track record of outstanding tuition and results.  Taster lessons are available before committing to a full term and these are charged pro rata.

Speech and drama lessons are available at Mount Kelly with our experienced teacher and LAMDA examiner. Our pupils have had impressive successes in external exams, with many achieving the highest accolade of Distinction.

The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) syllabus is followed, which gives pupils a choice of disciplines to pursue, including Public Speaking, Acting, Mime, Reading for Performance and Speaking of Verse & Prose, and Mount Kelly is one of the largest private LAMDA examination centres in the country.  We hold exam sessions at least three times a year. A pass at Grade 6 or above in any of the LAMDA disciplines as either a solo or duologue attracts UCAS points.

As well as LAMDA examinations, in the Michaelmas term pupils are offered the opportunity to compete in the City of Plymouth Festival.  Pupils over the age of fourteen who are interested in acting are encouraged to audition for the National Youth Theatre (NYT) and the Youth Music Theatre (YMT).  We have had superb results with both of these national institutions, and over the last twenty years a high number of pupils who have auditioned have either gained places with the NYT on their summer courses or have performed in YMT productions.

Through LAMDA, pupils are encouraged to develop self-confidence whilst gaining further qualifications.  Many of our older pupils have used the lessons as part of their Duke of Edinburgh Awards, whilst many Year 12 pupils have found that timetabled Speech and Drama lessons have helped with a range of school duties, including reading in public and speech-writing and delivery, as well as preparation for university interviews. Lessons are available from Year 2 upwards and the confidence gained can be seen to be reflected across a child’s life.

Mount Kelly has a much deserved reputation for being a school with a very strong co-curricular offering. Our on-site, fully staffed, adventure centre ‘Simply Outdoors‘ allows a planned and considered integration of these activities within our academic curriculum. Pupils undertake a variety of courses, all of which aim to develop their self confidence and motivation to learn. Every year all pupils from Years 7 to 11 take part in the Learning Outside the Classroom (LOTC) programmes at Mount Kelly. The structure incorporates a number of curricular elements into the outdoor activity programmes already offered. There is a strong focus on development through the years and the programmes encourage all pupils to get fully involved and take on a number of team work and leadership roles throughout the year. Year 7 pupils follow a series of team building activities and challenges such as raft building in which the main focus is for them to get to know one another and learn how they function as a group. In Year 8 the theme is survival and the programme includes real-life biology as they skin rabbits and learn about how we live in our environment. They also have the opportunity to Bivi out under the stars at night! Year 9 then progresses to a coastal programme based in Cornwall where pupils have the chance to go coasteering, climbing and snorkelling, whilst also participating in a drama workshop at the open air Minnack Theatre, completing an Art combined with Biology day on the beach and a Religious Studies led visit to Truro Cathedral. In Year 10 they venture even further afield by heading to North Wales and having the opportunity to study physics at the Electric Mountain Hydro-Electric Power Station and also the chance to climb Snowdon, the highest peak in Wales. There is a visit to the Ogwen Mountain Rescue base, home of one of the busiest Mountain Rescue teams in the country. Last year the pupils even got the chance to see HRH Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, fly in with his Sea King to conduct a training exercise in the Ogwen Valley. The academic staff are fully involved in all these adventures and the relationship between staff and pupils benefits enormously from these shared experiences.

The Mount Kelly Shackleton Programme is designed to develop and celebrate leadership, practical skills and teamwork with a universal focus on four main themes:

1. To inspire, encourage and support a spirit of adventure
2. To develop proficiency and skills in outdoor activities
3. To encourage an ability to risk assess and remain safe
4. To introduce pupils to the intrinsic reward of helping others through community projects both at school and in the wider community.

In the Lower Prep, two lessons per week are timetabled for Forest School.  Pupils learn about their natural environment outside and conduct a variety of activities aimed at enhancing their understanding and appreciation of the natural world.

In the Middle and Upper Prep, pupils spend one days per year when they are challenged with a variety of outdoor activities, including hiking on the moor, survival, compass reading, lighting fires, gorge walking and navigation.

Many of our After School Clubs compliment the Shackleton programme in encouraging a love of the outdoors.

Ernest Shackleton

Ernest Shackleton (1874-1922) was a renowned Antarctic explorer who demonstrated great courage and leadership, particularly during his epic Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1914 -17. Although he never completed his aim of being the first to cross the continent via the South Pole his exploration and leadership skills ensured that his 28-strong crew returned home safely after almost three years in one of the most challenging climates known to man. His story remains one of the greatest feats of human survival and cements his place as one of the principal figures of “the heroic age of Antarctic exploration”.

This is a popular and highly enjoyable aspect of Mount Kelly life where children can explore a diverse range of projects in the fresh air in the School’s extensive grounds or those of adjacent Dartmoor National Park, guided by dedicated School staff, broadening and developing their experience in a structured and safe environment.

We offer a wide range of exciting extra-curricular activities Prep and Pre-Prep pupils.

Clubs are generally delivered by staff at lunch time or after school, with the programme changing each term. After school clubs run from 15:45-16:30 (Pre-Prep) and 16:45-17.30 (Years 3-8). Clubs on offer range from archery to chess; from dance to debating; from table tennis to baking and include a wide range of music, art and sports clubs.

Provision for clubs only incurs a cost if a specialist teacher is required.

Mount Kelly organises a range of exciting trips to enhance and complement the broad range of subjects and interests taught at the school.

Pupils visit Dartmoor, the National Trust property and home of Sir Frances Drake, Buckland Abbey, The National  Marine Aquarium, The Eden Project, Morwhellam Quay, they go fossil hunting at Charmouth, and visit the vibrant and culturally rich cities of Plymouth, Exeter and Bath.

These trips are accompanied by theme days in school such as the ever popular Victorian and Roman Days when the children (and staff) dress up and learn what it was like to live in that era.

Outings are also frequently arranged to other educational institutions for competitions and learning days such as the Salters’ Festival of Chemistry, the annual drama workshop at Queens College, and music excursions (e.g. Sherborne Abbey Choir Day, IAPS Workshops at Exeter Cathedral).