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Skills Days
Uppingham has been organising activity Skills Days for prep schools since 1996, and to date more than 5,500 children have visited the School to take part. The day is aimed at 9, 10 and 11-year-old boys and girls who enjoy learning a new skill, or building on an existing one.
Children choose one activity from the following:
- Archery & Juggling
- Art & Ceramics
- Basha Building, Campcraft & Field Cooking
- Beekeeping
- Cooking
- Cricket & Tennis (in the summer term)
- Cycling
- Dance & Gymnastics
- Golf
- King of the Courts
- Make and Fly a Kite
- Motor Workshop
- Orienteering & Shooting
- Photography - The Magic of Black and White Photography
- Product Design
- Rugby & Soccer (in the autumn and winter terms)
- Science - Forensic Science
- Sport (trampoling, handball, lacrosse, swimming, basketball etc)
- Theatre
The days run from 10.30 am until 4 pm and the dates for the next academic year are: -
10 October 2010
20 March 2011
15 May 2011
Boys and girls are welcome to attend either as part of a school group or with their families. Families who attend are welcome to see a boarding house, tour the School and stay for lunch.
If you would like your son or daughter to get involved please contact Carol Harding on 01572 820621, or email* cah1@uppingham.co.uk.
*Emails from the School
From time to time, some correspondents report problems communicating with the School by email. Often this problem is caused by email providers who incorrectly mark Uppingham email as spam, thus potentially not being delivered to you. Our IT Department works with email providers to resolve these issues, but often the solution is to check your own email accounts for any spam rules, ensuring that any email from Uppingham School is released. Your email provider will be able to give further advice if required.
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2010/11 ACTIVITIES |
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Archery & Juggling
Bows and arrows have been used since prehistoric times for hunting and fighting but Archery has now become a skilful sport. Be a 21st Century bowman and learn how to shoot the bullseye.
In olde England a juggler amused everyone by performing tricks, and juggling is just as entertaining today. So, if you are good at catching one ball, why not come and try to juggle more and be the entertainer in your group.
To do this you need a certain amount of co-ordination. Equipment is provided for all three activities. |
Art & Ceramics
Try something different using unusual materials to create a colourful printed silkscreen t-shirt using a stencil abstract design, or make exciting ceramic sculptures using a new bubble wrap technique to make your work very 3-dimensional. This activity takes place in our award winning Leonardo Centre for Art, Design & Technology. |
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Basha Building, Campcraft & Field Cooking
Learn to survive just on your wits. Build your own shelter using natural materials and cook your own hot food and drink on a campfire. Learn the skills of camouflage and concealment so that you will be able to evade and ambush enemy forces. Loads of fun guaranteed. |
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Beekeeping*
Come and meet Uppingham School's very own honey bees! These vital creatures are increasingly rare and precious in the world today, but we still have several healthy hives with thousands of bees in each. Wearing protective gear (yes, they do sting...) you will get to look inside the hives, taste some of the honey and learn all about how these amazing, busy little insects work. We have plenty of veils and gloves, but wear long sleeves, long trousers and socks please!
This is a morning only activity. In the afternoon you will join the Art & Ceramics group in the Leonardo Centre. |
Cooking
And EATING. If you’re already a good cook, that’s fine. If you’ve never cooked before, that’s fine too. It’s best if you seriously enjoy eating – and don’t hate chocolate. |
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Cricket & Tennis* (Summer Term only)
Have you ever batted against a bowling machine! Seen yourself on video? This session is designed for the keen cricketer who wants to improve his or her game. Various aspects will be covered and video analysis will be used to find the next Freddie Flintoff!
The tennis session is designed for the budding Andy Murray or Laura Robson. We will work on your strengths and weakness and finish off with a mini tournament.
Boys and girls who want to take part in cricket and tennis need to have a basic level of skill, and more importantly have a high level of motivation to improve their ability.
Please bring your own cricket bat and racket as ours may be too large for you. Also, bring your swimming gear for a quick dip in the pool to relax before lunch! |
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Cycling
Do you like a challenge? Come and cycle round Europe’s largest man-made reservoir, Rutland Water, on the specially made cycle track. Teachers and senior pupils from Uppingham will accompany you around the lake. The ride is 17 miles passing beautiful scenery (or 25 miles if you do the ‘middle bit!). If the group is really fast we will have an opportunity to visit many of the attractions around the reservoir.
Rutland Water is just a few miles away from Uppingham and bikes will be hired for you when we get there.
You need to be a good cyclist! |
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Dance & Gymnastics
Take this wonderful opportunity to choreograph your own dance routine based around contemporary and street jazz. First, you will be taught some core dance moves then, it will be down to you and your crew, with professional guidance, to adapt and add your creative magical touch, producing, a stunning group performance in a dance off against other crews. Step Up - watch out!
So, do you fancy yourself as the next Spellbound member? With this session you will be one step closer! Vaulting, trampetting, balancing and tumbling - you will experience a whole range of gymnastic skills. A perfect chance to challenge yourself and learn something new! Leotards and gym shorts at the ready - be prepared to be magically inspired!
Please bring appropriate clothing. |
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Golf
Do you see yourself as a budding Lee Westwood? Learn to drive a ball the length of a driving range. Improve your short game. Spend a day at Manton Golf Club to practise all these skills. You will have the opportunity to hit balls on the driving range whilst receiving tuition on your swing and then to play a few holes on the par 3 course and a round of mini-golf too!
Don’t worry if you don’t have your own golf clubs, just let us know. Bring a waterproof! |
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King of the Courts
Could you be '' The King of the Court’’? Try your hand at Squash, one of the fastest ball sports in the world that encourages quick reactions and hand-eye coordination; Fives, a traditional English form of handball, with players striking the ball with their gloved hands; and then play Table Tennis, or just a friendly game of ping pong… Learn a new sport, or improve your skills! Learn how to cut the ball into the pepperpot. You will soon be boasting, chopping and skidding!
Decent hand/eye coordination is important. |
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Make and Fly a Kite
Let your imagination take flight to create a kite, and after lunch let it soar on our playing fields! Whose kite will fly the highest and furthest?
You will learn basic aerodynamic principles to make the kite, and use the facilities of our design studios to decorate it in your own way. Will it be a dragon, bird or insect to take home??? |
Motor Workshop
Here we shall introduce a number of motor engineering skills; welding in which you heat metal to white heat and melt it to make a joint, sand blasting in which you remove rust from metal as though wiping it away with a cloth - a bit like magic. We shall also show you how an engine works, and how a car is serviced. At the end of the day you should have a metal object that you have made yourself to take away with you. |
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Orienteering & Shooting*
Learn to navigate accurately using orienteering maps and it will be impossible to get lost! There will be lots of running and exploring in Wakerley Woods, which is a few miles from Uppingham.
You will have the chance to handle some of the rifles that we use at Uppingham. You need no previous experience because you will be instructed in the safe use of rifles. There will then be a shoot on our range where you can develop and improve your skills and try to hit a Polo mint at 25 metres?
Uppingham has produced more internationals in Shooting than any other sport. |
The Magic of Black & White Photography
Learn photography and printing skills that lie behind the greatest pictures of the century! Many of you have digital cameras at home and are familiar with playing with images on screen and using a home printer. Here you will take photographs and then develop the film in the dark rooms of the Leonardo Centre. This certainly is a printing experience you can’t get at home and you will see the magic of the picture appearing before your eyes! |
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Fun Product in our Project Design Studio
Spend an enjoyable day working in our Product Design workshop developing useful skills by making a cool item to take home with you. You could be the inventor of the next must-have gadget or gizmo!
Suitable for boy and girl creators. |
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Rugby & Soccer* (Autumn & Easter Terms only)
Become one of the best rugby players in your school! Your day will be intensive, fun-packed, learning lots of new skills using small-sided games and matches. Specialist coaches will be with you throughout the day.
Develop your football skills working alongside Uppingham School’s coaching staff. You will undertake a series of activities designed to test and stretch your ability before you put your new found skills into practice in a mini-football competition.
Bring your swimming gear for a quick dip in the pool to relax before lunch! |
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Forensic Science
Fancy yourself as a detective or a forensic scientist? You will be faced with the scene of a crime, be presented with some evidence and will need to carry out some scientific analysis to work out who committed the crime, and how it was done. Remember, this is science, be prepared to put on a white coat and become an expert! |
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Sport
Lots of activities in our new Sports Centre!
The sports you may take part in include Trampolining, Swimming and Water Games, Uni Hoc and Short Tennis. There will always be a surprise activity!
For both boys and girls - it is always fun! |
Theatre
Are you are budding actor or technician? Do you want to see what it takes to put on a play, with costumes, props lighting and sound? Then spend a day in Uppingham Theatre and bring your own ideas to life in our fully equipped professional venue.
It's show time! |
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Delicious picnic lunches supplied for Cycling, Basha Building and Golf. For other activities you will join our pupils and have lunch in one of our Houses.
*denotes one activity in the morning, the other in the afternoon. |
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