Sport

The Physical Education curriculum is designed to develop every pupil, encouraging all students to fulfil their potential. Lessons are challenging and exciting, taught by expert staff and offer an opportunity to experience a broad range of activities.

Our extra-curricular sports provision is second to none, regularly fielding teams in the major games of including rugby, football, basketball and netball. We are amongst the top schools in the area in fixtures, as well as at county, national and regional tournaments.  Alongside PE, there is a comprehensive recreational programme including activities such as table tennis, badminton, trampolining and many more.

To enhance understanding and develop holistic individuals, the PE department pride themselves in providing opportunities to see professional sports such as trips to watch Worcester Wolves Basketball and Severn Stars Netball. This in turn helps motivate students and aspire them to reach their level. In addition, we offer many residential trips such as the annual Netball PGL tour and the ski trip to Nassfeld in Austria which takes place during February half-term.  As a department, we are always looking for new experiences to share with students.

eSwatini

In the summer holidays of 2024, Mr Morris is planning a trip to eSwatini, a beautiful landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, south, and southeast.  The experience is for 16 days, leaving a week before the end of term in July.  It is being organised in conjunction with students at St Benedict's Catholic School and is managed and run by an external company - "True Adventure" - a school expedition company who to date, have travelled to over 30 countries with 6,500 students.

Please click HERE to find out more about the trip including a recording of the presentation that True Adventure carried out on 7th February to parents explaining the trip in detail.

Drama & Performing Arts

SAPA - St Augustine's Performing Arts has achieved outstanding success in the past, staging musicals as diverse as Little Shop of Horrors, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Into the Woods.  In addition to their annual showcase, the group also travel overseas in July each year for a week of performances in Europe.  Some shows are pre-planned whilst others are spontaneous and ad-hoc, on the pavements and squares of the towns where they attract audiences of 100+.  Indeed, when they returned from Catalonia in July 2022, they were asked to showcase their work in Redditch and so put on an evening of performances in the town which proved to be highly successful, with local shop owners staying open late as the audience they attracted was so large!

In January 2022, Mr Long and Mrs Wright staged Bugsy Malone, at The Palace Theatre in Redditch.  Running over 2 evenings plus a matinee performance to local schools, it was a large production involving over 50 students across all five year groups of the High School.  January 2023, saw the school stage School of Rock, once again at The Palace Theatre.  Another great achievement encompassing students from across the year groups - a wonderful success not only for the school, but for bringing the local community together.  Photographs from these events can be found HERE.

Duke of Edinburgh

The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is an activity open to all young people between the start of Y9 until their 25th birthdays, irrespective of ability or disability, which leads to certification at bronze, silver or gold levels.  At St Augustine’s, Y9 students have the opportunity to participate in the Bronze award which leads onto the higher levels of the award as pupils pass through the school and Sixth Form.  

All participants complete 4 sections, which are individually set to be realistic and achievable.  Completion of the award at any level, shows organisation, perseverance and determination and is well regarded by higher education establishments and employers.

The Bronze award for Y9 is outlined below:

All participants must then undertake a further 3 months in the Volunteering, Physical or Skills section.

Skill: students will develop their skills in a non-physical pastime of their choice, e.g. photography, music, painting.

Volunteering: students spend time assisting a non-profit organisation for no pay, e.g. nursery help, charity shops, conservation work.

Physical:  students develop their abilities in a physical activity, e.g. most sports, personal fitness and dance.

Expedition:  students will train for and complete an expedition which involves walking a pre-planned route in the countryside using a map and a compass.  Groups of 4-7 students work as a team, camp overnight and look after themselves for the duration of the expedition.  Practice and final expeditions normally take place in the summer term of Y9.  Students are expected to complete the skill, physical and volunteering sections to participate.  These activities require an input of approximately one hour per week spread over 3 or 6 months each, but do not need to be done all at once.  Students need to choose and commit to activities to complete skill, volunteering and physical sections.  The activities do not all need to be done at the same time, and can be spread over the course of Y9.

Public Speaking

Our annual Public Speaking competition takes place in March of each year and coincides with our whole school Reading Week. Y12 students are invited to take part: they must compose a short speech on a given topic arguing their viewpoints. The event is held in school and externally judged by our colleagues at The Catenians. The winner is then selected to take part in the Midlands area competition with other Catholic Secondary schools; successful competitors then go on to represent all Midlands secondary schools at the National final the following September.

Past winners include Cambridge student Dominika Janke in 2018; Lintu Tom in 2019 who went on to win the West Midlands heat and proudly present St Augustine’s at the final in Manchester. In 2020 our competition was won by Gabriel Dris. w

The competition not only encourages students to pursue the art of public speaking, an essential skill for any future career choice, but also makes them consider their world around them. We encourage students to challenge accepted views and use evidence to debate and show their audience a fresh perspective on an age old moral question.