Extra-Curricular Activities

Loyola Jesuit College is distinguished for the rigor of its academic programme; and yet, the school's educational mission is not purely, or merely, academic. That is, Loyola Jesuit College has broad goals for the development of its Students: some of those goals are fostered by the academic programme, but many of those goals are fostered only outside the classroom, through the school's extracurricular and formational programmes.

The extracurricular programme, then, is by no means superfluous; it is an important and integral part of the Loyola Jesuit College experience.

Briefly, the school expects participation in extracurricular activities to serve the following ends: First, the extracurricular programme allows students to develop and display skills that are not accommodated by class work - for example, in athletics, music, dramatics, public speaking, creative writing and chess.

Second, the extracurricular programme provides means through which students may pursue excellence and achieve distinction. This may be especially important when academic distinction proves elusive: the student whose performance in the classroom is average, for example, can derive satisfaction and feelings of accomplishment from doing remarkable work on a publication in the literary club.

Third, the extracurricular programme helps to develop a sense of community and service within the school.

In the first place, most of the activities are, by their nature, collaborative -students are encouraged to work together within the context of the activity. Moreover, many extracurricular activities - for example, the Service programme, choir, drama club, and the literary club - are directed towards service of the school community.

Fourth, the extracurricular programme provides incomparable opportunities for social contact and for forming friendships. Because our club groups consist of members drawn from different class sections, year groups and houses, they encourage students to work together and thus enabling them form good relationships with other students. Moreover, extracurricular activities also allow for regular and informal contact between students and teachers.

Fifth, many extracurricular activities, both competitive and non-competitive, allow Loyola Jesuit College students to form social relationships with students from other schools. It is only via the extracurricular programme that LJC students have regular contact with students from other schools.

In sum, then, Loyola Jesuit College sees that participation in extracurricular activities is an essential part of the LJC experience. Every faculty member is associated formally with an extracurricular activity. In this context, it should be noted that the school does not think that academic success and extracurricular involvement are incompatible, or that extracurricular activities are suitable only for "superior" students.

There is no reason why participation in extracurricular activities should encroach upon time needed for study. Indeed, the school has found that its most successful students, in the academic sphere, are those who have been heavily involved in the extracurricular programme - perhaps because the programme fosters feelings of satisfaction and belonging, which are key ingredients for academic success.

All together there are 28 different clubs in the school and these have been grouped into Week I and Week I categories. A student is expected to have membership in each of the club groups. Club members meet every other Saturday for about 2 hours.

As much as possible, students are given an opportunity to choose their own clubs. Selection of clubs begins with a club fair, during which students speak to different club patrons or matrons and try to make up their minds. They are then made to complete a selection pro forma on which they indicate their preferences.

A list of activities presently on offer is given below. This will change from year to year.