Extra-Curricular Activities

Ysgol Latymer Outdoor Pursuits Centre
Cwm Penmachno is within the Snowdonia National Park about 5 miles from Betws y Coed. The Latymer Foundation bought a former primary school there in 1966 and has since developed it into a well equipped residential centre, accommodating up to forty pupils and staff.
All pupils in Year 7 and Year 9 have the opportunity to spend a week at the centre, taking part in a variety of outdoor activities. These include hill walking, orienteering, mountain biking, climbing, abseiling, canoeing, swimming, raft building and skiing. Other activities include the annual ‘Fourteen Peaks’ challenge when more senior students and staff test their stamina on an extensive programme of hill walks.

School Journeys and Exchanges
Latymer has links with schools in France, Germany and Russia and exchange visits take place regularly with the Institution St. Martin in Tours, the Heisenberg Gymnasium in Gladbeck, (Rhineland, Germany) and schools in St Petersburg and in Belarus. Our Drama students have been on tour with production tours to France, Germany and the Lake District.  Many other trips take place; in the last few years our geographers have been to Iceland, classicists to Italy, artists to New York, skiers to the French Alps, canoeists to the Ardeche, and junior boy and girl footballers to Holland. In the summer of 1999 an expedition travelled to Nepal and India; another went to Malawi in summer 2001, and since 2003, a sports tour has gone to Barbados every other year. Every summer our senior musicians tour in Europe and in recent years have played to audiences in Berlin, Leipzig, Salzburg, Vienna, Tallinn, Bavaria, Belgium, Italy and, in 2007, made a return visit to Prague. In addition there are many day visits associated with the curriculum for pupils from Year 7 to the Sixth Form, including theatres, museums, places of worship and Vimy Ridge on the WW1 Western Front.

Music, Drama and Sport
All of these play a prominent part in the life of the School. Many of our pupils take part in musical activities and there are numerous opportunities for performance. There are five orchestras, ranging from Grade 3 to post-Grade 8 standard, a Concert Band, choirs and many other vocal and instrumental ensembles. Many concerts are held in school, and most years there is either a large-scale junior or senior musical production - most recently, Les Misérables, Grease Blitz and South Pacific. Groups are frequently invited to perform elsewhere; in 2006 Chamber Orchestra won their category at the National Festival for Music and Youth and performed at the Schools' Prom in the Royal ALbert Hall.  Senior Choir have sung to carols in Trafalgar Square, as part of our fundraising for charity programme.

Drama is very popular with pupils of all ages, with a variety of large scale and studio productions staged throughout each year. Our main school production in November is either a large cast play, in 2006, Shakespeare's "Scottish play" or a lavish musical – eg "South Pacific". We also have House Drama Competition in the Spring and a junior production for the younger pupils at the end of the summer term – in recent years “Grease”, "Blood Brothers" amd "Blitz" have featured.

There is an extensive sports programme for those interested in recreational sport and for those who are more competitive. Inter-school fixtures are played in many team games at all ages in the School. Individual pupils and teams have consistently achieved success and representative honours in Borough, County and National competitions.  The new indoor facilities provide scope for a wider range of activities for all ages.

Other Activities
Many other activities take place, covering a wide variety of pupils’ interests. Examples are the Literary Society, the Amnesty International group (believed to be the largest and most active school group in the country), Sociology Society and the Chess Club.The school’s Debating Society is very active.  We run House competitions for all age groups and our teams consistently reach Grand Finals of major national competitions.  The school also supports both Duke of Edinburgh and Basic Expedition Leadership Award schemes. Many 6th Form students take part in Young Enterprise(YE) Schemes. Teams regularly reach the North London Final and a Latymer team has represented London at National level.