North Independent Secondary School of the Year 2020 North Independent Secondary School of the Year 2021 North Independent Secondary School of the Year 2021

Sports, clubs and activities

Joining in and learning new skills

Students develop their confidence, self-awareness and sense of perspective through trying new things. Our co-curricular activities complement our curriculum with a huge programme of different sports, music, drama, clubs and outdoor activities.

Our outstanding facilities are a crucial element of a GSAL education and we encourage our students to make full use of the opportunities that are open to them.

Sports

We help students to discover a life-long love of physical activity. Whether they want to follow in the footsteps of our Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallists or simply enjoy taking part in a friendly football or netball match, our fantastic sports coaches and facilities inspire all our pupils to be the best they can.

Our teams play regular fixtures against other schools and enjoy great success in local, regional and national tournaments. As well as the major team sports of rugby, hockey, netball, football and cricket, our students can play rounders, squash, badminton, tennis, table tennis, golf and basketball and make use of our all-weather sports facility. With our own 25m pool, our swimmers compete at high levels and have recently won national competitions. Athletes can join our running club and train on our track or cross-country course, or work on their fitness with our well-equipped gym and weights room. We also provide exercise, spin, dance and yoga classes and have an indoor climbing wall.

In recent years our teams have won seven national netball titles and one national rugby title and have regularly progressed to the finals of national competitions. On an individual level, our students have earned selection to county and national teams in athletics, netball, climbing, rugby, rounders, golf and table tennis.

View more about our sports facilities or visit our dedicated sports site.

Music

Our purpose-built music school has a recital room, music technology suites, instrumental teaching and practice rooms. Students can learn most instruments in school and join a wide choice of ensembles which meet before and after school, and at lunchtimes. These groups, which cater to all musical abilities, provide a chance to perform during the year at regular concerts in school and in venues around Leeds.

Currently our musicians can play in the symphony orchestra, concert bands, a jazz ensemble, swing band and smaller ensembles for specific instruments. Singers can join a choice of choirs ranging from a barbershop or small a cappella group to the main Senior School choir.

Drama

We have our own purpose-built theatre with productions throughout the year. We generally put on a musical involving all year groups in the spring and run a series of plays and shows at other times. In recent years the annual outdoor Shakespeare production by Years 7 to 9 has been a summer highlight. There are plenty of opportunities to get involved backstage too, with students learning the skills involved in lighting, sound, production and stage management, plus other roles behind the scenes.

Duke of Edinburgh, CCF and Scouts

The Duke of Edinburgh Award is perennially popular, supported by our professional outdoor learning team. Year 10 students can work towards their bronze award and many progress through the silver and gold awards too.

GSAL’s Beavers, Cubs and Scouts group is one of the largest in the UK and has it’s own campsite in the school grounds. The annual Scout camp to the Lake District or Wales is one of the highlights of the year, in addition to various other expeditions in the UK and abroad.

Our Combined Cadet Force (CCF) is run in partnership with Bishop Young Community Academy in Leeds, and our cadets meet weekly for parades and regularly go off site for flying lessons, outdoor activities and camping adventures.

“Thanks to the CCF I have grown in confidence, made new friends and learnt new skills.”

Michaela, Bishop Young Community Academy

Extending academic interests

Senior School students enthusiastically test their intellectual abilities by entering national competitions such as computing, maths, physics and biology Olympiads, the Royal Chemistry Society’s Top of the Bench competition and enterprise challenges such as the Real Business Challenge.

Our fantastic range of clubs and societies also enable students to explore their academic interests and develop technical skills in areas such as computing and software engineering, geographical information systems (GIS), philosophy, art history and literary societies.

Debating is a popular activity across all year groups, with opportunities to compete in local and national competitions.

“D of E has been a reward in itself; making new friends, pushing myself to limits I never thought I had and discovering new skills and places.”

Lewis, The Grammar School at Leeds

Find out more and see our sports, clubs and activities in action at our annual open morning.

Or, if you prefer to chat to someone please call our admissions team. For Senior School call 0113 228 5121 and for Primary School call 0113 228 5113.