School clubs: a club planner that lets every student explore and lead

It is the last period on Thursday, the club period. In one room, twelve students are waiting for a teacher who was told on Wednesday that the club "just needs someone to supervise". In another, a drama club is rehearsing the same scene it rehearsed last month. A new student is wandering the corridor, because no list says which club she belongs to. Two terms later, the school says it has twelve clubs, and nobody can say what any of them achieved.

Clubs are one of the best things a school offers. They give students a place to try something, to be good at something the timetable never tests, and to lead before anyone calls it leadership. They only keep their value when someone writes down why the club exists, who runs it, what it will do and how much time it has. The free club planner kit at the end gives you the one-page planner, the register and the review.

Why do school clubs fade?

Five habits, in roughly this order.

• No written purpose. A club that exists "because we have always had it" cannot say what success looks like, so it drifts.
• Nobody owns it. A teacher is assigned, not asked, and the club depends on how much time they have left.
• The time is not protected. The club period is lent to exam revision, rehearsals for other events or cover for absent teachers.
• There is no record. Nobody knows who belongs, who attends or what was done last term.
• The same few students lead. Opportunities go to the confident students, and the others stop trying.

The fix is not more clubs. It is a planner, a leader and a protected period for each one.

What does a club activities planner hold?

One page per club, filled in at the start of the year by the club's staff and student leaders, and reviewed by the coordinator. The headings below come from a club planner template used in a school we worked with. The explanations and the extra rows are HAL's design.

The wording, the number of goals and the roles are settings your school defines. Use our headings if they help and change them if they do not.

Extracurricular activities in schools: let every student explore

Clubs are where students try things they would not meet in a classroom. The most useful rule is simple: every student joins at least one club each year, chosen by interest.

• Let students explore first. Run a short trial before they commit, so a student can try debate, robotics or art and find what fits.
• Choose by interest, not by marks. Strong students and struggling students sit in the same club, because the club is about something else.
• Record membership. A register shows which student belongs to which club, so nobody is left out and nobody is overbooked.
• Allow a change at the end of a term. A student who finds the first club is not for them can move on, with the coordinator's agreement.

A student who has experienced something they love at school is easier to teach everything else.

Student leadership in schools: the older classes

Older students are ready for real responsibility. In each club, name a student president and a student secretary from the higher classes, working with a staff president and a staff secretary.

Keep the leadership fair. Set simple rules for choosing student leaders and publish them. Give each term a limit, so more students get a turn. Make sure the staff president stays present, since the students are learning. A student leader marks no one's work, and the club's behaviour rules apply to them too.

Protect the time: a club period in the timetable

A club that meets "when everyone is free" does not meet. Give each club a protected weekly period in the timetable, and write down how many periods and hours it will use: weekly, monthly and over the year.

Take a club that meets once a week for one 40-minute period over 30 teaching weeks. That is 30 periods, or 20 hours, in the year. Write it in the planner. At the end of each month, compare the periods planned with the periods used. If a club has lost half its time to other things, the planner shows it, and the coordinator can protect it. The same count helps when you build the timetable: see school staffing and timetable planning for how to leave room for club periods and for the staff who run them.

School club activities: attendance, review and showcase

Three simple habits keep the clubs honest.

1. Take attendance every session. The student secretary records it and the staff secretary signs it. It takes two minutes, and it shows which clubs students value.
2. Review at the end of each term. The coordinator sits with each club's leaders and asks three questions: which goals did we reach, which projects are late, and what are the next actions? Update the planner and carry the next actions into the next term.
3. Show what the club did. A short showcase at the end of the term, such as a display, a performance, a debate or a one-page report, gives students an audience and gives the school something to celebrate. Students see why the work mattered.

A worked example, step by step

Take a made-up Debate Club at a sample school.

1. Charter. The name is "Speak Up", and the tagline is "Say it clearly, hear it fairly". The purpose is to give students practice in reasoned speaking. The vision is a club whose members can lead a school debate on any topic. Two values: listen first, and argue the idea, not the person.
2. Leaders. A teacher is staff president, another is staff secretary, and two students from Grade 10 are president and secretary.
3. Goals. Three goals: every member speaks in a debate this term, the club holds an inter-class debate, and members write a short report.
4. Projects. Weekly practice, a first class debate in week 8, the inter-class debate in week 12, and a showcase in week 14.
5. Time. One 40-minute period a week: ten periods in the term.
6. Register and attendance. Twenty-four members. The student secretary takes attendance each week.
7. Monthly check. After eight weeks, seven periods have been used out of eight planned. The coordinator asks why one was lost, and protects the slot.
8. Termly review and showcase. The club reached one goal, part-reached another, and the report was late. The next actions go into the planner.

Start in 30 days

1. Week 1: list your clubs and choose the coordinator, and the staff and student leaders for each.
2. Week 2: each club writes its planner: purpose, vision, values, goals, projects and time needed.
3. Week 3: students choose their clubs and the register is opened. Protect the club period in the timetable.
4. Week 4: the clubs start, attendance is taken from the first session, and a date is set for the first termly review.

Download the free club planner kit

The kit has two files.

• A PDF guide with the one-page club activities planner, the roles, the register and attendance sheet, the termly review, a worked example and blank pages to print.
• An Excel workbook where you list your clubs and leaders, write each club's goals and projects, record members and attendance, and compare the periods planned with the periods used. The sample clubs, students and figures are only an example. Replace them with your own.

When the clubs live with the registers

On paper, the planner, the register and the attendance sheet are three files that someone has to bring together. HAL's Clubs module brings programs, a calendar, enrollments, a waitlist, attendance, communications, progress and certificates into one place. HAL Edge, HAL's education management system, keeps academic routines, faculty performance and school data together, in Arabic and English.

Frequently asked questions

What are school clubs for?

They let students explore interests, try new skills and take on responsibility in a setting different from the classroom. A well-run club also gives the school a record of what students have experienced.

What is a club activities planner?

A one-page plan for a club: its name and tagline, purpose, vision, values, members and roles, goals for the year, projects with deadlines, the time it will use and the next actions with owners.

How do you start a school club?

Write the planner first: why the club exists, who leads it, what it will do and how much time it needs. Then name the leaders, open a register and protect a period in the timetable.

Should every student join a club?

We suggest it. A rule that every student joins at least one club each year, chosen by interest, helps every student find something they enjoy.

How should students lead school clubs?

Students from the higher classes can serve as president and secretary, alongside a staff president and secretary. Publish simple rules for choosing them and give each role a term limit so more students get a turn.

How much time should a club get?

Your school decides. A common starting point is one protected period a week. Write the periods and hours in the planner, and compare planned with used each month.

Is the club planner kit free?

Yes. The kit is a free download: a PDF guide and an Excel workbook with the planner, the register, attendance and a planned-versus-used time check.