On Monday afternoons at my school, the children participated in, “Les Temps d’Activités Périscolaires”, or, as it was more frequently referred to as, “TAP”.  During this time, there is no formal teaching.  Instead, adults who specialised in various activities would come in to the school to teach sessions in their specialised field, normally those who have formed some sort of  partnership with the school and local government through the community.  Espinosa, Barthélémy and Dejaiffe (2016) categorise the activities offered during TAP as, “sports, play activities (for example: big games and board games) and artistic and cultural activities”.  On the noticeboard outside my school, there was a timetable, which outlined the activities offered during these sessions and the group of children participating in those activities each week.  Some examples of the activities on offer were creating art out of recyclable materials, learning different musical instruments and practicing sports, such as judo.  

In my school, there was a specific room where they kept some of the resources used for each activity.  However, they would also make use of the outdoor area, communal areas and other classrooms throughout the school as the teachers were not present for the sessions.  The sessions were optional for the children, though most children participated in them.  Due to the school day being very long (from 8.30am to 4.30pm) the children do not have as much time after school to take part in clubs out-with the school.  Plus, with the curriculum heavily focused on scholastic subjects, such as French and Maths, this period of time is perhaps the only time children have to expand their creative knowledge and develop skills and talents, all important to a well-rounded education.  The extra-curricular nature of the activities also allows the children to communicate with each other in a different, more relaxed setting, so that relationships are given the chance to grow and flourish.

Reference

Espinosa, G., Barthélémy, V. and Dejaiffe, B.  (2016)  ‘Extracurricular Activity Time (APT): school experience and transversal skills developed by students’, Education and Socialisation, online(41).  Available at: http://journals.openedition.org/edso/1718; DOI: 10.4000 / edso.1718  (Accessed: 28 March 2018).