The Character Curriculum sits alongside our academic curriculum to ensure that students have access to a wide and balanced range of experiences throughout their time at school, giving them the opportunity to develop and embed our core values of Aspire, Achieve and Thrive.

Students have opportunities to take part in a range of activities and experiences throughout their time at Stoke Damerel Community College, in order to challenge them to develop their self-confidence, resilience and employability. Activities include representing the school, enjoying residential trips and theatre visits, watching live sporting events, demonstrating their creative passions, taking part in STEAM projects,  respecting the environment and enrolling in the Duke of Edinburgh Award or the Combined Cadet Force (CCF). We feel that having access to these life experiences is just as important as academic success and will help shape the characters of our students.

The extra-curricular life provides our students with a wide range of opportunities that extend beyond the classroom. We offer a wide range of clubs and activities, before school, at lunchtimes and after school, that cater for a diverse range of ages and interests.

During any school day you will find students in the art rooms enhancing their creative skills, a choir practising for a concert, boys and girls exercising in the fitness suite or sports hall, peer listeners supporting younger students around the college site or DofE students attending drop in sessions, among many other opportunities.

To track the student's development of their character, and to be able to recognise and reward their progress, all students will record their activities in their Character Curriculum booklet. This booklet shows how each activity links to a skill or quality that is valuable for the students to develop. When skills and quality sections have been completed, students are awarded certificates, badges or shields in assemblies, to recognise their fantastic achievements.