Magdalen College Case Study
Fun Matters has been running activity days for Magdalen College for the last 6 years. Each year they work with the head of 6th form to create a leavers event that is packed full of fun and games. The selection of activities changes each year but normally includes:
- Rodeo Bull
- Surfboard simulator
- An assault course
- Bungee Run
- Stretch ‘N’ Score
- Jousting
- Tug of war
Leavers are also encouraged to come in fancy dress which makes for a fantastic spectacle. Seeing how all the 6th formers manage with their fancy dress on each of the activity stations. Fun Matters also brings along our chicken suits or Sumo suits to add to the hilarity of the day and the fancy dress.
About Magdalen College
Magdalen College is one of the most prestigious schools that we have had the pleasure of working with. Magdalen College is a constitutional college of Oxford University, which means it provides houses of residence and tutorials for many of Oxford’s undergraduate students. However, it also houses and supports a junior and senior school as well as a thriving 6th form department.
Magdalen College was founded in 1480, making it over 540 years old, by William Waynflete. He came from humble beginnings but rose to become a Lord Chancellor of England. He wanted to provide high-level education to other gifted children, giving them the same opportunity to learn and develop. Its close proximity to Oxford University has always helped to ensure that Magdalen pupils have access to a wealth of opportunities and educational resources.
There are 6 houses at Magdalen college, Callender, Chavasse, Leicester, Maltby, Walker-Dunn, and Wilkinson-Blagden. All of the houses are named after notable people who died during world war 1, apart from Walker-Dunn which is named after 2 people who died in world war 2.
The End of an Era
Many of the 6th form students at Magdalen College has been with the school for much of their education. In this time they form deep and lifelong friendships. At the end of their time in the 6th form, many students will go on to either Oxford or Cambridge University, with the majority of remaining students heading for other Russell group universities. For these 6th form leavers, this marks the end of an era, the end of their childhood, and their time in the safety and security of the familiar school setting. It is for this reason that Magdalen College felt there was a need to celebrate this daunting transition period with an activity day to remember.
After the day spent on the Fun Matters activities, the whole 6th form is invited to an award ceremony and final dinner event. At the award ceremony, students are presented with medals and trophies to recognise their contribution to the school and their achievements. It is a lovely way to commemorate the end of the students' time with the school. The meal altogether is a wonderful opportunity for students to spend a final evening together as their last day of school. The event is always run during their last week of school along with a selection of other final week events on other days.
A School Activity Day to Remember
The 6th form students are split into their schoolhouses for the activity day, their fancy dress is also themed depending on their house. When we run this type of event normally, we use our “it’s a knockout” event with scoring so we can see which house or team wins the whole event. But for Magdalen College, the goal of the day is about collaboration, fun, and saying goodbye to friends. So we never do scoring at Magdalen College, instead, students simply rotate between different activity stations having fun and all cheering each other on.
At the end of the day, we do run a tug of war event as a final battle of the houses which everyone gets involved in. it is great fun to see all the house pride the students have. During our time working with Magdalen College, we have worked with two different heads of 6th form and continue to be invited back every year. The event has a relaxed and fun feel which is supported by the wonderful reception and support provided by the teachers and facility during the day. The students are always very polite and let us know how much they appreciate all our hard work and effort. We often get fantastic feedback directly from the students on the day.