Extra-Curricular Activities: What to Look For When Choosing a School

My youngest daughter spent most of Year 4 trying to convince me she needed to join exactly six extra-curricular activities: gymnastics, violin, debating, swimming squad, art class, and something called "coding for kids" that ran on Friday afternoons. I said yes to two. She said I was ruining her life. We met somewhere in the middle.

The extra-curricular question is one that Australian parents approach with very different instincts. Some believe you shouldn't schedule childhood to death. Others worry that their child is falling behind somehow if they're not building a portfolio of activities. The evidence — happily — is considerably more nuanced than either position, and it does not support the frantic scheduling model.

What the research actually shows

There is solid evidence that sustained participation in two to three extra-curricular activities (not six) is associated with better academic outcomes, stronger social connection, and higher self-reported wellbeing for school-age children. The operative word is "sustained" — a child who spends three years in a choir develops musical skill, teamwork, discipline, and a sense of belonging in ways that a child who flits between activities each term simply doesn't.

The research particularly highlights team sports and performing arts (music, drama, dance) as activities with the strongest associations with positive school outcomes — but this probably reflects the sustained commitment these activities typically demand rather than anything intrinsic to the activities themselves.

What to look for when you're choosing a school

When schools describe their co-curricular offerings at open days, they tend to list everything — the swimming team, the debating program, the robotics club, the school musical, the chess team, the photography club. The list can sound impressive, and it should be treated with some skepticism.

The questions that actually matter:

• What proportion of students participate? A school where 90% of students are involved in at least one regular activity has a radically different culture from one where the same impressive list of activities exists but is accessed by a small self-selecting group. Ask directly: "What percentage of your students play a sport at club level? What percentage participate in music?"
• When do activities run? Activities running during school hours (lunchtime, as part of the timetable) are accessible to all students, including those with packed after-school schedules. Activities that only run on Saturday mornings effectively exclude families with multiple children, financial constraints, or long commutes.
• At what cost? At many independent schools, the headline co-curricular offering conceals per-activity charges that add significantly to the annual bill. Music tuition at $80 per lesson weekly is $3,200 per year before camps, uniforms, and instrument hire. Understand the full cost before you enrol.
• Is there a culture of participation, or a culture of performance? Some schools' sporting and performing arts programs are structured around their top performers, with minimal genuine engagement from the broader student body. Others are built on a "everyone plays" philosophy. These are fundamentally different propositions.

Primary vs secondary: different expectations

In primary school, breadth matters more than depth. The research supports a "try lots of things, commit to none for too long" approach in the first six years — children's interests and aptitudes are still forming, and early specialisation in a single activity often comes at the cost of discovering something they might love more.

In secondary school, the picture shifts. Sustainable involvement in two or three activities you genuinely care about — with space to progress, develop leadership, and build real skill — is more developmentally valuable than maintaining a broad portfolio. A student who has played basketball for five years, been in the school band for three, and done debating for two has developed resilience, teamwork, and genuine expertise in a way that someone who has cycled through eight different activities has not.

On the university entrance question

Parents sometimes ask whether extra-curriculars matter for ATAR or university entrance. The honest answer in Australia is: for undergraduate entry primarily determined by ATAR, not much. The activities themselves don't directly improve a score.

What they do is keep students mentally healthy during the high-pressure HSC/WACE/VCE/QCE years, provide identity and belonging outside the exam-focused classroom environment, and build skills — leadership, communication, performance under pressure — that matter enormously for the graduate recruitment processes that follow university. Australian employers and scholarship panels do look at activities with genuine interest. Just not primarily as a Year 12 admissions factor.

My daughter, who is now in Year 8, does gymnastics and tries to play violin when she remembers. She is thriving. The four activities we said no to have not, as far as I can tell, ruined her life.

More in School Life