Clubs and Societies

A School’s cultural programme plays a sizeable role in developing well-rounded young people, which leads to their graduation into a diverse world, and the opportunity for expression and personal discovery.

From enchanting orchestra concerts to rousing vocal ensembles; inspirational public speaking, to the strategy of the chess players and inquisitiveness of the Book Club members; there is a cultural experience for all of our pupils. With more than 30 clubs, societies and music opportunities to select from, there is a wide selection of options that are delivered by teachers, staff members and, where required, experts in a field of endeavour.

The art rooms are a relaxed peaceful environment most of the time. The art club encourages alternative thinking and creativity. You can either start new work or bring your homework in for some extra help and advice.

Enjoy a quiet hour sitting on the bean bags, catching up with your reading in the Academy Library. Discuss your current book and find out about others.

Hellenic Business Club gives pupils a chance to test and try their hand at Business and Entrepreneurship. Pupils are involved in organising “pop-up” stalls around town in an effort to make money for various charities of their choice while gaining interpersonal skills and engaging in basic marketing and branding practice.

Join us to learn chess, play chess and take part in tournaments with other schools.

Every week, students receive a recipe for either a main course or a dessert. They
make these delicious treats in their own kitchens, sometimes with the ‘assistance’ of family members. The results have been spectacular, and the junior chefs have
enjoyed this immensely.

Debate is a valuable activity for students of all skill levels. Debate teaches useful skills for other academic pursuits and life more generally. Most obviously, debaters build confidence speaking in public and expressing their ideas eloquently. Being able to speak in front of others is useful in so many areas of life, from interviews to school presentations to presentations in your chosen career. Perhaps most important of all, debate is fun!

Students build their critical thinking and speaking skills without it ever feeling like work. Debate gives students a rare opportunity to take ownership over their own intellectual development. And throughout the years of practice and competition, debate builds lifelong friendships and community.

Pupils work with both traditional and new media in two and three dimensions. They will discover many aspects of the subject and learn to express themselves through visual means, through painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, digital and new media.

Environmental Club undertakes projects that aim to better the Hellenic Environment with the hopes of extending our reach to the rest of Harare community and beyond. The Club offers a great learning experience as well as an opportunity to make friends with like- minded people. We learn about all aspects of the environment and try to get out of the school as much as possible to build up further knowledge. We aim to educate the world around us about global challenges and explain that the smallest changes in our lifestyles can make a big difference.

Events is a club offered to the 6th Form students at the Academy.

The club involves the students learning about the etiquette and social skills required to host and work at different functions and events. Students will receive training in Barista work and Mixology. Most of the events at the Academy are organised and run by members of the events club.

Join Sister Kay Kondonis and learn about the basics of first aid. Be prepared to learn from guest speakers covering all subjects from snake bites to contagious diseases. The first aid team is on duty at major Academy sporting events.

There are two golf sessions every week.  The Seniors go to Royal Harare Golf Club on Mondays from 2pm to 5pm to play 9 holes.  The Juniors go to Royal Harare for coaching every Tuesday from 2pm to 4pm with the pro Mike Baylis.  The juniors occasionally play 9 holes at Wingate Golf Club every few weeks. The Hellenic Golf team regularly take part in a tournament at Sun City.

This new club is a passion-project, started by our current Form Four students who wanted to create a student-led forum that allows fellow aspiring historians to discuss and debate ideas and topics that may not make their way onto a formal syllabus. No topic is off-limit and though our History Department attend and oversee meetings, the real stars are our students who investigate and present on areas as diverse as the American War of 1812, aeronautical engineering and flight, and Russian classical composers!

“Service above Self”.
This club gives sixth form Academy students the opportunity to SERVE and make a real difference in the communities around us. Through the club, members fund-raise for, and interact with, those less fortunate than themselves to develop leadership skills, real connections with others, and a more accepting and well-rounded view of the world and respect for all.

The club also promotes international understanding and cultural diversity. Interact Clubs fall under the larger organisation of Rotary International. Every two years the Interact Club at Hellenic selects a specific Charity (often a school in particular need) to support through focused, hands on efforts. These include year-long fundraising events, visits from the Club members and practical assistance (for example, buildings, painting, establishing of vegetable gardens and improving water supply). The goal of these projects is to enable the charity/school to become as self-sufficient as possible. It is important for the Interact Club to work closely with the school/charity leadership to understand their needs and how to focus the Club’s efforts on supporting their vision. This outreach work offers an invaluable opportunity for Hellenic students to serve and understand those less fortunate than themselves in many ways.

Beyond this, every year the Interact Club also supports a number of local charities, such as: Kidzcan, Island Hospice, Miracle Missions and Zimbabwe Albino Association. Fundraising events are organised and run by the Club, as well as awareness campaigns and drives for various causes are initiated, co-ordinated and managed.

Interested in programming, building or working with Lego? Join the club and build a robot made entirely out of Lego, and then program it to manoeuvre around a themed obstacle course, using its sensors, to successfully complete tasks. Participate in the annual First Lego League competition against other schools and redesign your robot in the most practical and original way. You can also take part in the creation of an exciting presentation on a global problem, which is linked with the theme of the Lego Obstacle course.

The International Mathematics Olympiad (IMO) is the World Championship Mathematics competition for high school pupils and is held annually. It has gradually expanded to over 100 countries from 5 continents. The examination is held over two consecutive days and contestants have four and a half hours to solve three problems per day, which can include geometry, number theory and algebra.

Are you a keen photographer, interested in journalism, digital media? Then why not apply to join Media Club. Help us to keep our website up to date and increase our followers across all social media platforms. Open to students from Form 4 and above.

This student-led club is an academic simulation of the United Nations, where students transform into delegates from various countries and meet to debate current world issues, attempting to come up with policies and solutions. We take applications from Form Three upwards, and though this club can seem a little overwhelming at first as students adapt to our rules of debate and research, we are well known for our warm welcome and friendly approach to new members. MUN is an active club, running weekly meetings and taking part in interschools and international conferences. Our delegates have won a number of awards, and have enjoyed improving their levels of confidence and understanding about how politics and diplomacy work.

Public speaking is an incredibly useful skill which is needed throughout life.. Public speaking is offered to help students to gain confidence and be comfortable to present themselves and their opinions or ideas to other people in an effective, persuasive manner. Public speaking encourages students to acknowledge this important skill and master it.

Public speaking club meets once a week and they practice speaking to audiences and they practice impromptus. Additionally, we have an annual Inter house public speaking competition which is great fun as the speeches are often very captivating and well-researched. Public speaking is open to all students.

Do you have a good general knowledge? Are you full of interesting facts? Then why not give Quiz Club a try. We meet up, once a week to extend our knowledge further.

Inter-schools quizzes are hosted by different schools as well as Hellenic, there are often friendly matches on Wednesdays and Saturdays.

Soccer is dubbed as “The World’s Most Popular Sport,” with over 3.5 billion fans all over the globe – and the students at Hellenic Academy are no exception. Played only in the Second Term, Soccer is a sport that has become a passion for many of the students from Form 1 all the way to Upper Six. The matches, which are played by both boys and girls on Wednesday afternoons, are always extremely entertaining for all who come to watch and support.

Textiles Club involves being creative with different media on fabric. The results have been most satisfying for them, and they have enjoyed producing flour resist effects.

In today’s world, where there are an abundance of contradicting ideas and motives it is crucial for young adults to be exposed to the thoughts, feelings and ideas of those around them so that from them they may develop and build on their own, whilst in the process learning to tolerate and respect those around them who voice different opinions. Toastmasters gives its members exactly this opportunity. Every second week the Toastmasters Society meets on a Tuesday in the evening where they listen to or deliver different styles of speeches on an undefined variety of topics or personal stories, serious or comedic. Toastmasters has a fairly small membership of about 20 students max and is open only to Upper VI. It is, in essence, a student run society with Mrs Harvey overseeing but not interfering, so it presents its members with a great deal of freedom to give it their own original treatment. Each meeting leaves its members feeling closer every week and by the end of the year, without a doubt, you will be proud to call your fellow Toastmasters family

Triathletes are able to use the swimming and cross country practices to enhance their training.  All of our Academy triathletes participate in triathlon events arranged by Triathlon Zimbabwe on Sunday morning and use the Academy pool and cross country courses to develop their swimming and running parts of the events. The Academy employs experienced coaches to assist our pupils in their training and preparation.  Students have achieved considerable success at both national and international level and several of our triathletes have been offered university scholarships abroad.

Elite Physical Development is a club for students that play first team or show potential to play first team in the future for any sport. Students are invited by their first team coaches to apply for EPD. They are involved in gym sessions that will improve their physical development and cardiovascular fitness. Students are pushed during sessions so that they are able to compete with other top athletes from other schools and also pushed to reach their potential. EPD is unique in that it’s a group of individuals who have set personal goals but work along side other students from different sporting codes.

Music Clubs

Choral work is very much a part of the Music Department culture. There are six different choirs for students to join. These include Junior Mixed, Girls’ and Boys’ Choirs and then Senior Mixed, Girls’ and Boys’ Choirs. These groups participate in exciting events and performances throughout the year, covering a wide range of styles including Western Classical, Gospel, African, Pop and Jazz. Each choir has two sessions a week. All form 1 pupils are expected to audition for the choir and if they are accepted they must sing in the Junior Choir.

The Jazz Band offers a platform for students who are interested in pursuing more contemporary styles of music. This includes more modern instruments such as bass guitar, electric guitar and keyboard.

Guitar is a club for beginner guitarists, dedicated to providing a musically enriching experience for students who wish to keep music in their schooling curriculum. This light, energetic and funfilled club offers pupils a chance to play in group setting and is geared towards getting pupils to learn and have fun by playing songs together.

This dynamic and innovative group of young string players performs an eclectic array of musical styles, from Rock to Classical.  Percussion players are brought into the Ensemble as required and the group rehearses on Tuesday afternoons from 4.30pm to 6.00pm

The Wind Band consists of a vibrant and energetic group of Woodwind, Brass and Percussion players who rehearse once a week. Their repertoire includes Musical Theatre, Film, Pop and Original Works.

The Marimba Band provides a platform for students who are interested in exploring African traditional music. There is a Junior and Senior band and each group rehearses once a week.

The Hellenic Academy Orchestra boasts complete String, Woodwind, Brass and Percussion sections.  Again, a wide variety of musical genres is played, including Classical, Pop and Music from the Shows.  The Orchestra practices on Monday afternoons from 4.30pm to 6.15pm.