Local Faces: John Colet School Head Students 2018

It was a bit quiet around the John Colet School campus for the last half of the Summer term since both year 11 and year 13 students sat their exams and then left school. Newly elected Head Students Jack and Siobhan with Deputies Isabella and Sam took up their responsibilities; helping to look after their fellow year 12s and lower school students. Various events including speaking at induction days and judging competitions helped them to put a firm foot forward into their new leadership roles.

The team recently attended a Leadership Conference where they set out some aims to create a stronger cooperative ethos across the school. Important factors the students felt needed to be looked at include:Renovating the Science garden for use within lessons and as a Sixth Form space. The creation of a gardening club for students will help with the environmental focus of this project.Sharing leadership and communication skills across the school as part of an aim to teach pupils vital life skills and help them become more employable later in life. This includes a new future focus scheme where speakers (including Oxbridge students) come to talk to pupils about future career paths and opportunities.Specific roles for prefects eg, sport or technology to increase applicants for leadership roles and a new house system, including House Captains, rolling out across the school will encourage teamwork and allow students across year groups to interact with each other both within year groups and vertically.With 106 applications for year 12 in 2018 it’s clear that the school is growing rapidly with no signs of slowing down. A newly refurbished car park and multiple Sixth Form areas will help to accommodate this change. Further developing the mentor scheme throughout the school providing younger students with role models. This includes pairing upper and lower school pupils to read and learn together, once again allowing interaction between students of all ages and abilities across the school.

Having grown up surrounded by Social Media and ever changing technology, the students at John Colet School have more access to information and current news than ever before which gives them a voice to be reckoned with as they become just as aware of the world around them, both politically and socially, as the older generations that live alongside them. Skills like this are cherished at John Colet School as a tool for engaging students and encouraging participation on important matters both inside and out of the classroom. A mentor scheme throughout the school also helps younger students, who find these skills difficult, to be involved around the school whilst Sixth Form subject ambassadors offer support from within lessons. Isabella is a subject ambassador for sport and can be credited for using the #thisgirlcan movement to help get more young females into sport. Siobhan takes this role for Spanish and Sam for Maths.

Talking to the new Head Students of the John Colet School makes it clear to see how proud the pupils really are of their school, especially their sixth form which they regard as a treasure with impressive teacher support and opportunities laid out for them across the school. It’s guaranteed that every student in the upper school agrees that the John Colet School Sixth Form has helped them develop their characters and learning for life, ready for the big bad world at the end of year 13.

To find out more about John Colet School Sixth Form or simply to get an idea of what it’s all about you can visit their twitter @JCS_SixthForm or website www.johncolet.co.uk/

Interviewed by Jane Larkham; Assisted by Abi Ware