Local Faces: John Colet School Head Student Team
John Colet School tweeted on Monday 20 May: Our new Head Student Team are ready to start their new roles. They had been elected the previous Friday and this photo was taken at their first meeting with Head Teacher Patrick Harty. This meeting will be a weekly event to ensure good communication between the staff and students at the school.
The new Team was able to have a handover from their predecessors so that good work could continue and pitfalls be avoided. This includes an opportunity to interact with the full governing body at the end of their term in office, increasing the opportunity for their ideas to be implemented.
In July they will be engaging with both The Chiltern Society and Lindengate for advice on the design and planting for the School Garden. A lot of work was done during the current academic year to start this project, especially the heavy lifting of clearing the site, mostly in snowy conditions. This is preparation for the start of the new academic year in the autumn when they plan to engage with the new Year 7, thus enabling sixth formers to be active in the school and more vertically integrated with the rest of the student body. Tanya is particularly focused on recognising diversity and encouraging integration.
Sam wishes to make strong links between sixth formers in nearby schools. All members of the Team have friends in Misbourne, Mandeville, Tring and the Grammar Schools and it would be great to organise events with them including speakers and challenges. This should stand them all in good stead when they leave school.
Abie wants to develop the mentoring system with a sixth form boy and girl attached to each year 7 tutor group to be on hand to explain how things work in the school. She’s keen to encourage the girls to take their full part in school life. She wrote to every female MP in the country for support but, disappointingly, not one MP’s office even acknowledged her email.
A sixth form colleague, Tom Withers, has already started a project concerning recycling materials used in school and the Team hopes this can be recognised as another example of Wendover Fighting Plastic. Devante has a business background having founded his own online clothing business in October 2018. He believes in developing the talents of others, not just himself, so he will support this project and public relations.
On Tuesday afternoons while staff have continuing professional development, the sixth form enrichment programme will include life skills such as a book club, cooking, first aid, changing a tyre. The Team is keen for more interaction with the local community in Wendover to discover what young people can do to help out.