We appreciate the vast leadership potential of our students and ensure we provide a wealth of high-quality leadership opportunities that foster and develop these skills. These opportunities encourage our students to motivate and inspire others, communicate effectively and lead by example. Our students thrive in our culture of pride, respect and kindness and we recognise the capacity our students have to influence their peers. We trust our students to promote our culture, drive school improvement and champion our values. Please see below for more information about the different student leadership opportunities on offer and the varied number of student leadership projects currently taking place.
Student Leadership
Year 11 Prefects
Becoming a Year 11 prefect is seen as the pinnacle of student leadership success and the role is seen as a prestigious one. Students have to be nominated by both staff and students and, only those who have demonstrated excellent leadership skills, are invited to interview to become a senior prefect. This year, we have appointed 4 head prefects to lead the team; Louis C, Holly T, Liam O and Scarlett W-H and 8 senior prefects to lead on championing PRK, EDI, careers and literacy. When asked why student leadership is so important, the head prefects talked about wanting to create opportunities for their peers to hone important life skills and develop their confidence. They also talked about wanting to represent their peers and be at the heart of our school community. The Year 11 prefect team also take on other important roles in school, such as, supporting with the Kickstart Breakfast Club and mentoring students in younger years.
EDI (Equality, Diversity & Equality) Committee
We are committed to ensuring every member of our school community is treated with respect and is proud of their identify. We are proud of the work of our EDI committee in championing equality, diversity and inclusion in school and they have recently worked collaboratively to create a whole school charter. This charter has been signed by staff and student representatives, is proudly displayed in all classrooms and all members of our school community have been tasked with pledging how they can ensure it continues to permeate our school ethos.
We recognise the impact of our student leaders in influencing their peers and ensuring Blythe Bridge High School & Sixth Form is a welcoming and happy community. We have also been recognised by outside organisations, and the school has recently been awarded the United Against Bullying Silver School status. The United Against Bullying programme is delivered by the Anti-Bullying Alliance and funded by the Department for Education. We have been recognised for the role our student leaders have on improving the wellbeing of all pupils.
Charity Ambassadors
Students are invited to apply to become a charity ambassador and 2 students from each year group are chosen to represent the school in this way. Their remit is to continue to develop the school’s relationship with the UHNM (University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust) Charity. This year, the group have worked incredibly hard supporting the Hug in a Bag project where students create and deliver care packages for residents and their families. They have also taken part in fortnightly volunteering sessions at the hospital, primarily on the elderly care wards. All ambassadors have demonstrated excellent leadership skills and now support other groups of students in these volunteering sessions. The group have also led numerous school-based events, such as the Talent Show, to raise vital funds for the charity.
House Champions
We also understand the importance of healthy competition to motivate students and support their wellbeing. As such, all students and staff are divided into 4 house teams. The names and values of the houses have been carefully chosen by the students, and each house is led by house captains. There are a wide range of inter house competitions each term. These can include sporting challenges, artistic competitions and spelling bees. The house captains take on this leadership role with pride and work hard to champion the values of their house and encourage participation from all members of the school community.
Skills Champions
We recognise the importance of also developing the leadership and communication skills of students in Key Stage 3 and we are offering a unique student leadership opportunity for students in Years 7 and 8 only. 8 students from each year group have been successfully appointed as skills champions and each one represents one of the 8 essential skills we have embedded into our curriculum. These are listening, speaking, problem solving, creativity, staying positive, aiming high, teamwork and leadership. These students have led assemblies about the skills and completed training with the skills builder programme.
PRK (Pride, Respect & Kindness) Committee
The school has a PRK Committee that are committed to promoting pride, respect and kindness around school and in the wider community. The committee raise money for school improvement projects and often run fundraising events during school performances. They have used this money to fund a variety of different projects around the school and have, most recently, purchased a new recycling bin for the school hall. The committee have created a recruitment video sharing the impact of their work and encouraging more students to take on this vital role.