Sixth Form / Student Roles

GETTING INVOLVED

 

 

 

Students who get the most out of their time in the Sixth Form are those who make the most of the opportunities presented to them and who are fully involved in the life of the school.  Being in a Sixth Form - any Sixth Form - can be dull if all you do is work.  At Guildford County School we strongly encourage students to be busy outside their lessons and to take on formal and informal responsibilities.

 

So what are these responsibilities?

 

The Senior Team

 

 

The most senior students in the school are the so-called Senior Team – Head Boy and Head Girl and their Deputies.  The Senior Team is appointed by the Head Teacher and holds office from the start of the summer term each year to the end of the Spring Term in the following year. The members of the Senior Team at Guildford County School are very important and busy people who undertake a myriad of tasks, from representing the school at public functions such as the Awards Evening and Carol Service to sharing the organisation of the House Athletics competition and welcoming guests to the school. One of the major roles of the Senior Team is helping to ensure that students have a voice in what happens within the school.  Thus, the Head Boy or Head Girl normally chairs the Student Council and the Deputy Head Boy or Deputy Head Girl chairs the House Officers’ meetings.

 

House Officers

Each of our six House has a House Captain and a Deputy House Captain.  These House officers are Sixth Form students who are elected at the beginning of each summer term by all members of each House.  The House Captains and their Deputies have day-to-day responsibility for running the Houses under the general oversight of the Heads of House.  House activities are organised mainly by the Sixth Form students in each House. The success of a House depends largely on the enthusiasm and commitment of its Sixth Form members, not just the House Captain and Deputy.  Thus, there are directors for House Drama, organisers of House Music and House Sports, a House Quiz Team Captain and so on.  The House Officers may get the kudos but successful Houses depend on a team effort. There are regular House Officers meetings chaired by either the Deputy Head Girl or the Deputy Head Boy.   At these meetings House Captains and Deputies meet with Heads of House and those members of staff who organise House competitions to discuss and plan coming events.  These meetings are posted in the School Calendar. 

 

 

 

 

The Sixth Form Council

The Sixth Form Council exists to provide students with a formal opportunity to discuss any matters of interest to the Sixth Form and to make recommendations to the Head of Sixth Form or, where appropriate, to the Headteacher.   In practice, items which regularly form part of the agenda have included the management of the Common Room, including the use of the pool table, fund-raising activities, expenditure from the Sixth Form Fund and social activities.  However, any aspect of the life of the school may be placed on the agenda for discussion.  Items discussed in the Sixth Form Council which are not essentially Sixth Form matters can easily be referred to the Student Council for further discussion. The Sixth Form Council can make decisions on domestic matters in the Sixth Form such as those affecting the Common Room and the organisation of social activities.  The Council can, with the agreement of the Head of Sixth Form, allocate money from the Sixth Form Fund to Sixth Form or school projects. The membership of the Sixth Form Council is

 

 

two elected representatives from each Sixth Form tutor group.  All Sixth Form students are eligible for election to the Council. 

 

The Senior Team

 The Sixth Form Council elects its own Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer.

 

 

Meetings of the Sixth Form Council take place normally at least once a month.  The dates of the meetings are posted in the School Calendar. Any member of the Sixth Form can place an item on the agenda through his representative and may be invited to speak on the matter.  Any member of the Sixth Form can attend Council meetings but only elected representatives are able to vote.

 

The Student Council

 

The Student Council represents the whole school.  There are four elected members from each year group and the meetings are chaired by the Head Boy or the Head Girl.  The Student Council provides a forum for the discussion of any matter affecting the school and debates are common on such matters as fund-raising matters, litter and recycling, healthy eating and teaching and learning.

 

 

 

 

TTS

 

’Talk to Someone’, our in-school counselling service, was launched by Sixth Form students in 2006.  Students have shown great commitment to making the scheme a success.  Each year, the baton for organizing TTS is passed to the next cohort of Sixth Form students.

 

 

 

 

Other responsibilities

 

Students have traditionally acted as reading helpers for Year Seven students, led the Christian Union, helped to organize the Computer club and contributed to the coaching of junior sports teams and preparation of main school students for the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme.  Our flourishing Young Enterprise mini-companies naturally provide many opportunities for students to take on new tasks and experiences.

 

 

 

 

There are indeed a mass of responsibilities which students are encouraged to undertake.  We we delighted that this was recognszed by OFSTED in their most recent report on our provision: ‘Sixth Form students have excellent opportunities to take responsibilities and leadership roles in the school especially within the house system, and are good role models.’ (OFSTED Report, October 2006) ‘Students make an outstanding contribution to both the school and the wider community.’ (OFSTED Report, October 2006)