The Pupil Leadership Team is a vital part of school life at Penketh High School. It is an important and useful way for our school to provide leadership and development opportunities for our pupils and it is a great way for students to take on leadership roles, promote the voice of the student body, problem solve and have an impact on the wider school community.  

 

Being a part of the Pupil Leadership Team enables pupils to develop a personal moral code and explore values and beliefs, whilst encouraging the development of a climate which supports the proper exercise of responsibility. It offers pupils an opportunity to be involved in decisions about features of their life at school and allows them to have some control over the use of their time.  

 

Working as part of a team provides pupils with improved communication skills and improved self-confidence. It helps pupils to form better relationships with peers. It increases self-awareness and helps improve confidence when making decisions. Working with a group of pupils who they wouldn’t ordinarily work with also helps to promote equality, diversity, and inclusion within school.  

 

It is a DfE requirement that schools promote British Values within their everyday practice. Having a Pupil Leadership Team promotes Democracy, the Rule of Law, Individual Liberty and Mutual Respect and Tolerance of Different Faiths and Beliefs.  

 

As detailed above, the Pupil Leadership Team promotes the development of the Dual Curriculum skills in a variety of ways; Leadership, Teamwork, Community Connectedness, Problem Solving, Listening, Speaking, Positivity, Creativity, Emotional Intelligence and Aiming High.  

 

This year’s Pupil Leadership Team was elected just before half term following a rigorous application process. Pupils completed an application form for their roles answering questions in relation to their skills sets and why they would be good at the role. Applicants were then invited to interview where they were required to talk in more detail, in person, about their skills, what makes them a good candidate, and what they would do if they were successfully appointed. Pupils were appointed positions following successful interviews, however, for the role of President and Vice President, six applicants were shortlisted to take part in a weeklong campaign. Pupils created and presented a manifesto to staff and pupils and handed out leaflets and spoke with pupils about their manifesto whilst lobbying at breaks and lunch times. At the end of the campaign the whole school took part in a democratic vote, in the style of a general election with a polling station set up in school. Votes were counted and the two candidates with the most votes were appointed as President and Vice President. The four remaining candidates were appointed MPLT roles sitting under the President and Vice President within the leadership team structure. Conservative MP for Warrington South, Andy Carter, attended the election results ceremony in school and announced the results in front of the Pupil Leadership Team members.  

 

The Pupil Leadership Team consists of 5 committees, with 127 individual roles in total occupied by 115 pupils from across the school. The committees are Greener Community Committee, Community Committee, Transition Team, Anti-Bullying Committee and TCAT Parliament. The team has grown considerably this year following a successful year of events last year; with a rise from 59 team members last year to 115 this year.