Pupil Leadership

Setting our pupils up for high grades is relatively straight forward – excellent teaching, small classes, learning differentiated to meet the needs of the learners and exceptionally high pastoral care are the ingredients of academic success. Simple! That is why our pupils excel in their examinations, with over 80% getting A*/A in their GCSEs.

However, being the ‘best you can be’ is not about a piece of paper with grades on at the end of your GCSEs or A Levels. It is about preparing our pupils with the resilience, fortitude and skills to become responsible citizens, ready to tackle the challenges that life will inevitably throw at them once they leave the protective family of our school and your home.

As such, throughout their time at Kings Monkton, we prepare pupils by enabling them to grow and develop as young leaders, both formally and informally, so they can build their resilience and skills. The importance of leadership within school allows our pupils to develop the ability to analyse their own strengths and weaknesses, set personal and professional goals, and have the self-esteem, confidence, motivation and abilities to carry them out.

Formal Opportunities for Pupil Leadership

There are lots of ways pupils can develop their leadership skills. At Kings Monkton, we have a House system so pupils can become House Captains, or Vice Captains, to lead their Houses in the primary and secondary school.

In the primary school, we have Monitors and Prefects who support pupils during unstructured play, as well as Buddies who support our anti-bullying environment.

Our secondary school also has House Captains and Prefects, as well as Peer Mentors who are trained in the Diane Trust Anti-bullying Mentor Scheme – they support all our pupils around the school and positively encourage our THINK campaign and ensure pupils know and understand the school ethos of tolerance and acceptance. The Pride Group is an example of this, with pupils sharing their support guidance so that everyone can be their true self.

Our Head students are the lead for our Pupil Council that runs throughout the whole school, supporting staff appointments and acting as a critical friend to the principal to instigate positive change within the school.

Outside of the school environment, our pupils take part in the Duke of Edinburgh Award and we run annual residential trips for all our pupils in caving, canoeing and climbing, so they learn valuable leadership skills and test their resilience and efforts. Sports Ambassadors help coordinate these skills and offer more opportunities within the school day.

Informal Opportunities for Pupil Leadership

There are lots of informal opportunities within the school, from peer reading and support groups to help with academic achievements to leading on competitions such as the UKSDC and Public Speaking opportunities. We have lots of clubs such as Chess, Games and Book Club, which allow pupils to take on different roles and organise their time and efforts accordingly. They have opportunities to shadow the Carnegie Awards and work with Authors, as well as partake in the Maths Challenge or take part in our many concerts and plays.

The importance of choir and orchestra in the development of our pupils cannot be underplayed – these give them the confidence and skills to not only excel in education but also manage the stressors of everyday life.

Leadership is an essential attribute of supporting pupils to become the best they can be. It allows them to develop a critical mind, the resilience to face challenges on their own, and work together to ensure the best outcomes. It helps them to become better, well-rounded individuals who will lead and improve our future communities.