Student Leadership Opportunities

Leadership and Student Opportunities at The Bulmershe School

At The Bulmershe School, we believe that leadership is not reserved for a select few, but is a quality that every young person can develop. By giving our students real responsibility and authentic voices, we create an environment where pupils learn to lead with empathy, resilience and purpose.

Head Students and Sixth Form Leadership

In Sixth Form, we place a strong emphasis on student leadership and giving back to the wider school community. Our senior students have numerous opportunities to take on responsibility, serve as role models and develop vital skills.

• The Head Student Role: Our Head Students serve as the highest-profile student leaders and primary ambassadors for the school. They represent the student body at formal events, deliver speeches to prospective families at Open Evenings and work closely with senior leaders to drive positive change across campus.

• Leading the Student Council: Head Students take an active, leading role in managing student voice across all year groups. They chair regular meetings with representatives from every year group's school council, gathering feedback on key issues and presenting these ideas directly to the Senior Leadership Team.

• Sixth Form Leadership Structure: Beyond the Head Student team, senior students can apply for specialized roles within the Sixth Form Leadership Team, including the Student Marketing Team, the Events Team and the Sixth Form Council.

• Application Process: Students formally apply for these leadership positions and undergo a professional interview with senior leaders to demonstrate their readiness for the role.

Meet our Year 13 Head Students

Student Voice and the Student Council

Our Student Council gives pupils a direct platform to shape their learning environment and contribute to active citizenship.

• The Election Process: At the start of the academic year, any student can prepare a short election presentation to canvas votes from their peers. Each tutor group elects two representatives to attend regular meetings.

• How It Works: Elected councillors meet half-termly to gather student feedback on school life. Our Head Students compile these ideas and present them directly to the Senior Leadership Team for consideration.

• Closing the Loop: Outcomes and actions agreed by leadership are fed back to the entire school during tutor time and assemblies, ensuring every student sees the impact of their contribution.

• Community Impact: Student Council representatives also organise non-uniform days and community events, raising funds for local and national charities throughout the year.

Excellent student councillors are reliable, confident speakers who model high standards of behaviour and uniform, bringing a positive problem-solving attitude to every debate.

Why become a Student Councillor?

Joining the Student Council will give you a unique opportunity to socialise with students just like you, those who want to bring about positive change. You will get a wonderful feeling of challenge and sense of achievement when you over come a barrier through sensible debate. Being on the Student Council will help you develop excellent leadership experience to add to your CV, as well as developing your own confidence and leadership skills.

Transition Leaders and Mentoring Programmes

We offer structured mentoring roles that allow older students to support younger peers, building strong cross-year connections across our campus.

• Year 9 Peer Mentors: Students apply at the end of Year 9 and undergo formal training to guide incoming Year 7s. They attend summer transition events to become familiar faces, lead ice-breaker activities in tutor sessions during the first week of term, and offer one-to-one guidance to ease the move to secondary school.

• Academic Mentors: Senior students receive safeguarding and mental health training before being paired with younger pupils to help them navigate academic or personal challenges.

• Transition Leaders: Student ambassadors lead campus tours for prospective families and run primary enrichment activities, including Key Stage 5 Science and Drama clubs, Year 6 History Detectives and the Woodley Bake Off.

• Sports Leaders: Our Sports Leaders programme gives students a practical, hands-on path to building essential life skills through sport and physical activity. Blending theory with active coaching, the course teaches pupils how to plan, deliver and evaluate activity sessions while exploring sports officiating, fair play and healthy lifestyles. Through this nationally recognised pathway, leaders develop communication, organisation and self-confidence. Students put their training into practice running interform competitions for younger year groups and leading sports sessions and sports days at local primary schools.

• Sixth Form Link Workers: Sixth Formers link with specific academic departments during their independent study periods to assist with lesson delivery, create teaching resources, demonstrate practical experiments or provide one-to-one support in class.

Specialist Leadership Roles

Students can also develop management and practical skills through specialized roles across the school.

• Library Assistants: Pupils apply and interview with Miss Marr and Mrs Woodfin for these roles. Duties include cataloguing new stock, covering books, mastering the library system to restock shelves by sub-genre and managing the front desk to check books in and out.

• Sixth Form Paid Student Librarians: Year 12 and 13 students can apply for paid positions to run the library independently when the staff librarian is absent. They are trained in behaviour management, implement the school behaviour policy using our Imperio monitoring system, ensure safe locking procedures and manage the space during the day.

• Duke of Edinburgh Award: We offer the Bronze, Silver and Gold Duke of Edinburgh awards, developing self-reliance, physical fitness and leadership through expedition planning and sustained community service.

The Impact on Student Personal Development

These leadership pathways are explicitly designed to foster personal development and workplace readiness. Through formal training and practical experience, our student leaders refine their empathy, public speaking, teamwork and critical problem-solving skills. Whether managing a busy library desk, mentoring a younger pupil through transition anxiety or running a community sports event, students build a verifiable portfolio of achievements that helps them stand out on university applications and in future careers.