White Lodge students share how student council helps them feel confident and empowered
The School offers many leadership opportunities for students in all years. From student council to head boys and girls, many of our students jump at the chance to make their voices heard and represent their respective years.
Year 7 students Madeline and Rafferty joined student council just a few weeks into moving into White Lodge. Tara Kirkwood, the faculty head of Year 7, sent a message to the year group asking for interested students to submit a short paragraph about why they wanted to join the council.
Maddie shared, ‘I decided to join student council because I wanted to boost my confidence, and I thought that I was able to speak up for those who weren’t confident enough to speak up. I wanted to make everything fair for everyone so that they can have a good time here. I was still building up my confidence in being around people and boarding, and I felt that being in student council would give me a boost. It has given me an even better experience here. I feel like I’m able to talk freely with everyone, and we are more open with each other, which I really like.’
Rafferty agreed with Maddie, adding, ‘I was part of student council at my old school for quite a few years, so I thought if I continue doing it here, I could help others speak up and stick up for people’s opinions. I thought I could make sure that their ideas were heard, so everyone feels included. I’m just really grateful to be able to be a part of student council as a Year 7 because it feels like we are heard as much as the older years who have been here longer. It feels really good. It feels exhilarating.’
Lucinda, Year 8, joined the council this year as well. With a year of boarding at White Lodge under her belt, she was eager to represent her year group and gain valuable leadership experience:
‘In Year 7, I tried out for student council but didn’t get it, so I tried again this year and was really happy to be selected. I wanted to join because I think it’s a great opportunity. Student council leads to Head Girl and Head Boy, which are really important roles. I really like the student council because you get an opportunity to prove to your whole year and staff members that you can deliver feedback about anything at the School. It’s also quite nice to see the representatives from the other year groups because we don’t mix with them a lot, but if you’re in student council, you get to meet them.’
From left: Rafferty, Madeline and Lucinda
Every week, the members of student council send out a link to their classmates where they can submit suggestions or complaints. The student council then read the messages and pass them on to the house parents, who will organise additional meetings if necessary to discuss common queries. This term, Maddie and Rafferty were passionate about proper fuelling and increasing meal options.
‘We had a meeting with catering staff and we’re gathering everyone’s ideas of what students want to eat. Of course, people have their own food opinions and know what they’re used to at home, so we’re trying to incorporate these opinions in the simplest way,’ Maddie said.
‘There are some students who prefer more spicy and flavourful foods like curry, and others who prefer more plain foods like pasta. So, we’re trying to provide more options so everyone can get enough nutrients and enough food to serve them,’ Rafferty elaborated.
‘Sometimes, in our nightly house meetings, we can go up and talk about what’s happened in the previous meetings, what’s going to happen in the near future and what might not happen. We try to work with everyone’s opinions. Every morning, we have registration or assembly, where we can collect ideas and take them to our next meeting. Everything happens quite quickly at the School, so we can make changes in just a couple of weeks.’
The student representatives meet with staff members from various departments every half term, including catering, maintenance, operations, academic and artistic staff. Rafferty said, ‘The staff came in and were all taking notes about what can be improved. They were listening to us, and they were also giving feedback about how we could work things out. It feels really good because now we know that everyone’s opinions are being heard. It’s not just what we hope for, it’s actually coming true.’
Lucinda said that another catering success was introducing sushi to the menu and advocating for more pinboards in the common rooms to make it feel homier. ‘We have such amazing heritage in all the buildings, but there is always something that people want to make better. It’s nice to hear the things everyone in the year group wants, see them actually come true and think, yeah, we did that.’
They each said that the first half-term meeting with staff members was a standout moment so far. ‘My favourite memory was the first meeting because I’ve never had a proper meeting like that,’ Maddie reflected. One of the house parents was even writing meeting minutes. I feel like I was really heard by the adults, and all of my friend’s opinions were, too. I felt important.’
Rafferty agreed: ‘Mine is probably the first meeting as well, because even though I’ve done student council meetings at my old school, it felt different here. It felt more proper because everyone had their ideas already written down, and the staff were taking it all on board. At my old school, we’d give ideas, but they wouldn’t always happen, but here, everyone’s opinions are heard, so we can live the way that we dream about.’
Lucinda appreciates seeing everyone come together: ‘My favorite part of being in the council is the meetings and seeing all the artistic, catering and other staff members because we don’t usually see them all together. I hope that we have more meetings to come and it gets better and better.’
