Making a Difference
It has been absolutely fantastic to return to school this week, following the half term break, and feel that familiar buzz as students get back into the swing of their lessons and wider school life. At Glyn School, we have exceptionally high academic expectations of our students. We encourage each and every student to recognise and meet their potential, whilst also recognising the achievements of our students outside of the traditional classroom setting. This ethos is exemplified by our Student Leadership Team (SLT) whom, as Head of Sixth Form, I have the privilege of working closely alongside.
Our current SLT have had an unusual tenure, with a large proportion of their ‘time in office’ spent working remotely during lockdown. Despite this, their achievements and impact has been phenomenal, with outstanding contributions made to the wider school community. It has been really wonderful to see Sixth Form students facilitating Glyn School Parliament so adeptly, gathering feedback from students in Years 7 to 11 about the school issues that really matter to them, and working alongside staff to propose changes in their school community.
High on the SLT’s agenda has been providing guidance and education to students in the whole school in relation to wider societal discussions concerning women's safety and our collective responsibility to ensure this. To this end, our SLT has been collaborating with their peers at Rosebery School to create an assembly by students, for students, which will be delivered this half term to each year group. Their project aims to raise awareness and stimulate discussion about how boys in particular can make a positive difference in society by ensuring that they are empathetic to concerns surrounding women’s safety and wider inequalities, but also confident to challenge peers on inappropriate comments or behaviours. As you are aware, ‘integrity’ and ‘respect’ are two of our core school values and underpin the SLT’s assembly and wider work. They aim to empower all of our students with the confidence to challenge and discuss with their peers, in an appropriate manner, if they recognise behaviours that are disrespectful or problematic.
In light of their work on this topic, and wider societal discussions raised by the death of Sarah Everard, our SLT was approached by Sky News last term and asked to film a segment based on wider debates surrounding the case and the issues raised; specifically, the role of education in ensuring young people are equipped to drive forwards change in this arena. The clip of their appearance can be viewed here. As a school community, we are immeasurably proud of the students who represented us. Out of such a harrowing case, the eloquence and maturity demonstrated by our students, who are so determined to make positive change in their community, is admirable. Young people are the future, and it's just amazing to know that we have so many students at Glyn who are passionate about making such a difference.
Mrs Pearson, Assistant Headteacher, Head of Sixth Form
