Student Leadership

Hollyfield offers students a wide opportunity to take up different roles within the school that can be specific to their interests and leadership opportunities within the student body. 

At all Key Sages, pupils will vote to elect form captains who represent their form when the school council meets. This will happen once a term and is usually chaired by the Head of Deputy Headteacher, to discuss issues that affect their school life and community. This can include discussions about teaching and learning, extra-curricular activities and the day-to-day structure and policies of the school.

The school librarian also asks for volunteers from Year 7 and 8 to help at break and lunch with the running of the library and involves scanning books and placing returned books to the shelves. This is a popular area of the school and is a good way for pupils to meet new people from their year group.

Peer mentoring has become an established and integral part of school life, where many pupils will be able to testify the positive impact it has had on them. Pupils in Year 10 can volunteer to become a peer mentor and are then giving a thorough induction programme by the school student support officers. They are then paired with Year 7 pupils who have been identified as needing additional support or who have found the transition to secondary school a challenge. Both pupils will meet at least once a week and the mentoring will last as is deemed necessary. 

Prefects are appointed from the senior section of the school which includes Year 11 and the Sixth Form. Prefects allow opportunities for students to develop and role model effective student leadership that are key skills for when they move to Sixth Form or university. Prefects are appointed by a panel of staff following an application process. The successful applicants are then put in charge of 5 areas of the school:

• Charity
• Peer Mentoring
• Assemblies
• Inter-House
• Environment.

The perfect structure can be seen in the diagram below. Two senior prefects (Year 12) will lead an area of the school and will be supported by two prefects from Year 11 as well as 6 members of the student council (form captains from 6/7 different form groups). 

They will meet once a half-term and will give feedback to the school council.

The Head Students are the two members of year 12 who are selected by a school wide vote during the first half-term of the academic year. It is a very prestigious position and one that entails a lot of additional responsibilities. This includes leading the student council as well as being representatives of the school on key occasions, such as giving speeches at Open Evening, Remembrance Day and Record of Achievement.