Daisy Turnbull, Director of Coeducation and Academy

Dear Parents and Carers,

On Wednesday afternoon the 2024 student leadership team hosted over 40 students from our local area to hear s. Allegra Spender MP speak about service and leadership. Ms Spender spoke about how as School Prefects, they are already leaders and that working as a team they are far more effective than on their own. She spoke about the importance of empowering people, and the challenges in engaging everyone in a community. The ability to convince people has to come from both the head and heart and being able to make changes relatable and concrete. Prefects asked questions about how to tell stories without seeming superficial, and how to encourage global mindedness in a social media focused world. Ms Spender highlighted the importance of speaking with people you don’t agree with, and remembering that we are competing against polarisation, post-truth, popularism. While it may be easy to post the divisive culture war raging tweet or story, it doesn’t help bring people together, but drives them apart.

Ms Spender also discussed the importance of making mistakes, and to not let the mistakes we will inevitably make dominate how you do things, leaders need to have the courage and also the ability to forgive themselves in order to lead others in a vulnerable and honest way. She said this can be particularly hard in school where you are leading your friends, and it can be hard to talk to your friends about when they are not doing the right thing.

It was a wonderful opportunity for our students to engage with other school leaders and listen to Ms Spender speak. Thank you to Ms Spender, and the prefect team for running the session.

Daisy Turnbull
Director of Coeducation and Academy