Leadership
At the heart of our school community are our student leaders. Representing our diverse student body and driving forward real change in the everyday life of our school, our student leaders are creative, versatile and enthusiastic. Opportunities to lead at Parrs Wood are varied and available to all.
Form Captains
At the start of each academic year, every form group across the school elects a Form Captain. The Form Captain is responsible for being the voice of the tutor group. Form Captains attend regular meetings with the Senior Student Leadership Team and members of the staff Senior Leadership Team. From here, action plans are created, implemented and reviewed based on student voice.
Charity Champions
Pupils from across the school who are interested in leading projects to benefit others can do so by becoming Charity Champions. Organisations that have benefitted from this include Reuben’s retreat, a charity working to support the families of terminally ill children, and the Cash for Kids incentive Mission Christmas which looks to provide gifts for families from across Manchester.
Additionally, at the start of each new academic year, each year group supports a local, national or international charity. The chosen charity is voted for by students as part of International Day of Democracy. Students then work tirelessly throughout the year to raise as much money as possible for their charity. This year’s selected charities are as follows:
Year 7 – RSPCA
Year 8 – Teenage Cancer Trust
Year 9 – The Christie/
Year 10 – UNICEF
Year 11 – Teenage Cancer Trust
Charity Champions are play an integral role in raising money for our local food bank in Burnage as well as for school community events such as the Y11 and Y13 Prom, where the money raised is used to support disadvantaged students.
Faculty Leaders
Each faculty has a group of student leaders who are passionate about their subject. These students are selected by faculty staff to promote their subject across the wider school at open evenings, on transition days and during enrichment fairs as well as supporting with faculty competitions and clubs.
Sports Leaders
Many of our younger pupils enjoy sports and some of our junior leaders develop this passion by leading activities with other pupils, both at Parrs Wood and at partner schools. The junior sports leaders have been called upon to facilitate and referee primary school tournaments, lead inter-form competitions, and visit other schools to coach their pupils in specific sports. Further up the school, there are opportunities to lead during the school’s sports day at the Etihad stadium, visit local primary schools to deliver assemblies to the pupils on the benefits of different sports, and become involved in city wide sports leadership.
Eco Leaders
Students with a passion for the environment have the opportunity to make Parrs Wood even greener! Working with our successful student CO2 Sixth Form team as well as dedicated teaching staff, pupils research, plan and implement changes to our school community to make Parrs Wood even more environmentally friendly!
Peer Mentors
Students in years 10 and 11, with an interest in mentoring, can apply to become part of our Peer Mentor programme. Following their training from Manchester Healthy Schools, KS4 students can select to become an academic mentor, well-being mentor or both. Students work with pupils in years 7 and 8 over the course of a half term. Reviews are then held with a team of staff to check progress and consider the next steps. Mentees are selected by Form Tutors and Heads of Learning at the start of each new half term.
Year 11 Senior Student Leadership Team (SSLT)
Students in Year 11 have the opportunity to become a member of our Senior Student Leadership Team (SSLT). Here, pupils are encouraged to develop their own initiatives within specific areas of school life. The core groups reflect our school values of Community, Creativity and Achievement. The role of the SSLT is to identify issues faced by our students and then develop their own creative solutions to them. As part of their role, students are expected to support in all aspects of whole-school life including open evenings, transition days, the extracurricular programme, celebration events, assemblies and parents' evenings. The position of Senior Student Leader is a coveted one and successful candidates take their role incredibly seriously, leading with confidence, pride and integrity.
Leadership in 6th Form
Over the past few years, many of our 6th form students have taken on a leadership role in the CO2 team, a group dedicated to developing the sustainability of our school both in terms of energy and waste management. Together they have contributed to improvements in the school’s overall energy use by fitting more efficient lighting, streamlining our heating system, and fitting timer switches. They were instrumental in a project to reduce our carbon footprint by fitting solar panels to the roof of the school. They have also reduced the use of single-use plastics in the school, reduced the amount of water we waste, and improved our recycling capabilities.
Student Council
Our student council is at the heart of our school community. Pupils from years 7-13 play a pivotal role in ensuring our students’ voices are heard. Our student leaders across our main school and sixth form meet every half term as a wider group as well as with their Heads of Learning and the Senior Leadership Team. Here, students share strengths of the school with staff as well as any concerns and areas they feel can be developed. Actions plans are then created and shared with stakeholders who endeavour to implement any positive and realistic changes in a timely manner.
