New joint heads want to give fellow pupils a voice

THE new head pupils at Maiden Erlegh Chiltern Edge in Sonning Common say they want to work with their peers to make sure they feel heard.

Dariia Pariichuk, Emma Thorne and Charlotte Gregory began at the start of the academic year in September having been elected by staff and pupils at the end of the summer term.

Their top priority is to relaunch the school’s council to reflect a diverse student body to make it easier to improve communication, share ideas and find solutions to problems.

The trio also want to come up with fundraising activities to try and keep ticket prices for the Year 11 prom as low as possible.

Dariia, 15, moved to Caversham from war-torn Ukraine two years ago and started at the school at the end of Year 8.

She said that she was motivated to apply to be a head pupil after she was helped to settle in to the new school following the move.

Dariia said: “To me, it was about being a role model to other years and pupils in the school because when I first came here, everyone was always there for me. Their hands were always open to help me.

“At first, I was really confused with everything, with what was going on, the lessons, the break times – everything was just different. But I always knew where to go when I needed help.

“I just decided that if someone could do that for me, that could be one of the ways I could thank people in return. Not only the people around me but also the school. I wanted to set a really good example for others to follow.”

Dariia said that outside of formal meetings with headteacher Briony Bowers, who started at the school in January, the trio would often catch up to discuss ideas at break times.

She said: “We’ve already met in Miss Bowers’s office three times this term and that’s when we actually talk through the plans. When it’s a new idea, then we tell each other when we see each other around school.”

Charlotte, 15, who lives in Reading, said she initially thought of applying to be head of a specific lesson but thought she could be more impactful as head pupil. She said: “I like working with people and helping people. I thought if it was a more all-round role helping everyone that it would be better. I’m really looking forward to working together as a team.”

Charlotte said that they have all been approached by pupils who are eager to share ideas, particularly for fundraising events to reduce the costs of the annual leavers’ prom, which is held in July.

Tickets for last year’s prom, which was held at Badgemore Park in Henley, cost about £20 but in previous years, fundraising efforts have managed to reduce this. The trio want to make the prom more accessible.

Charlotte added they have started brainstorming ideas of how to fundraise but have not decided on any to implement just yet. Previously, pupils have undertaken car washes, as well as chocolate and Christmas card delivery.

Emma, 15, who moved to Caversham from Australia eight years ago, said she applied for the role so she could help other students in her year level.

She said: “I just really love this school; I really like our year and I wanted to help them. I thought becoming a head student was just the best way you can do that.

“We had to write an application letter to give to the senior leadership team, then we had to give a speech to our year group to get them to vote for us.

“After that we had to have an interview with Miss Bowers as well as the assistant head.”

Emma said another goal for the pupils is ensuring that all students are given the chance to have their ideas heard by the senior leadership team. She said: “Launching school council is another one of the big things we want to do because as head students we have a role in leading that so we are thinking about bringing that back for the start of this year.”

Miss Bowers said that a previous iteration of the council was less representative of the student body than it could have been and was hindered by a lack of meeting opportunities.

She said that regular meetings are important to ensure that issues that are raised and heard by herself and other members of the senior leadership team.

Miss Bowers added: “I think with these three at the helm of it we will be certainly able to meet more regularly.”