Student Voice
Ridgeway Academy ensures students are at the heart of everything we do. We ensure students are able to voice their opinions, take on leadership roles and become ambassadors for Ridgeway.
“I applied for the position of Head Girl in order to be someone in which students in younger years would look up to and to help give back to the school which has gone above and beyond to help me in every way they possibly can. However, I also applied for this position to help create a more prominent student voice where every student, even the quietest one, feels comfortable to speak out about issues that need to be changed or improved. I strongly believe that myself and the rest of the Student Leadership Team can work to achieve this goal and to also inspire future generations of students to apply to the leadership team.”
Head Girl – Megan Singleton
The Ridgeway Academy develops student voice through active focus groups, who meet half termly with members of the school community, including the Senior Leadership Team, Heads of House, Directors of Learning and members of the Sixth Form Leadership Team. They are able to feed back to their peers and bring forward any ideas or concerns which they may have; the aim is to allow students to take ownership of their school and be an integral part of making Ridgeway Academy the best it can be.
“I applied for Head Boy because I remember how inspired I was by the role when I was a Year 7 student. Now I’ve become Head Boy I will use the role to help the younger years in their transition to secondary school and ensuring their voice as a student is heard by the students and Senior Leadership Team. I will also encourage older years to consider Sixth Form post-16. I have good leadership and team-building skills which I believe would help in this role, which only encouraged me further to apply.”
Head Boy – Matthew Hill
Each form group from Years 7 to 10 has four representatives; one from each house. Each house group also appoints a ‘House Captain’. House Captains support the Heads of House to develop opportunities for widening participation and support our school charities and the wider local communities. Students from across the school are also given the opportunity to become ‘Eco Ambassadors’, as part of the ‘Eco-Schools Award’ scheme.
Subject areas also offer leadership opportunities within their Departments. These subject ambassadors are awarded throughout the year. There is also a highly prestigious Sports Leadership Programme which has allowed a vast number of students to take on leadership roles both within school and within the local community and primary school network. (See Physical Education curriculum link for more information).
“I applied for the position of Deputy Head Boy because I want to carry out my vision to make Ridgeway Academy the very best it can possibly be. I want help enhance the experience of school life for both students and staff alike, making Ridgeway a place we can all feel welcome and able to freely grow and enhance our abilities that are so important to us as we transition to the next steps in our life journeys. I also applied for this position to work together with the Student Leadership Team and discuss aspects about our school with my fellow students, helping me gain experience in working as a team and critical debate skills that will be important to me later in life. I am very glad I decided to apply to the Student Leadership Team and I am sure we will be able to make a positive impact on the school for all, encouraging future generations of students to achieve their best.”
Deputy Head Boy – Kamil Maczan
Our school ethos encourages all students to work together to enhance their learning experience and provides many opportunities for student leadership. Student panels form a key element of our recruitment processes. Students gain valuable skills through involvement in interview panels, conducting visitor tours of the school and meeting and greeting parents at school events. They also play a key role in our Year 6/7 transition programme. Our Sports Leaders run Sports Clubs and sporting events for Primary Schools.
New in 2018 was the introduction of ‘Speak Up!’ a new debating society. We hope to see the debating society grow from strength to strength as we hold our termly Inter-House debating competitions.
Key Stage 4 students also have the opportunity to apply for a Prefect position which allows them to undertake further leadership roles, including weekly duties and peer reading. These students are outstanding ambassadors for Ridgeway Academy and provide excellent role models for younger students.
“I applied for Deputy Head Girl in order to present both the school and me with new opportunities and new ideas. I believe that I have a voice that can bring brilliant ideas to the school in a team environment. I look forward to working collaboratively to better the school both in terms of reflecting more types of students within the curriculum and enriching our environment. I hope to be a figure in the school that can be reached by those who feel their voices don’t matter, by those who are over spoken and reprimanded by those who are simply louder. I would like to exaggerate the voices of those lower down in school who will essentially be those seeing the most change at Ridgeway Academy.”
Deputy Head Girl – Mia Thompson
