News Feature: New Head Students

By Isaac, Phillipe and Sana

There are two new awesome head students at Bolingbroke academy. Haja and Barnaby were chosen for their commitment to supporting our community, especially the Mental Health of pupils. They are both academically brilliant, compassionate, and hardworking, which are all the traits that we as a school need in our Leadership!

We at The Bark interviewed Ms. Alabi, the Head of Year 12, and asked her a few questions. Here is what she had to say:

Do you think they will make a difference at this school?

I am certain that their ideas for mental wellbeing, such as further surveys for pupil’s voice, an area for unwinding for sixth formers, and further academic anxiety support, will be brought to fruition. I have no doubt that both Haja and Barnaby's courage and resilience will help to make momentous changes for all!

How can they help other students or teachers?

Haja and Barnaby have already supported Charities Week where they supervised the snacks stand, encouraged the lower years to buy into the treasure hunt and supported sixth form in the staff Vs students football match. They are looking forward to supporting years 7-11 with their next Charities Week and allowing them to speak of any changes they would like to make.

We next interviewed the head students, and first asked: Why did you apply for head student?

Barnaby:

“The reason I applied to be a head student was because of the support of those around me and the strength that the school has given me. I haven’t always been the most confident, and at times I’ve struggled to believe that I’m good enough for the opportunities that the school gives us. I know many people can feel like this – struggle to believe that they deserve to, or can, succeed. However, at Bolingbroke -where opportunities, and bravery, and boldness are at the core of what they teach us, I’ve learnt to value myself and see that I can succeed. When offered the opportunity to become a leader and play a role in the voice of the students, I was thinking of all the things I’ve gained at this school. It is my duty to give something back.

Haja:

At first, I wasn’t sure of myself and whether I would be suitable for the role of Head Girl, but at the end of the day, me applying really came down to the fact that I have seen this school go from strength to strength in my time at being at Bolingbroke Academy and would love to see it become even better. I’ve come to really care about this school environment that I have grown up in, the teachers who have supported me, and most importantly, my peers who are really the staple of this school. In applying for the role, I just wanted to give back to a place that has made me a better and happier human being.

We then asked what they wanted to bring to this school:

Haja:

I would say I'm a rather active member of the community at Bolingbroke, and I've never been shy from contributing to school life. My teachers and peers know that I'm a notorious hard worker and I always put in extra effort to achieve results. I've been in numerous school plays, volunteered with and tutored younger pupils, and have participated yearly in Open Evenings/Mornings. Not only that, I'd say I am also quite known for using my voice within school and have stood up for what is right, presenting two assemblies in the first lockdown to raise the issue of racism, particularly facing black people. I plan on continuing to use my voice, which I have become increasingly more confident with, to help even more pupils and students to feel they benefit from school life.

Barnaby:

What do I want to bring to this school? I want to bring compassion; It's the quality that I value most in people, so I want to help create an environment in which everyone is safe, where everyone is respected, but most importantly where everyone feels like they are heard. I’m not alone in this, along with Haja and the rest of the student senate, compassion is the core of everything we will bring. I also want to make people happy; happiness is important too.

I don’t believe I am perfect for the role, not because I feel like I’m not fit for it, but because no single person is at all perfect. That being said I know I will make a good head student because I’m prepared to work to the best of my abilities, I’m prepared to make the make the right choices not the easy ones, and I honestly want the best for everyone here. No one can be perfect, that’s why we can always grow, And I want to grow to the best head boy I can be.

And finally, we asked our new head students what they plan to bring to the role in 2022. Haja said:

My plan for 2022 is to really listen to you, the students, and pupils within our community! More than anything, I would love everyone to have school become a place where they enjoy going to daily and find many things about this school that they appreciate. Besides this, I would like to help enable more communication between older and younger year groups, with clubs and volunteering opportunities, something that would help strengthen our community. There are a few things I would love to do, but one that stands out to me would be increasing the amount of fundraising we do throughout the year (even though I know the Parents Association and our Student Senate do so much already!), helping to support underprivileged students/pupils within our community even more than we so amazingly do currently (with books, resources etc. to have the same opportunities as those who are more fortunate), as well as ensuring that we have the best discos, Year 9 Soirée, Year 11 Prom and Year 13 Ball possible! Pupils and students lay at the heart of this Bolingbroke community, so I would love to see Bolingbroke shine in all its success even more this year.

And Barnaby said:

World domination, but I’m not sure I’ll have the time with all my schoolwork.

Well there we have it, Bolingbroke. A big welcome to our new Head Students. We know they will bring us great success in the year ahead.