Senior Students at Sydney Russell 

This term saw the appointment of forty new Senior Students at our school.

Senior Students are upper school (Years 10 and 11) students who act as prefects and help staff in the day to day running of the school. They also act as ambassadors for our school. Our Senior Students assist in making the school a calm and ordered place in which to learn and work. They help individual teachers in their departments and support our “Redcoat” staff at break and lunchtime.

This initiative has been running for a number of years but the school is now seeking to develop it further through more rigorous training along and by giving the Senior Students a higher profile. At present Senior Students are identified with an enamel badge bearing  the school crest which is formally presented to them at whole school assemblies. They will become familiar faces within the school and play a part in year assemblies and Parent and Open evenings.

Many of our existing Senior Students have just left the school and are now taking their GCSE exams. Staff would like to thank them and those who remain, for the work and effort they put into their posts. The current Year 9 that have assumed the mantle have been given positive role models on which to further develop the position.

The appointment process has been rigorous. All applicants had to complete an application form with a supporting reference from a teacher. They were then interviewed by senior staff. The successful applicants will undergo a two week training programme to prepare them for their roles. Those who complete the training are given a contract by the head teacher, Mr Leighton and will be ready to take up their posts at the start of the new term.

We believe that giving our students responsibility increases their confidence and helps them develop into mature young adults.

All students will have the chance to apply when they approach the end of Year 9.

Mr Sullivan, Director of Student Development

 

 

On the Thursday before half term twenty six Year 9 students went to the Broadway Theatre in Barking to find out about careers in health and social care.

Along with five sixth formers, they learned all about the range of different careers that they could pursue within the scope of health care.  One group discovered what David Beckham might have done to heal his fractured metatarsal, while others learned the difference between an ultrasound scan and an MRI.  Everyone was interested in the messy and sometimes exciting details of life as a midwife and were intrigued and fascinated by the task of identifying, among other things, real giraffe bones and an elephant’s foot.

During the lunch that followed, everyone agreed it had been a very interesting and informative trip, and many students were left to contemplate their choices for the future.  For some people, this trip alone was enough to convince them that their future lay in physiotherapy, midwifery or one of the other interesting professions we heard about.  I think we would all recommend this trip to anyone who is considering a career in the field of health care.

The trip was funded by Aim Higher.

Mr Ellis-Paul, Science Teacher

Health Careers Fair

“Exciting, fantastic, a brilliant experience, really interesting, can we go again?”  These were just some of the responses to the visit by Year 10 to Queen Mary College, City University and University of East London.

Year 10 University Trip

www.sydney-r.net