Student Leadership
Student Leadership Team 2024-2025
Giorgio Fardella
Head Student
Hi, my name is Giorgio Fardella and I am proud to be one of Willingdon Community School’s new Head Students.
My aims and objectives for my year as head student are:
· Participating in the development and launch of our new podcast.
· Offering opportunities to our students such as fundraising, enrichment activities and aiding in events.
· Overseeing projects such as the podcast, house system and peer mentoring, as well as contributing to the improvement of events such as Sports Day and the Phoenix Festival.
· Representing the school and leading by example alongside Rosie, demonstrating our school values and what they mean to us as students.
· To ensure the transition from primary to secondary school is fluent and stress-free
· To delegate tasks and show leadership through taking responsibility for my team and managing how we coordinate ourselves
A bit about me: I take part in sports, as I play for Eastbourne United Football club as well as Glastonbury snooker club. I am a volunteer for the Cats Protection Charity, I enjoy travelling, meeting new people and sharing new experiences. I’m fond of Business Studies and am always open to giving guidance to those who need it.
Rosie Delgado-Howell
Head Student
Hello, I am Rosie Delgado-Howell and I am proud to be one of Willingdon School’s new Head Students alongside our wonderful leadership team.
My area of responsibilities are:
Working alongside the PE Department to ensure we incorporate a variety of activities to sports day in order to encourage and meet the enjoyments of every student.
Representing the school and leading by example alongside Giorgio, demonstrating our school values and what they mean to us as students.
Offering activities to our students such as fundraising, enrichment activities and rewards, for example the year 7 and 8 disco that recently took place.
Building the progression of our House systems in order to meet the highest aspirations and encouraging every student to get involved in contributing towards our school.
A bit about me: I thoroughly enjoy sports and train with Team Bodyworks, a triathlon club. Due to my sport I am very lucky to be able to travel a lot and so get to meet an incredible variety of people. I enjoy seeing new places as well as trying new activities and am always open to learning. I’m very fond of sciences, PE and geography so am able to adapt to different environments.
Our Head Students
As Head Students, we are the main representatives for our student community and we can be called upon at any time should you have any queries. Our Student Leadership Team, consists of a variety of roles for students from all year group. These include: Deputy and Assistant Head Students; Senior Prefects; Student Council Representatives and a wide range of Subject Leaders.
We are a vibrant school that actively supports diversity and individuality. Each student is encouraged to pursue any areas of interest through the wide variety of enrichment clubs offered at Willingdon. This is also a great opportunity to solidify friendships and meet new people.
At Willingdon, our teachers are encouraging and supportive- they strive to provide us with engaging, varied lessons which push us to achieve our full potential and make progress every lesson. Every day the values of Personal Excellence: Compassion, Respect, Courtesy, Honesty and Ambition are embedded into each student, helping us to be the best versions of ourselves! At Willingdon, we value student voice immensely as it allows us to improve our school environment and ensures that all members of our school community are heard, happy and healthy.
Students leave Willingdon Community School feeling confident that they will have the skillset, qualities, and qualifications to achieve all their ambitions.
Our Deputy Head Students
Caitlin Ness
Deputy Head Student
Hello, I am Caitlin Ness and I am one of the Deputy Head Students at Willingdon Community School this year. I am so excited to be able to go on this journey with the rest of our student leadership team.
My areas of responsibility will be:
Þ Helping to make the transition from primary to secondary school as smooth and enjoyable as possible for our upcoming Year 7’s alongside a few of the leadership team.
Þ To create new and exciting opportunities that students can get involved with to help fundraise for different charities and school projects.
Þ To help plan any upcoming events with the rest of the leadership team.
Þ To help any student with worries or challenges through the peer mentoring system.
Þ Representing the school and being a positive role model for younger students
A bit about me: I love musical theatre and I am a part of a club called Stage Stars where we put on two shows a year. Alongside this I enjoy baking many different treats for my friends and family such as cakes and cookies. My favourite place to go with my family is Disneyland Paris. My favourite GCSE I am currently taking is Dance and I highly recommend it to people.
Alex Martin
Deputy Head Student
Hello, my name is Alex Martin and I’ll be one of your Deputy Head Students. Along with a fantastic team, I hope to support everyone in our community. My areas of responsibilities are:
* Setting up, preparing and planning our brand new podcast, which we hope will make communication much clearer between students and teachers.
* Developing sports day along with the PE Department and other leaders to try and offer an unforgettable experience to students who take part.
* Developing the Phoenix Festival to be a much bigger event where students can feel proud to present their talents to others and to inspire more to take part in music.
* Being a peer mentor for younger years as well as being a role model for them.
* To support other leaders with projects as well as supporting events within our school community.
A bit about me: I love playing team sports outside of school, I play hockey at Eastbourne, cricket at Pevensey but also enjoy playing basketball a lot. I volunteer at Bushy Wood as an explorer and often do site work there. I also have a passion for music and play piano, drums and guitar and often try to encourage others to learn instruments. I enjoy the humanities subjects a lot at school which I think helps me to learn about lots of different types of people.
Katie Collins
Deputy Head Student
Hello, I am Katie Collins and this year I am one of the Deputy Head Students at Willingdon Community School. I am thrilled to be able to be part of improving the school and making sure everyone’s voices are heard with the rest of our student leadership team.
My areas of responsibility will be:
· Planning and implementing new rewards for students, and supporting the celebration of incredible members of our school community.
· Making sure everyone in the school is celebrated for their contributions to the community, and their achievements each year.
· To help plan any approaching events with the rest of the leadership team
· To support children alongside the other student leaders, and listen to their concerns
· Representing the school and being a positive role model for younger students
A bit about me: I love to read and am a part of Eastbourne Archery Club. I enjoy baking but hate cooking. I love to go out to restaurants with my family. My favourite GCSE is history and I hope everyone picks it because it is amazing.
Our Assistant Head Students
Evelyn Burgess
Assistant Head Student
Megan Robins
Assistant Head Student
Abigail Sweetman
Assistant Head Student
Florence Baldwin
Assistant Head Student
Caleb Pout
Assistant Head Student
Evelyn Burgess
Assistant Head Student
Hello I am Evelyn Burgess and I am one of the new Assistant Head Students at school and I cannot wait to work with this incredible team of student leaders. Alongside the rest of the team, a few of my responsibilities are:
· To help plan, run and fundraise events and new projects and ideas dedicated to students.
· Helping students and creating opportunities for them to voice their opinions.
· Representing the student body and assisting in the decision making process when aiming to improve our school even more, and make it an enjoyable environment for all students.
· Focusing on giving you as many opportunities that will aid you Post 16, as possible, and finding something for everyone when thinking about your future
A bit about me: I really enjoy music, having played the piano for a long time. I love art, having designed two of our school's house logos, and being able to experiment through creativity. I like History and English, learning about how the past shapes our current lives and the different worlds people lived in. Although I love learning about the past I am very much focused on the future, and the difference that this student leadership team can and will make.
Megan Robins
Assistant Head Student
Hello! I am Megan Robins and I am one of the Assistant Head Students. I am looking forward to working with the rest of the student leadership team to contribute ideas for our school.
My responsibilities include:
Helping out with termly tutor competitions to provide a variation of inclusive subjects to get everyone involved.
To bring more attention to and to develop the current house system
To help to improve our current rewards system so that we get the most out of it that we possibly can.
To work alongside the leadership team to help plan upcoming events.
Supporting any events that are happening - Supporting the Year 9’s with their transition into Year 10.
To be a good role model for students considering applying to the next student leadership team.
A bit about me: During my free time, I thoroughly enjoy music, having played the drums for a while now, and also starting to pick up some other instruments. Moreover, I enjoy other creative subjects such as English and Art. I particularly enjoy reading and occasionally creative writing. However, I also enjoy Geography and the sciences, giving me a wide range of interests. I am open to discovering new things and picking up new hobbies.
Abigail Sweetman
Assistant Head Student
Hello Everyone! I’m Abigail Sweetman and I am so excited to be one of your Assistant Head Students. I want to encourage you along your school journey with the amazing team we have and create the best space for you here at Willingdon. My responsibilities include:
Representing all communities, but my main focus will be helping people with hearing impairments and aiding our school in fluently communicating with each other.
Joining the amazing team in planning the Winter Fayre/Phoenix Festival and any fun activity ideas you feedback to us.
Making sure that your mental health is top priority, and being here for anyone who needs it.
Helping fundraise for all of the school’s wild dreams and taking steps further to making it happen.
Leading by example, setting a good example and strongly speaking up for our school, empowering it further together.
A little bit about me: - I am a very sporty person who has been involved in: gymnastics, triathlon, netball and multiple sports competitions. Science is my favourite subject, I would love to one day disprove the Big Bang theory, or become a Marine Biologist and conserve our planet. Music is a strong second, I play the saxophone and used to play piano. But if you only take one thing about who I am as a person, let it be that I care deeply for your wellbeing. I want to help you as much as possible and make sure you feel safe, secure and well connected.
Florence Baldwin
Assistant Head Student
Hi, I am Flossy and I am one of the Assistant Head Students at Willingdon Community School. I am so happy to be able to work alongside our amazing student leadership team. My areas of responsibility are:
· Creating opportunities for students to share their opinions and responding to student voice.
· Helping students joining our school in Year 7 to feel confident and welcomed in our school community through transition events
· Fundraising for new projects and ideas through helping with events such as discos and showcases.
· Representing the student body and making decisions to improve the school for everyone.
· Peer mentoring in which we discuss ideas for school improvements and compare our experiences and struggles of school life.
· To work with the rest of the student leadership team in making decisions and planning events.
· Being a role model to young students.
· Encouraging applications for the next student leadership team from the current Year 9s.
A bit about me: I enjoy dance and have been taking ballet lessons since the age of four. I also enjoy musical theatre and am part of a local theatrical society which regularly puts on shows in a village hall. At school I enjoy lots of my subjects and love learning new things. I am currently taking part in the Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Award and I think it is a great opportunity which I would recommend to everyone.
Caleb Pout
Assistant Head Student
Hello everyone. My name is Caleb Pout and I am a member of the new student leadership team. My role is Assistant Head Student and some of my responsibilities are:
Helping in fundraising activities and school events.
Aiding transition and supporting the future leaders of our school.
Making school not just a place of learning but a place of enjoyment, by ensuring that all your voices are heard when taking into consideration new ways of making Willingdon.
About me: I participate in sports such as Football and Golf and have played football since I was around 7 years old. I also have been brought up in the theatre, so I play piano and sing. In the past, I have played football for Stone Cross Royals and Willingdon Athletic, however at the moment I play for Eastbourne Town. I have been playing the piano for three years and have sung for around 10 years. My aim in this upcoming year is to ensure that I know that when I leave Willingdon, I have made it better since my arrival and have made it better for the leaders of the future.
Our Senior Prefects
Lily Richardson
Senior Prefect
Alex Kingham
Senior Prefect
Bianca Tad-y
Senior Prefect
Max Higgins
Senior Prefect
Emily Hammond
Senior Prefect
Tommy Bell
Senior Prefect
Sophie Baines
Senior Prefect
Declan Scott-Harris
Senior Prefect
Emily Reed
Senior Prefect
Finlay Hammond
Senior Prefect
Annika Mather
Senior Prefect
Ethan Theobald
Senior Prefect
Tilly Davison
Senior Prefect
Lauren Rolfe
Senior Prefect
Ned Whiting
Senior Prefect
Gracie Ford
Senior Prefect
Lily Richardson
Senior Prefect
Alex Kingham
Senior Prefect
Bianca Tad-y
Senior Prefect
Max Higgins
Senior Prefect
Emily Hammond
Senior Prefect
Tommy Bell
Senior Prefect
Sophie Baines
Senior Prefect
Declan Scott-Harris
Senior Prefect
Emily Reed
Senior Prefect
Finlay Hammond
Senior Prefect
Annika Mather
Senior Prefect
Ethan Theobald
Senior Prefect
Tilly Davison
Senior Prefect
Lauren Rolfe
Senior Prefect
Ned Whiting
Senior Prefect
Gracie Ford
Senior Prefect
Our Student Leadership Team
At Willingdon Community School we believe that we have a responsibility to develop leadership skills in all students. School life provides many opportunities for young people to develop leadership skills. Through daily interactions with peers and teachers, shared responsibilities and by contributing to decision making forums, students at Willingdon Community School have the opportunity to become part of the school student leadership team.
Student leaders have the potential to influence the school environment and the behaviour of their fellow students by becoming advocates for positive change in the school community.
Students who actively participate in school life and feel that they are encouraged to share their ideas and opinions, feel respected and want to make further contributions to the school.
Our Aims
The aim of the student leadership procedures is to ensure that all students have the opportunity to build leadership skills through training programmes and during lessons that reflect the core values taught at Willingdon Community School, including ambition, respect, courtesy, compassion and honesty. At Willingdon Community School we encourage and provide a variety of ways for our students to become involved as leaders within the school setting.
The school aims to empower students to work in partnership with staff towards shared goals and to enable creativity to flourish as the school community benefits from the wealth of experiences, ideas, skills and sense of fun that students bring. The school prepares students for Higher Education and for achieving personal and professional excellence in life after formal education.
The school encourages these leadership roles to be spread amongst the student body and across all year groups. Student Leaders are expected to work with staff, students and GIt is important that students prioritise which role is better suited to them. The roles may include but are not limited to:
Student Leadership Structure
Head Students
Deputy Head Students
Senior Prefects
Prefects
House Captains
House Vice-Captains
How do students become a Student Leader?
All leadership roles undertaken at Willingdon Community school will involve an application process. During the process all candidates will be interviewed to ensure they are suitable for the roles and to represent the school student community.
When applying to become a senior student leader all applicants will have to undertake a comprehensive application process which will involve a range of stages culminating in a formal interview with the Chair of Governors and Head Teacher.
Student Leader Expectations
Student Leaders are the school’s role models. Our Student Leaders need to be students who work hard to reach our school’s expectation of good behaviour and embrace Progress Every Lesson, 95% attendance, constant punctuality; you also need to be always in full and correct school uniform. As a student leader you will be required to wear your student leadership identification and complete at least one duty per week during the school day.
Training
Students Leaders are also expected to develop appropriate understanding, skills and attitudes of leadership and action during their term of leadership. All student leadership roles will involve training for students. Training will be delivered by the subject areas or area leads that oversee the range of roles. Subject Leaders are responsible for quality assuring the student training and will help develop the key skills required to fulfil each leadership role effectively.
Senior Student Leadership Team Training Programme
Training | Trainer |
Peer Mentoring | Deputy Head Teacher and Safeguarding Team |
Managing Teams | Student Leadership Lead |
Public Speaking | Vice Chair of Governors |
Event Planning | Chair of Governors |
Aspirations and Post-Willingdon | Head Teacher |
Work Life Balance and Wellbeing | Student Leadership Lead |