Glengormley High School Website

School Council

Who Are The Representatives: Years 8-12 Year 13&14

The School Council system at Glengormley High School is an important aspect of school life which ensures that pupils have a say in exactly what matters to them the most.

The opportunity for interaction between pupils, teachers and other adults through the School Council has a positive impact on relationships, attainment and discipline.

High levels of pupil involvement and care help pupils feel better integrated and motivated.

The primary aim of the School Council is to improve the quality of school life.

The School Council is run by the pupils, together with Mr Patterson.

The council consists of ten representatives (two from each year group).

Elections for membership of the Full School Council take place early in the Autumn term of each academic year.

Do you want to be a ...Representative?

What is a rep?

Reps are elected by their form class to represent those people who elected them. They act as a link between their class and the full school council. Reps have to be willing and able to put forward other people's views even if they disagree with them.

What kind of person makes a good rep?

• Approachable
• Good listener - everyone in the class has to feel comfortable talking to you
• Organised - it will be your responsibility to make sure meetings happen in your class on a regular basis
• Assertive - the opinions of your class are just as important as everyone else's
• Efficient - class discussions must cover a lot of issues in a short space of time
• Fair - everyone has the right to express a point of view
• Good communicator - you need to be able to work with staff and students from across the school

So if I were a rep what would I actually have to do?

As a rep you have three main jobs:

• Collecting the views of your class and passing them on to other committees.
• Letting your class know what goes on in the meetings you attend.
• Taking an active part in meetings.

To do these jobs well you should have regular meetings with your class where you will listen to people's concerns and issues and note them down.

Remember that not everyone likes talking in meetings, so make sure you are approachable in other ways. Make it clear that people can talk to you at break times.

With your class you should decide which of these issues can be dealt with by the class itself, and which need to go to another committee (the year council or school council). It's then your job to talk to the year rep and get your class's concerns on the agenda.

You will then need to put forward your class's views at year council or whole school council meetings.

You are the link between the school/year council and your class so you need to let your class know what happened in the other meeting, any decisions that were made or questions that need to be asked.

It's particularly important to make sure you know what is happening to suggestions made by your class: it's your job to let them know that their ideas are being taken seriously.

You need to be prepared to go to meetings and make yourself heard, but also be willing to listen and discuss. Remember, you are there to represent all the different points of view that people in your class may have, so you need to spend time listening to your class and be flexible enough to put across a range of opinions.