June 30, 2023 11:00am
We are on a mission to ensure every student's voice is heard and positive changes continue to be made. That’s the message of the new Head Boy and Head Girl at The Portsmouth Academy.
The school has chosen Danyar and Daisy to lead the Student Leadership Team and represent the opinions of every pupil as Head Boy and Head Girl.
"It feels amazing to be elected as Head Boy, and I am looking forward to serving the school in the year ahead,"says Danyar.
He said: "I’m really hoping to make some massive changes to the school and to continue to build on the positive reputation of the school today and into the future. Over the next year, my plan is to build a solid foundational voting system within the school where every student has a voice because, even though we as head students are representing them, it’s the pupils who are the ones learning every day, so they should have a voice."
Danyar has already identified areas within the school where students have made some recommendations about how it could be improved, so they are looking forward to working with the Senior Leadership Team, Student Voice, and the Student Leadership Team to implement these in September.
Following on from Danyar’s focus for the year, Daisy is keen to promote and celebrate diversity and inclusion within the school, saying: "As Head Girl, I would like to include more cultural celebrations within our calendar, focused on celebrating who we are as individuals at the school, which I believe is really important.
"More Eid parties, for example, or something like that. I also want to work towards a point where every student feels able to comfortably express themselves, whatever their background and belief."
Since being elected Head Girl for the 2023–2024 academic year, Daisy says she has more determination to deliver on her responsibilities and objectives.
She believes communication is key amongst the students and staff if there is an expectation to see ongoing positive change across the academy, saying: "I think to see the change we want to see, it's all about communication and having lots of meetings to discuss and implement change. If we're all keeping our ideas to ourselves, then it’s not like we’re going to be able to work together as a team and improve the school. I think having lots of meetings, making sure we communicate our ideas, whether good or bad, is really important for improving The Portsmouth Academy."
Danyar and Daisy will meet fortnightly with the academy’s Principal, Miss N. Sheppard, while presenting key points and requests from the school’s Student Leadership Team, which represents every young person.
Miss N. Sheppard congratulated the new Head Boy and Head Girl and welcomed the positive progress that’s to come. She said: "Firstly, I want to congratulate both Danyar and Daisy on their appointment as our new Head Boy and Head Girl. They are fantastic advocates of our wonderful school and reflect our values of Aspire, Achieve, and Respect exceptionally. It’s encouraging to see their drive, determination, and passion to work with their leadership team to continue to implement positive change across the school.
"At The Portsmouth Academy, we are focused on ensuring every young person leaves school knowing they have strived to be their best selves, and our new Student Leadership Team is a prime example of that. I look forward to meeting with them regularly to discuss the opinions of students in every year group around the positives of doing things the TPA way, as well as the recommendations to improve and positively move forward together."