Leadership Day
80 prefects from other City of London schools visited City of London School for Girls (CLSG) for a Leadership Day organised by the Head of Sixth Form.
They were involved in workshops with a team of inspirational speakers, in which they discussed leadership qualities and the importance of voice and presence. The students then took part in an energetic and highly competitive Apprentice/Treasure Hunt style activity around the city.
Aims
1. To develop the leadership skills of school leaders or potential school leaders via a number of workshop activities relating to presence and communication, and consideration of what makes an effective leader. The students then had the opportunity to put these skills into practice during the treasure hunt around the City.
2. To provide students with the opportunity to meet and work with fellow students from a range of different backgrounds.
Background
This is an annual event, established by the Head Sixth Form at CLSG.
A number of years ago, CLSG invited the prefects from CLS and CLFS to work with the Senior Committee at CLSG and for half a day, in order to improve their leadership skills, and to share good practice and initiatives in relation to their plans for their year in office.
About five years ago, with the support of the Corporation of London, CLSG extended the invitation to the prefects/potential leaders of the schools listed above, and developed a full day of activities.
Resources
We employ five external coaches (actors and corporate trainers) to lead each of the five, mixed-school groups throughout the day. We have been fortunate enough to receive financial support from the Corporation of London.
We use the school's Lecture Theatre and four of the school's classrooms for the day. CLSG provides morning refreshments
The Head of Sixth Form and Assistant Head of Sixth Form at CLSG oversee the day.
Each visiting school is led by an accompanying member of staff. A work space and lunch are provided for these teachers during the day.
Impact
We regularly seek feedback from the day's participants and their lead teachers. The feedback points to students' confidence, leadership skills, interpersonal skills all benefiting hugely from the experience:
"Our students really loved the day - I've had some good feedback, several said that being in groups with others really forced them to come out of their comfort zones."
"Thank you for all your work to make Thursday such an enjoyable and productive day for our students. Year 12 report being made to feel very welcome, and personally I think the opportunity to interact with students from other schools has helped their confidence. They certainly are starting to look more like leaders! I'm really grateful that we had the opportunity to participate - thank you once more."
"Thank you very much for organising the Leadership Day today; it was a very enjoyable event. Right from the workshops in the morning to the Treasure Hunt at the end, it was a brilliant opportunity to learn more about ourselves, ponder issues surrounding leadership that we would never otherwise have thought about and make new friends too. We would certainly recommend it continuing for future year groups id possible."
"Our boys have just come back buzzing from the day and said it was one of the best things they have done during their schooling here - so thank you! Clearly a great day!"
"Our students were very positive about the Leadership Day last week and enjoyed the experience. Thank you. I am definitely interested in bringing a group next year, please add me to your list."
"My thanks to you and all at CLSG. As ever, a thoroughly enjoyable day. See you next year"
Pupil Involvement
Year 12 - approximately 16 student leaders from each of the six schools.
Frequency
Given the large amount of positive feedback, we plan to continue to run the day annually.