At LEH International School Foshan, student leadership is one of the central strands of our student development and lies at the heart of our holistic education. We aim to prepare our students to be a confident, socially-minded leader – an independent thinker who collaborates with others, a grounded individual who aspires to make LEH Foshan a happy place to study, a thoughtful person who will both lead and care for our community.
Great things start small, and young. From Prep School, we already start to offer age-and-competency customed leadership programmes, for example, the student roles. In October 2022 LEH Foshan saw its Prep school students gain their badges for the prep school student roles, including Class Representative, House Captain, School Council Representative, Sports Ambassador and Eco Ambassador. The responsibility of these roles fits in with Prep school’s Philosophy on teaching and learning to aim to make learning exciting, fun, and motivating for all.
In this article, we invite Ms Mandy Bateman, Head of Prep School to further introduce about the student roles and explain the benefits of these roles.
Ms Bateman, Head of Prep School
Ms Mandy Bateman graduated from Cambridge University with a master's degree in SEN Education and has 25 years of experience as an educator and leader in both British and international schools in the UK, Portugal, and Egypt.
School Council Representative
We like our students to see learning as holistic and interwoven, which leads toward mastery and a deeper understanding of the world around them. The school council’s role will help the students to understand the wider world around them and take the thoughts of others into consideration.
School Council Representatives play a vital role in looking after our Prep School and everyone in it. They gather suggestions from the class and bring them to the school council meetings, as well as report ideas and problems of their peers and report back with feedback and solutions, contributing to the making of a safe and happy place for us all.
Eco and Sports Ambassador
We encourage students to be exactly who they are, whatever their current interests or future aspirations. They will benefit from the warmth, respect, and support of others around them as they stretch themselves to become their best, most confident selves. As Eco and Sports ambassadors, they will be able to explore their interests, whilst supporting others.
Eco Ambassadors are entrusted with the responsibilities for the promotion of looking after the school environment and our role in looking after the world. The ambassadors oversee the need to save energy in the class, will implement (with the support of their peers) ways in which they can reuse or recycle. They ensure waste is kept to a minimum and that electricity/water is used wisely.
Sports Ambassadors are positive role models in learning and playing sports in PE lessons and activities, as well as in engaging and inspiring their peers in sports. Opportunities are presented to them to run the Sports Clubs and develop their interpersonal skills and leadership.
We like students to have the freedom to experiment, express opinions, explore and take on new challenges. To be supported by strong role models and be inspired by their peers. To find the confidence and be able to acquire and build the skills they need to succeed throughout their lives. As class representatives, they will be able to become strong role models and inspire their peers.
Each class in school (Year 4-6) appoints their own Class Representative. They are model students who sets high standards with regard to behaviour and learning. They lead by example and can be relied upon to uphold the school values and ethos.
In addition to achieving academic success, we encourage students to commit to finding a deeper level of purpose that transforms into success. As house captains, and assistant house captains they will be able to support and mentor each student in the belief that they can achieve anything.
The House System is a unique element of British schools and it is set up to encourage a sense of community and personal growth through cooperation and healthy competition. House Captains lead and motivate all House members in an enthusiastic, proactive manner and organize their Houses’ participation in House Challenges, including the House Music Competition, House Drama and Sports Day.
As the Prep school grows so will the roles of responsibility, we are really looking forward to having the student’s voice running through the prep school. We will encourage the children to have high expectations and to contribute towards, reflect on and shape their role as learners - in addition to being responsible members of the school, the local and the wider community. Congratulations everyone, good luck and enjoy the new roles!
