Senior School Student Leadership Programme

Student Leadership

In Senior School, guided by a teacher mentor, our student action groups are established to enable student voice and involvement in a range of key school issues. Students meet weekly to support the development of a range of projects including sport/CCAs, community projects, events and facilities development, technology, the environment and  gender equality. Our student council is the link between the student body, staff and the wider College community. As well as being leaders in the classroom, the student council members also have the opportunity to propose new initiatives which will improve life at DCSG from a student's perspective. The Senior School student House teams are led by House captains with the assistance of House representatives for each tutor group.

DCSG Changemakers

Vision  

We equip our students to be the changemakers of tomorrow by encouraging and developing their passion and leadership skills. DCSG changemakers engage in global issues and take informed action through projects.

Programme Aims  

Dulwich College (Singapore) students are incredibly knowledgeable, thoughtful and driven individuals, so our role is to provide them with training, tools and guidance which will enable them to have the greatest impact possible with their projects, both now and into the future. We do this by:  

• Offering a meaningful and collaborative programme that is project based and solutions focused 
• Developing students’ leadership skills through workshops and supporting the implementation of their own projects 
• Promoting student agency and providing a platform for their voices to be heard (Student Council) 
• Encouraging collaboration and focus on the process as of equal value to the final product, thus providing a safe environment for failure  

DCSG Changemakers

In 2021, student leaders chose this name for the student leadership programme at DCSG and Mana Yamazaki (a Year 10 student at the time) designed our logo.  

Timeline

Our programme runs by the calendar year. This allows students to settle into school for the first half term before considering a leadership role, means students can plan during lent and trinity terms and still deliver projects in the busy michaelmas term and also aligns to other Dulwich Colleges and High Schools around the world to enable collaborate across our family of schools. Students apply to the programme between October and December and begin their roles in January.  

Roles

DCSG Changemakers is made up of students with the following roles: 

Head Students – Chair Student Council, meet regularly with the Head of Senior School, work with other Student Leaders to drive positive impacts through project work. Areas of responsibility for our Head Students include chairing Student Council, leadership of academic Subject Leaders, driving community spirit through Houses and working with Community Action Groups to support the development and delivery of projects.  

• Upper Senior School (USS) Student Leaders – Lead projects through Community Action Groups or projects related to subject areas. Support peers and younger students to develop their leadership skills.  
• House Captains – Work with their Head of House and peers to lead house events, communicate about competitions and establish community spirit. 
• Middle Senior School (MSS) and Lower Senior School (LSS) Student Leaders – Take part in or lead projects related to global issues or areas of interest.  

Student Council Representatives

The 2023 programme will introduce more specific roles within Community Action Groups which will increase the number of leadership opportunities available to students and provide more personalised pathways for their areas of interest. For example, Marketing and Community Engagement roles which would have different offers from training and support. 

Student Council

Student Council offers students a meaningful forum for their voices to be heard on important issues to the school community, and this may feed into students’ own projects as well as decision making within the Senior School and College. Student Council is chaired by the Head Students and feedback is gathered by Student Council Representatives for each year group. These reps work with their peers to gather community voice and close the feedback loop by communicating what is being done with ideas and suggestions put forward. Agendas for Student Council may be decided upon by students or feedback may be requested from staff 

Global Citizenship  

The Student Leadership Programme supports students’ engagement with Global Citizenship at Dulwich College (Singapore). We believe that Student Leadership is an important way in which we can foster a proactive community of compassionate individuals who have the skills and motivation to make a positive difference in the world. Student will be encouraged to consider a project which aligns with one of the strands of Global Citizenship: fairness, environmental sustainability, wellbeing, intercultural understanding and diversity, equity and inclusion.

Leadership Training  

There are three pathways of student leadership training for lower, middle and supper senior school Student Leaders. Training is currently delivered by both teaching and non-teaching colleagues, as well as colleagues from EiM sharing their expertise.  

In Years 7 and 8 our lower Senior School students receive training around the theme of ‘Leading Self’ which focuses on:  

• Identifying their strengths and areas for development within the leadership competencies  
• Discovering organisation tools for better self-management
• Identifying effective strategies for wellbeing 
• Metting etiquette  
• Considering how to communicate with people across different contexts  
• Collaborating with others in Community Action Groups
• Taking on and completing actions to a timeline

From Year 9 to 11, middle Senior School students are encouraged to take on more responsibility within their project groups. They receive training around the theme of ‘Leading Others’ which focuses on:

• Evaluating their strengths and areas for development as a leader using the student leadership competencies; building on LSS programme and developing their self-awareness 
• Identifying the steps in developing and delivering a project 
• Beginning to lead a project or area of work in a Community Action Group   
• Considering how to get the best from their peers or team and have a positive influence on others  
• Developing resilience in the face of challenge and gaining the ability to see ‘failure’ as a learning opportunity 

Our Upper Senior School leaders receive additional support in the theme of ‘Leading Leaders’ which challenges them to think about:  

• Continuing to develop as a leader by working on their leadership competencies
• Driving forward a leadership project
• Developing a vision for their project team and using this to gain the support of peers and teachers 
• Considering the skills and experience of others when building a team
• Responding to feedback from members of staff and peers about their leadership performance
• Mentoring and/ or coaching younger peers in the project team
• Evaluating the success of a project to improve in the future or develop their leadership skills