Our school council submitted an entry to the Speaker’s School Council Awards this year to promote our ‘Supportive Friends’ initiative. The main aim of Supportive Friends is as a support group for every student in the school, juniors and seniors. It is not a counselling service, but rather a listening ear, where girls support each other. The Supportive Friends scheme has been very successful and, after 8 years, it continues to thrive. Together, we have organised and run events for Anti-Bullying Week and Red Nose Day. All new girls who join our school are assigned a buddy from the team for a year. We have Supportive Friends on duty EVERY break time, patrolling the grounds, available to support and chat with anyone of any age. Supportive Friends attend training sessions after school where listening skills are explored and girls learn how to deal with different situations. Applicants have to apply for the position of Supportive Friend and are identifiable by a Friendship badge designed by our GCSE Art students.
Although we were not selected as one of this year’s overall winners, we were delighted for the opportunity to talk about our initiative and to take part in the Awards. To celebrate our students’ achievement, we were awarded this digital badge and the school council received a certificate.
