The School Council

At Crypt listening and responding to “the pupil voice” is a very important part of our ethos. Not only do pupils deserve to be heard and consulted on issues concerning them but they also need to develop the skills of forming a point of view and putting it across in a reasoned and effective manner. The School Council in an integral and extremely effective focus for pupil voice at Crypt. Two representatives are elected from each tutor group on a yearly basis and their role is to put forward and discuss any issues concerning them and their peers. Meetings of the lower school and upper school councils take place once month with formal agendas and minutes, which are then submitted to the school’s senior management team for action. The School Council is also allocated its own budget which is has full control over.

The work of the School Council is wide-ranging and includes consultations on curriculum matters and building projects, planning whole school events and charity days, liaising with the wider community and looking after and enhancing the school environment. In recent years, effective lobbying by the School Council has seen the introduction of food technology onto the curriculum, a complete redesign of the pupils’ toilet block and currently plans are being drawn up, with fund raising events taking place, to improve the school’s outdoor quiet and play areas.

The role the School Council plays is a highly respected one and its representatives are frequently asked to join interview panels for new member of staff. Not only is it is a thoroughly rewarding experience for those pupils who get elected on to the Council, but its work also impacts significantly on the whole school community, making Crypt a place where its pupils can feel that their views are heard and that they can make a difference themselves.