Leadership
At the heart of our school community are our student leaders. Representing our diverse student body and driving forward real change in the everyday life of our school, our student leaders are creative, versatile and enthusiastic. Opportunities to lead at Parrs Wood are varied and available to all.
Sports Leaders
Many of our younger pupils enjoy sports and some of our junior leaders develop this passion by leading activities with other pupils, both at Parrs Wood and at partner schools. The junior sports leaders have been called upon to facilitate and referee primary school tournaments, lead inter-form competitions, and visit other schools to coach their pupils in specific sports. Further up the school, there are opportunities to lead during the school’s sports day at the Etihad stadium, visit local primary schools to deliver assemblies to the pupils on the benefits of different sports, and become involved in city wide sports leadership.
Charity Champions
Pupils from across the school who are interested in leading projects to benefit others can do so by becoming Charity Champions. Organisations that have benefitted from this include Reuben’s retreat, a charity working to support the families of terminally ill children, and the Cash for Kids incentive Mission Christmas which looks to provide gifts for families from across Manchester.
Peer Mentors
Students who are interested in individual coaching can do so as part of our peer mentor scheme. This is open to all pupils from year 8 onwards who are keen to help others by passing on their skills, qualities and experience. Full training is given to each pupil before a partner is selected and the weekly meetings begin, with regular reviews held to check on progress. The scheme has been running for a number of years and has a proven track record of helping the children make better choices whilst building the confidence of our mentors.
Student Leadership Team
Student leaders in Year 11 have the opportunity to develop their own initiatives within specific areas of school life. The core groups are The Community team, The Teaching and Learning team, The Enrichment team and The Behaviour and Rewards team. Their role is to identify issues faced by our students and the school, then develop their own creative solutions to them. Working alongside them are other focussed teams including LEAF, who look at tackling local environmental problems, and The Transition team who help settle our newest pupils into the school. The Mental Health Ambassadors have developed resources and initiatives to raise the profile of mental health, launched anti-bullying campaigns, and worked with pupils to tackle exam stress.
Leadership in 6th Form
For a number of years, many of our 6th form students have taken a role in the CO2 team, a group dedicated to developing the sustainability of our school both in terms of energy and waste management. Together they have contributed to improvements in the school’s overall energy use by fitting more efficient lighting, streamlining our heating system, and fitting timer switches. They were instrumental in a project to reduce our carbon footprint by fitting solar panels to the roof of the school. They have also reduced the use of single-use plastics in the school, reduced the amount of water we waste, and improved our recycling capabilities.
