Student Council Minutes 25/11/2002

Present: Clausen-Thue, Coffer, Cordes, Espin, Fink, Furniss, Granger, Jouzy, Marmot, Morante (6^th Form Forum), Reizenstein, Thompson, Vandervolk, Viita, Zinkin, BJOK

Absent: Basheer, Gifford, Henniker, O’Boyle, JMcL

Absences

The Council was glad to observe that attendance at the meetings has been good. There have been no persistent problems, and absences seem to have been mostly through illness or religious observance.

Citizenship Committee

The Committee is compiling a final document, and asked for the input of the Council. The main issues are the views of the current 4^th, 5^th and 6^th forms on the provision, and suggestions for improvement and change. Information will be gathered informally and the results of this will be delivered at the next Committee meeting.

Catering

There have been several requests for ‘Bangers and Mash’ to be provided more often for lunch. There was also a complaint about the presence of mint and ginger in the fruit salad. These will be passed to the Catering Committee.

Atrium Newspapers

A request was made for a change in the papers supplied in the atrium, including the Daily Mail. It was also pointed out that many of the papers either went missing or were defaced. The Council reminds boys that the atrium newspapers are for the benefit of all students, and the privilege should not be abused; newspapers are available in the Walker Library, though the Daily Mail is not supplied there.

609 Bus

There have been several problems with the 609 Bus service from Hammersmith; difficulties have arisen in previous years and been resolved. It has been claimed that pupils of the Harrodian School have priority on this service, and there have been several incidents of conflict on this issue. The 609 is a public bus, and Paulines are entitled to use it; however, there have been complaints that Paulines are waiting at Hammersmith for the 609 rather than using other services, and preventing others from using it. It was noted that the 609 would probably not exist if it were not for the Harrodian, and their right to use it should be respected. It is understood that the Surmaster and others are in negotiation with London Transport and the Harrodian to resolve this issue.

Fitness Centre

Theoretically the newly refurbished Fitness Centre is supervised every morning from 7.40am until 8.30. However, it is not always supervised at these times, and some have therefore been unable to use the equipment. The Council’s recommendation is that a schedule be put up, where boys would be able to sign up if they wish to use the Centre in the mornings. It was also argued that the centre was very crowded in lunch breaks, and that either the Centre should be open to all on Tuesdays and Thursdays, or that some times after school be supervised. Aaron Espin will speak to Mr Kelly and Mr Jaine. The request for a Punch Bag in the gym or fitness centre will also be followed up.

Prefects