Student Council Minutes 30.9.2002

Present: Basheer, Clausen-Thue, Coffer, Espin, Furniss, Granger, Henniker, Marmot, Morante (6^th Form Forum), O’Boyle, Viita

Absent: Cordes, Fink, Habib, Gifford, Jouzy, Reizenstein, Thompson, Vandervolk, Zinkin

Debbie Baron

Will speak to the Council next week, to consider the successes and failures of the school architecturally, what we would like the school to look like in the long term (several decades), and to compare SPS with other schools.

Prefects

SPGS has a Head Girl and a team of about ten, chosen by a similar system to ours; they do the school functions, but not menial duties; they receive no rewards or perks.Haberdashers has a small number of prefects similar to our own.North London Collegiate has a small number of ‘prefects’ who help with things further down the school in lessons and for functions; their selection process is similar.Radley has both House and School Prefects (who wear mortar-boards); almost every student is made a prefect.Information for Dulwich, Latimer, Westminster, London Oratory, to come next week. We will be compiling a report as of next week

Tuck Shop Hours

It was felt unnecessary for the Tuck Shop to close at 2pm instead of 2.15. This will be looked into.

Games Half Times

The rule that games halves do not begin until after 2pm is not practiced. This disrupts other school activities, and the rule should be strictly enforced.

Dojo

The issue of ventilation in the Dojo will be raised with the Surmaster

Award Ties

The system for Award Ties is being abused, and should be more tightly enforced. The Council recommend a signed slip should be required to purchase a tie, and the current ownership of ties should be examined to prevent continued abuse..

Citizenship Committee

A draft report is being compiled. The Council feels strongly that Citizenship and PSHE are not taken seriously at SPS, and that to assume the information is somehow absorbed in other subjects is felt to be irresponsible and inefficient. The material taught in Citizenship, including ethics, religions, political systems and current affairs, accurate and unbiased information about sex, drugs, health, and the practicalities of travel, independent living, and modern life, is felt to be vital to a proper education, and St Paul’s has failed to recognise this. In the school timetable in the past it has been limited to the younger years and squeezed into too tight a schedule.

The Council feels that as part of the Curriculum Review, consideration should be given to the following important issues:

employing professional, trained staff to teach Citizenship and the related subjects above;

that it receive regular timetabled lessons given as much time, homework, and resources as other subjects (at least a double period every week throughout the year);

the subject be taught in all years, most importantly in the Eighth Form;

that neglecting Citizenship and related subjects has been an error in the past, and that much needs to be done to rectify the situation.

This will be discussed further next week, and a response submitted to the Citizenship Committee when the report has been seen.

Friday Tutors

It was suggested that those who were not taught periods 7 and 8 on Friday should be allowed to go home at lunchtime, and miss afternoon tutors. Tutors is a valued part of being at St Paul’s, and Lunch Break activities would suffer as a result of such a move. This may be discussed in the wider context of the tutorial system next week.