A quintessential aspect of every British curriculum school is the Student Leadership Team – sixth formers, with all the badges and responsibility that comes with helping teachers run many programmes. However, even though we see everyone running about school (probably stressed out of their minds) to organise all the fun events and clubs we get to participate in, not a lot of people know exactly what goes into being a part of the Student Leadership Team.
So there I was, after far too many staircases and missed meetings, in the Sixth Form Common Room (or the Cube, to be more precise), sent on behalf of The Print to interview NES’s 2023-2024 Head Boy and Girl, Anirudh Manoj and Judy Hegazy, and find out!
- What are the differences between a day in the life of a student and a Head Girl/Boy student? What extra responsibilities appear most day to day?
Anirudh: So, I’d say my day is probably very similar to a day in the life of a student, it’s more you have a lot of meetings with Mr Smith discussing different decisions. So, right now, this year would probably mostly be tailored to Student Voice : how we’re restructuring them, who are the members that are going to be involved, how they’re going to be involved, who’s going to look over them, those kinds of things. Otherwise, it’s pretty much the same old day of a normal student
Judy: I feel like every day for Head Boy and Head Girl is quite different. We’re always running around doing different things, but for the past couple of weeks we have been
working on getting Student Voice up and running, so we’re working with Heads of Year, and Ms Toohey and Mr Smith to set that up and basically get it up and running. We’ve formed new committees, and we’re excited to work on that!
- What helped your head boy/girl application stand out, and what are your top tips for people who are looking to apply once they’re in Year 13?
Judy: I think the fact that I was on the Student Leadership team last year as Head of the Peer to Peer programme helped me stand out, because it showed that I was already able to take on responsibility. For anyone thinking of applying next year, I feel like you really have to be involved in a lot of things. I was involved in many many aspects of this school – I think I’ve done almost every club and extracurricular – so just being really involved, knowing that, yes, you have to be very well rounded.
Anirudh: I think my application was very in depth, I spoke about a lot of my ideas and things I do want to implement throughout the year, but obviously, right now my focus is Student Voice, as that’s kind of what the school wants. I think it’s just the depth of how I presented my ideas, and I think the most important thing was not necessarily my application, but more my interview. I think my interview was probably one of the more important deciding factors, and I think anyone who is applying should make sure that if you get to the stage of the interview, to do well in that, because 90% of the time that is going to be the deciding factor.
- In 4 phrases, can you summarise the qualities that make you both suited for Head Girl/Boy?
Anirudh: Determined, being able to work in a team , leadership and persistence, and I’d say grit – as a lot of things aren’t going to go your way.
Judy: Approachable, responsible, determined, and compassionate.
- When did you join NES, and what are your favourite NES memories?
Judy: I joined NES in Year 2 so I’ve been here for a very, very long time. My favourite NES memory? I don’t think I can pinpoint it to one thing, but I love my sixth form experience. Last year was amazing and this year is really really nice as well.
Anirudh: I joined NES when i was in Year 9, and my favourite memories would probably be from last year, the INJAZ program, where we had a presentation, just having the teacher there and all of us as a group kind of seeing our hard work pay off. That was probably my favourite memory.
- What are you both most excited to bring to NES during your tenure as Head Boy and Girl? Are there any specific projects/ideas you are planning on working to implement in the school?
Anirudh: I think this year, after the way things have gone, it’s probably making sure that Student Voice actually does something this year. So, not only do we have a structure in place for the years to come, but also once we do have that structure that things actually happen, and by the end of the year when I graduate something has actually changed and that we’ve actually made a positive impact on this school.
Judy: I talked a little bit about Student Voice before, but it’s really one of our main projects this year, restructuring it and making sure that it’s something that the next Head Boy and Head Girl can easily pick up on next year. I’m really excited to work with Sirine, she’s head of the Social Committee, we’re raising money and funds for Palestine so obviously, that was not something that I expected to be doing, but I’m really happy working on that.
- What subjects have you both taken and where have you applied for university (and what course)?
Judy: Right now, I’m doing A Level Biology Chemistry and Maths, and I picked up AS Physics this year. I’m applying to Medicine, but I also have a backup plan for Medical Engineering, hence the AS Physics.
Anirudh: I do Econ, Maths, and History. I am applying for Business in the UK, US and Canada.
