Canterbury

Year 11 Leadership Day Reflection Article - Sarah Love, Year 11

Year 11 Leadership Day Reflection Article - Sarah Love, Year 11 - Becket House 6

Year 11 Leadership Day, held on Wednesday 20 October by the UPP team, was an incredible experience for me and my fellow peers.

The day was filled with many team-building activities, which not only helped with our leadership skills, but also allowed us to develop more connections with the rest of our cohort.

Through many of the activities we completed, we were able to learn more about ourselves and others around us, and mostly how to be a proficient leader.

The day had many highlights for us all, but for me, the best part about the day was getting to see everyone really come together, separate our differences and truly work as a team.

Getting to look around the room and see everyone getting involved and being included, truly showed the spirit and strength of our cohort as a whole.

We truly acted as one, united as a team, able to complete activities together, support and understand each other, while also having fun.

One of the key takeaways throughout the day included knowing that we don’t need to have a title or that labelled captain 'badge' to be a leader, as together, we are all a team that influences the younger grades.

In saying this, another important point we focused on was that we always have an influence on others around us, even those we don’t know.

We have learnt that no matter what we are doing, someone is always watching!

So we should always do our best to be the best version of ourselves, to then have the best impact on others.

Throughout the day, I really learnt a lot about my ability to be a leader without having a leadership position.

Not only I, but everyone was able to help out, suggest ideas and get involved - all while being comfortable and enjoying ourselves.

The ability to voice our opinions and ideas - without feeling judged or unheard - was something as a cohort that we did really well.

We will definitely make this prevalent within our next year as Year 12 leaders.

What I think is the most important takeaway - not only for us, but for the whole school, is that regardless of the age or goal, anyone can be a leader by simply doing your best.

It may not be easy, but you always have an impact on others around you and the ability to make others become the best version of themselves.

Coming into Year 12 in the next year, I think as a grade, we have become much closer and have created a great atmosphere for our final year together.

The UPP team really improved our abilities to come together and even went out of their way to say: “This is the kindest group we have ever worked with.”

- Sarah Love, Year 11 - Becket House 6

by Canterbury