King's Bruton Prefects keeping our school community strong, post lockdowns

Our new Prefects introduce themselves and tell us what they hope to give back to the School community...

Emily

When it was announced that I was this year’s Head of School, I felt immense pride to be representing the School I love so dearly, and I was excited at the prospect of being able to give back to a community that has given so much to me. It seems this year will again not be as straightforward as years past, however, with a Prefect team such as ours, I have full faith that the needs of individuals across the entire school will be met, due to our willingness and genuine want to help in our community, as, in a nutshell, that is what our role as Prefects is. This year to re-install and enhance the School’s unique community, I hope to develop the importance of recognising the differences in everyone, and that, as individuals, we require different needs and wants, but crucially that we can all enjoy school life together as a community without academic or social barriers.   

Kit

So far, I have very much enjoyed being Head of School, and I feel very grateful to have been given this role. I believe a Prefect has an important role within King’s. I endeavour to set a good example partly through setting the standard for a kind and supportive environment. Also, I want to help resolve issues at King’s by providing a beneficial link between the pupils and the staff. I will communicate concerns and issues that may arise among pupils to members of staff and try to offer solutions. Furthermore, I hope to bring about a greater sense of community at King’s, partly by emphasising the need for respect towards pupils, members of staff, school property and the town.

Charlotte

The process of becoming a Prefect for me was challenging and I had to think hard about why I thought that I would be ready for the role, and if I was prepared to help enable change. In becoming a Prefect, I hope to help bring the King’s community back together again and provide support for those that are still left uncertain about the difficulties from the past 2 years. I hope to also help enable a positive change in the attitudes of some pupils at Kings, providing reasons for why we should be kind and treat each other and everyone else with the equity and respect that each of us deserves.

Isaac

In my 4 years of experience at King's, I've seen some great sets of Prefects and Heads of School standout for many reasons, but first and foremost, I have seen their ability to lead by example and live by their own ethical and behavioural code. I believe that the group of Prefects I have found myself a part of will be great role models and help set a great example for the junior years to hopefully follow. Beyond this example, I hope we will be able to instil a solid set of values within the School. Equality, Community and Determination, all to me are ideas that every person within King's should always have in their minds: pushing for all people within King's to be treated with the same mutual respect, helping the individuals in our community to grow, and being determined to push ourselves over the next hill and accomplish more through hard work. I know that we have the ability to make King's an even better place this year. 

Javdat

Becoming a Prefect has been a real privilege to me as I have always seen School Prefects as someone who I look up to and can talk to. Throughout my years at King’s as an international student, I have seen the issues international pupils can face as they have to adapt to a totally new environment. I want to be the bridge between the international students and the new environment they live in, to make them feel comfortable and at home. One of my highlights so far as a Prefect, is helping the new pupils. I feel it’s vital that we as a community make the new pupils feel welcome. House Nights, House activities and bringing in dogs for petting for pupil wellbeing, helps new pupils integrate and immerse themselves into the King’s community.

Sophie

I have really enjoyed my position of Prefect. At first, I felt quite overwhelmed with holding such a responsible place in the School, however, I have quickly settled and got back into a satisfying routine. The first value at King’s that I hope to contribute to is the community situated around King’s life. Over the course of the three lockdowns, we as a group of Prefects feel that this has taken the most impact from not being at school. This has been caused by social distancing and bubbling being the main concern over the past year. However, with King’s back on track and school beginning to feel normal again, I hope that as a Prefect, I can contribute to re-building this lost community, and spread this idea throughout all years at King’s. This will allow the younger years of the School, to truly experience the great aspect that King’s Bruton holds. The second value that I hope to improve, is the respect throughout the School from 3^rd Form to Upper Sixth. This means not only respect for the School and teachers, but also for yourself and people around you, and works alongside the idea of a community. A strong community can be built if the respect for it is evenly distributed. These are the two main aspects that we hope to bring back to the School over our last year.

Dylan

It is an honour to be a School Prefect at King’s, and I am so happy that I have been given the opportunity to give back to the School community, as it has done so much for me. I hope to bring back the real sense of community that the School had before the pandemic, and the sense of togetherness that was lost during the pandemic, and to make King’s an even kinder and more welcoming place for all. I want to strive to make the School the best I possibly can, and to represent my fellow pupils in the best way possible, and I feel privileged to be given this school position. I have always admired the kind and confident atmosphere at King’s, and it is one of the reasons I applied to be a School Prefect. I will give my absolute best to maintain this throughout my final year at the School.

Lily

Initially, aspirations of becoming a Prefect, when I was lower down in the School, came mainly from a self-centred perspective; thinking about what I could get out of it. It wasn’t until the beginning of the L6^th Form that it began to change. I started to think about what I’d like to change or improve upon, which is when being a Prefect stopped being what it could do for me and became about what I could do for others and the School. Since Covid-19, school life has been turned on its head and we have lost the strong sense of community that I remember from when I was younger. I hope that my role as Prefect will contribute to bringing this back, so by the time I leave, King's will again be that close knit community we were before.

James

As Prefects, we are aiming to achieve two main things. Both respect and community as we believe these contribute to make the School both a happy place and a comfortable place for pupils to be. Respect means both looking after each other and the School. Community means having a supportive environment which is inclusive and accepting. We hope to bring these back, as we believe this is what the pandemic has affected the most. We will achieve this through school events and bringing back House events, we believe we can re-develop these two main things within our school. I personally hope to bring back, after the pandemic and the segregation of bubbles, inclusivity within our school no matter what the age or who you are.

Lulu

When I was in 3^rd Form, I remember looking up at the Upper Sixth Prefects and remembering how grown up they all looked. I knew that I was going to aspire to be one myself, so being given the position felt like a huge achievement. As School Prefects, our main aim is to focus on community and respect throughout the School. Due to Covid-19, we feel the sense of community that we used to have, has been slightly lost because of year group bubbles and spending so much time apart, so we are going to make an effort to bring it back! However for me, I want to try and make the School more environmentally friendly. As a school there is so much more we can do, and I hope to make this happen. Little steps can lead to big changes. If I can leave King's knowing that the School has improved its sustainably, it would feel like a huge goal achieved.

Felix

Becoming a Prefect at King’s has been a great privilege for me. I am a second generation Brutonian, so it is an honour to have the opportunity to play my role to help the School grow as it goes from strength to strength. As a School Prefect, it is my duty to be a representative of the school and also a representative of my peers. I hope to make myself someone who can be looked up to, as well as being welcoming and approachable and a fellow student who can guide pupils through their balance between school life and personal life, whilst being able to bridge the gap between pupils and senior leadership to ensure that every voice is heard.

Hannah

I have really enjoyed being a Prefect so far. The community at King's has always been positive and thriving. The separation of lockdowns has been hard, and it is really important that I, along with my fellow Prefects, support pupils at the School to make our community strong again. I will be happy to be a friendly face, to be approachable and to be able to help anyone with any problems they may have. I will also encourage younger pupils to take advantage of all the great opportunities available to them at school. King's is a small school and the wellbeing of our community is really important. I am glad to be a part of a great team of Prefects who see this as a priority.