In response to what has happened in the local and national political arena, we have held mock elections in school involving students from different age groups putting themselves forward as candidates from the main political parties. They developed their speeches, produced campaign posters and went to the hustings as debate and discussion raged across the school. Voting days were exciting and our turnout was higher than the national.

Every year we hold elections to the positions on Student Council. This is our democratic group tasked with raising and debating issues which matter to the student body. Topics have included cyber bullying, mental health and appointment of the headteacher.

We have strong student voice in school with the appointment of student leaders. They help the school run smoothly, assist younger students, sit on interview panels and attend meetings. They champion mental health, fundraising to benefit others & contribute to the eco agenda. Students are also involved with promoting diversity within school along with one of the key school values of respect.

In school we all follow our behaviour policy and code of conduct. We know it is important to have a school where people feel safe and looked after and we all play our part in this. We have esafety policies which we follow and school has an internet filtering system which means that we are safe online.

We have used the Safer Schools Partnership to give training to all staff on the Prevent agenda. We also have safeguarding policies in place to help protect everyone in our community. Students knoiw which teachers to go to if they are concerned about anyone’s safety.

The ethos of our school is one where every person feels valued and accepted for who they are. We are proud of our Spectrum group and the fact that we allow people to be different and pursue their own interests. We have a whole range of extra-curricular activities, some of which cater for minority interests such as the Dr Who club. Students do a lot of debating in the 6th form which allows them to become skilled in putting forward their views and listening to others.

We contribute to our community in many ways. We are very involved in charity work and even during the pandemic have raised thousands of pounds for local charities such as Ravenscliffe Special School and St Augustine’s Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers and the local food bank – Ebenezer.

We do lots of voluntary work in our local community either via the Duke of Edinburgh scheme or individually. More recently we have been involved with The Friends of Lister Lane Cemetery, Halifax Almshouses and Ravenscliffe Special School.

In RS lessons students learn about different world religions to give them a much better understanding of what people believe. We visit all types of places of worship such as a Christian church, a Buddhist temple and a mosque. Students also understand that some people choose to not follow a religion. Through our assembly themes and tutorial group challenges, we highlight important festival/worship days which different religions celebrate. We also try to recognise faith events in a secular fashion so all can be included, examples include our Christmas lunch and different food menus during other faith festivals.  In school, we have a dedicated quiet space where people can go to pray or reflect. We have student leaders whose remit is to focus on diversity; this is a large and vibrant group. Recently, we held a whole school diversity day which included music, guest speakers, foods and dress examples.  We have a number of cultural dress non uniform days were students can wear and display cultural and heritage clothes.  Our school values are intertwined with respect for all cultures, races, identities and backgrounds.