On Friday 19th January 2024, Northern Education Trust Kirk Balk Academy hosted their Student President Inauguration Ceremony where guests gathered to celebrate the success of their six student president candidates.

The Academy was honoured to host dignitaries, such as the Deputy Mayor & Mayoress (Barnsley), Stephanie Peacock (MP) and Councillor Andrew Wray, along with the friends and family of each of the candidates. The ceremony included an opening speech from the principal, followed by speeches from each of the Student President candidates, and a concluding speech from the Executive Principal, before guests were invited to join staff and students for refreshments.

All students expressed their initial interest in Student Voice in September 2023, where they joined a group of 30 budding individuals, all keen to make a positive impact during their time at the Academy. The Student Voice is separated into five committees: Teaching & Learning, Hospitality, Community & Charity, Sustainability and Wellbeing & Safety. Students work within their committees to develop initiatives to improve the Academy experience for staff and students.

The students were then able to apply for the position of Student Voice President, and with approval from all members of the Student Committee, six candidates were successful in gaining the opportunity to design a personal manifesto and run in the Student Presidential election.

The campaign process began with each candidate developing their personal manifesto depicting their key interests and what impact they hope to have on the Academy experience. Candidates were given the opportunity to promote themselves and their campaign by hosting pop-ups, networking during social times, speaking to tutor groups and being offered the chance to deliver speeches to entire year groups.

Campaigning ended on Thursday 14th December when the Academy hosted an election, where the entire student body voted for a candidate whom they would like to become the next Student President.

This led to the wonderful Student President Inauguration Ceremony last week where we celebrated the success of all our candidates and formally announced our new Student President – Reuben D in Y7. The ceremony included a musical performance from one of our students followed by a reception where friends, families and dignitaries could celebrate the Student Voice Presidential nominees and winner.

The Academy is so proud of all our candidates, but we are especially proud of Reuben’s hard work, determination, and incredible courage throughout this process. We are certain that Reuben will be a fantastic Student President and we can’t wait to see what this year will bring for our Student Voice committee.

Executive Principal, Dean Buckley said: “The event was a wonderful occasion for all involved and was an opportunity to showcase the incredible efforts of our students. We are passionate at Kirk Balk about encouraging our students to work together and contribute to the success of our amazing academy.”