St Ambrose College has developed a comprehensive approach to student voice and agency that goes beyond traditional student councils. Through targeted surveys, house systems, and genuine leadership opportunities, the school ensures students have meaningful input into their educational experience while developing their sense of ownership and responsibility for learning outcomes. Data from The Engagement Platform (TEP) reflects an engaged student body: average Headline Engagement scores are +1.9 above the national secondary benchmark of 6.0/10.

The school's approach to student voice is built around responsiveness to real issues. Rather than limiting consultation to termly meetings, St Ambrose conducts targeted surveys every three to six weeks on topics directly relevant to students' experiences. Assistant Principal Dan Sweeney explains their methodology:

"At the start of the year we focused on online safety… we did a survey with the staff, parents and students all around online safety and what areas they wanted support on, what they didn't feel confident in."

This demonstrates genuine commitment to acting on student feedback. The online safety survey led to bespoke assemblies for each year group, with external experts addressing students' identified priorities. The school applies this model to various topics, including formative assessment, and can then triangulate the responses with TEP data: for example, the question ‘If I study more, I get better marks’ has an average score of 8.1/10, +1.2 points higher than the national secondary benchmark for this question.  

"We’re getting feedback and actually seeing what they've enjoyed, then trying to roll it out and make sure it's more consistent across the school."

Student agency develops further through the house system, creating authentic leadership opportunities for Sixth Form students who have genuine responsibility for building community across year groups. Significant consideration is given to the roles and responsibilities to be allocated to these students based on their previous contributions to the school, their skill set and their aspirations. Dan describes the impact:

"We have the Sixth Form Heads of House and they will do assemblies going into each of the houses... and we have loads of in-house competitions again, rather than just the boys sticking with their form... to create relationships with other people from other year groups."

The school recognises that student voice needs multiple channels. An anonymous reporting system allows students to raise concerns confidentially, while form captains meet regularly with Heads of Year to discuss year-group specific issues. This creates targeted responses to particular cohorts' needs. Principal Dermot Rainey acknowledges that their approach differs from traditional models, particularly because of their 11-18 structure:

"Because we have got at least 30 senior prefects in the Sixth Form, they are the leaders and role models for the younger students. A lot goes through them. That's probably more contextual for us than having a traditional student council."

This recognition of context allows St Ambrose to place real leadership responsibility with mature students who can handle it effectively. The school emphasises personal responsibility for academic outcomes, helping students understand their agency in educational success and fostering intrinsic motivation. High TEP scores in Value of School and Agency show that the approach is effective: 70% of pupils are advocates for the statement ‘Learning at school is important’, with Agency questions such as ‘My marks are my responsibility’ scoring 8.4/10 (the benchmark score for this question is 7.4).

Student-led initiatives emerge naturally from this culture. Passionate about advocating for those on the margins, boys have independently written to political leaders, taken ownership of charitable causes, and created social justice projects. This demonstrates that when students feel genuinely heard and empowered, they develop confidence to take meaningful action beyond school walls.

St Ambrose shows that effective student voice requires multiple channels, genuine responsiveness, and recognition that different students contribute in different ways.

Key strategies:

• Conducted regular targeted surveys on specific issues with follow-up action plans

• Created authentic leadership roles through house system  

• Provided multiple channels for student voice including anonymous reporting systems

• Tailored student voice structures to school context  

• Emphasised student agency in learning outcomes to develop intrinsic motivation