Liam Gilroy | Sport Editor
The sixth year experience in St Andrews and St Brides should be a mixture of hard work, rewards and getting involved amongst the group of sixth years. We, as a school, have many ways of doing this, one of which being the Social Committee.
The S6 social committee is a relatively new initiative; as a school we have always had Prom Committee and Yearbook Committee for our sixth years to get involved but now we have realised that our year could truly benefit from this new idea.
Our year group really flourished and proved itself in 5th year, having achieved record breaking results across the board. So, as a reward for our efforts, we were given an opportunity for the first ever S5 Summer Party – even though staff inisited, we weren’t calling it a soirée…
Admittedly the teachers were sceptical about the idea at first, but after a quality night of music, dancing and laughter which brought every pupil together as a year group, the teachers concerns were certainly gone by the time they were on the dance floor!
Seeing what a success the dance was, it was agreed by pupils and teachers that there should be a Sixth year Social Committee. The Social Committee is made up of a group of committed sixth years and led by Head Boy, Jack Mitchell-Divers. Jack said:
“The purpose is very simple; the best way to bring a successful year group together is through time together, making memories that aren’t just out of textbooks or flash cards. It’s a priority to find opportunities for S6 to balance their studies, work and life – this is one of our ways of doing so.”
So far the social committee has led the organisation of the annual 1st and 6th year Halloween Disco which went down a storm, with a DJ, Photo Booth, Sweet stall and more.
Another highly anticipated event was the Pizza/Bowling night for the sixth years. A great night out was had by all, featuring some questionable bowling techniques and perhaps some poor proportioning of pizza (definitely not enough BBQ!).
Depute Head Mr Cresswell has always been the man for the job when it came to such committees and has always been at the forefront for the Prom and Yearbook Committee. When the idea for a Social Committee came up he jumped at the chance to be a part of it. When speaking to him, he stated:
“The social committee is tasked with finding opportunities in the school calendar where they can organise events for S6 to have some fun. The sixth years are able to develop a number of their skills as part of the social committee. These include working as part of a team, organisational skills, their ability to lead others, management of small tasks towards a larger goal and communication with their peers. All of these skills are essential in a work place and Universities are looking for applicants with these skills too.”
I finished by asking Mr Cresswell how successful he believed the social committee of being and what their future plans include and he revealed:
“The success of the social committee is determined by the quality of pupils representing it. I have been incredibly pleased with the determination of the committee so far. In the future their responsibility is to find a way of unwinding and relaxing after the prelims in February for the year.”
I, for one, am certainly excited to see what this wonderful committee can bring to the already thriving school community and I definitely think that the post-prelim treat will be very well deserved!
Overall, the Social Committee is just another wonderfully executed idea from the sixth year team, which has the goal of bringing the year group closer and introducing more fun and relaxing events for the sixth years to enjoy, once again showing this school’s fantastic ability to create more experiences and to make everyone’s last year as happy and stress free as it can be!
