Ash Manor School

Ash Manor Blog

SSLT blog

Hello everyone,

Thank you for having us as your SSLT for the 2025–2026 year. We are incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to be the best we could be for you all, and your support throughout this wonderful journey has been truly appreciated. We could not be more proud of everything we have achieved (of course, with help from all of you).

Before we get into things, we want to say a huge thank you to some very special people:

  • Ms Bailey: we want to thank you for trusting us to be a part of your school leadership team. We couldn’t have done this without your trust and support so thank you very much.
  • Mrs McGill: thank you for helping us with everything we have done; we have achieved so much under your guidance and we are truly grateful.
  • The Student Heads of Houses and the Tutor Reps: thank you for passing on messages and other bits of information to your tutor groups and houses: your hard work has been so amazing. 
  • Last year’s SSLT (although they probably won’t see this): you were such an inspiration to us and it has been an honour to develop your ideas and make them happen.

 

Summer School

As newly selected members of the SSLT, one of our first important responsibilities was helping during Summer School alongside other year 10 and year 11 students. This took place over the course of a week in the summer of 2025, when the next year 7s had the opportunity to settle into a new environment before the school year officially began. Our role was to support teachers and help guide the students and ensure they felt comfortable as they began their journey. Each of us was allocated to a different group, giving us the chance to demonstrate leadership, teamwork and responsibility while also helping to create a welcoming and positive atmosphere for the students. 

Throughout the week, we took part in a variety of activities with the students, ranging from simple classroom tasks to more exciting events such as the competition that took place on the final day. These activities helped the new students bond with each other and feel more familiar with their surroundings.

Helping during Summer School was also a very nostalgic experience for many of us. As our five years at Ash Manor are sadly coming to an end, it reminded us of our own first few days as Year 7 students, when the idea of being part of the SSLT would not even have crossed our minds.  Although not every member of the SSLT was able to attend and help during Summer School, we hope that those who did were able to leave a positive and lasting impression on the Class of 2030. Most importantly, we hope we helped them feel excited about starting their Ash Manor journey.

School House System

Our team created house mascots to build identity, pride, and friendly competition within the group. Each house introduced its own mascot, as a symbol that students could rally around during activities and events throughout the academic year. We also purchased cuddly toys and organised for crotchet club to personalise them in house colours. Look out for your mascot at House events!

At the same time, we increased the importance of the role of the Student Heads of House and our younger tutor representatives. Younger leaders were given real responsibilities, such as helping plan activities for Charity Week, supporting their peers, and representing their houses. This not only built their confidence and leadership skills but also meant that our actions as SSLT represented our whole student body, not just us.

Charities

Alongside these changes, the team made a strong commitment to supporting charity and community causes. Through fundraising efforts, such as food bank collections, all students were able to contribute positively to life outside the school. With fund-raising for Jamaica and our amazing Charity Week, these initiatives created a stronger sense of community, encouraged leadership development, and helped us make a meaningful impact for those who are not as fortunate as us.

  

Among all the charity events we have taken part in this year, our food bank drive has truly been one of the most meaningful and successful. It was incredibly inspiring to see so many students, families and members of our community come together with the shared goal of helping those in difficult circumstances. Throughout the drive, we received a range of generous donations from canned foods to everyday essentials.  With the help of the Student Heads of House, we sorted out the donations; seeing all the boxes steadily fill up was a reminder of the impact of simple acts. We are immensely grateful to everyone who donated, especially for our first collection where we donated 690 items, (and well done particularly to 7G2 for their contributions!)

Open Evenings

Similarly, we also played an important role in helping the school during Open Evening and Options Evening. We welcomed students and their families in main reception providing them with information booklets. Having a stand was also a great opportunity for us to represent the school and share our own experiences and values as SSLT which helped visitors feel more excited and confident about potentially joining the community. It allowed us to answer any questions about school life and help people feel comfortable as they explored. Most importantly, it let us show off our new house mascots!!

Remembrance Parade

Just Before Christmas, the Head Boy and Girl attended the annual Remembrance Parade at Ash Vale Community Centre; it was a day full of kindness and the utmost respect. The parade commemorated those lost in the wars, something that the cadets and out local community take a great deal of pride in. We walked alongside Ms Bailey and the Chair of Governors, Major Callow, to show the importance of Ash Manor’s response to Remembrance Day. Our outstanding CCF, both army and navy, marched amazingly behind, making the service come together as one. It was a day of courage and reflection which was perfectly executed.

Culture Day

As the SSLT, we are incredibly proud of what we have achieved this year, especially the organisation of our Culture Day. Through this event, we brought students together to celebrate diversity and learn about different traditions from around the world. Activities such as cultural dance performances, sushi making, calligraphy writing and interactive workshops allowed many to experience and appreciate cultures in a fun and meaningful way. Seeing so many students participate and enjoy the day made all the hard work worthwhile. As we prepare to leave, we feel both proud and sad — proud of the positive impact we have made and the events we helped create but upset to be saying goodbye to a school community that has meant so much to us.

Environment

One of our aims as SSLT this year, was to help improve the school environmentally and become more eco-friendly. At the beginning of the year, you may have noticed the red bins appearing around the school. We implemented this so we could encourage recycling our plastic bottles so we don’t waste so much plastic! We also ran a competition to make a litter poster that you will see in every classroom, one of your brilliant peers designed this and we think it’s amazing!


On the new building that is in progress at the front of the school, there will be solar panels on the roof (once it’s finished). We were so happy that this idea was taken forward as now the school can be more energy efficient and sustainable for the future!

After hearing about this news that there are some members of the Ash Parish community who unfortunately, were harming wildlife on the local canals, we agreed to make an assembly for the entire school to ensure everyone was aware of the situation. We shared how to report anything to the police and how we, as Senior Students, felt this behaviour was unacceptable. 

You may also have noticed that we planted some new sapling trees outside the performing arts block; our hard work and effort will truly pay off in the future when these grow into full sized trees, full of wildlife.

Thank you again for supporting us along the way. We will miss being your Senior Students and couldn’t have done it without you!

Good luck to the new SSLT! Remember, we’re only a message away if you need us!

Thank you again.

Chloe, Josh, Oli, Jeeyaa, Aasha, Addison, Lottie and Sabelle

Your 2025-2026 SSLT

 

Previous Blogs - 2025/26

PD Day 3 - March 2026
Silver DofE Assessed Expedition - March 2026
Humanities Blog - March 2026
Maths Blog - Feb 2026
PD Day 2 - Jan 2026 
Geography Fieldwork - Dec 2025
Culture Day - Nov 2025
Library Blog - Nov 2025
MFL Blog - Nov 2025
Personal Development Day - Oct 2025
Silver DofE Training Expedition - Oct 2025 
English Blog - Sept 25

    

Academic Year 2024/2025

 



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