The head boy and girl at Dunoon Grammar set a great example of how leadership is being strengthened at all levels across Argyll and Bute’s schools, when they chaired a meeting of the council’s Full Community Planning Partnership.
Before the meeting began, S6 pupils Rhonan Colquhoun and Lauren Keith spoke highly about their time at Dunoon Grammar and the work the school does to support pupils and integrate with the local community.
Lauren said: “Rhonan and I are both members of the school’s Senior Pupil Leadership Team (SPLT). The team is comprised of ourselves, the deputy heads, the heads and deputies of fifth year, and the house captains.
“We meet weekly to discuss any issues within the school and to plan any events or projects that are going on. The vision of Dunoon Grammar is to be a school at the heart of the community and this is something we as a school, and more specifically SPLT, strive to achieve. We try to get involved in things that are happening within the local community and this school year in particular we have had heavy involvement with two of the larger projects that are taking place – the Dunoon Project and the controversial Jim Crow Rock project.”
Lauren and Rhonan also recently attended a leadership weekend with some other members of the SPLT at the outward-bound centre in Fort William.
Not only did this provide the team with the opportunity to learn about being an effective leader, but also how to network, as the event was attended by pupil representatives from a number of secondary schools in Argyll and Bute.
Lauren said: “Following that weekend, we actually made a group chat with everyone who attended, where we have all spoken about our post school destinations and shared questions and concerns. I think this is so valuable because despite being from slightly different places each of us are really similar and all come across the same kind of challenges. It also means that we will potentially have a friendly face at the university or college that we go to that aren’t from our school.”
The pair then went on to talk about life growing up in Dunoon and what young people would like to see happening in the area in the future.
Rhonan said: “We have grown up in Dunoon and have enjoyed our time here. Our time in school has taught us a lot and supported us through everything we have done. It has given us access to loads of amazing opportunities and helped to prepare us for the future.
“Dunoon has so much potential and is ever growing; I view it as a great place to live, work and raise a family, not quite yet though. I have a dream that people will come from far and wide to visit our little town on a sunny day and, with exciting new projects on the horizon for Dunoon I hope my dream will come true.
“Just like anywhere there are things that can be improved however by listening to each other and having organisations such as the CPP and Dunoon Presents, who are working tremendously hard, things can only improve.”