Meet the new head girl and head boy at Whitburn Church of England Academy

Whitburn Church of England Academy's new head girl, Abigail Milburn and head boy, Louie Scott.

Pupils Abigail Milburn, 15, and Louie Scott, 15, have taken on the roles following an election process in school.

As part of the school’s Democracy Day programme candidates had to convince their fellow pupils that they were suitable role models by presenting their case to pupils in Year 9 and Year 10.

Whitburn Church of England Academy head girl, Abigail Milburn and head boy Louie Scott with deputy head girl Luisa Gibson, deputy boy Will Gordon, chairman of governors Gene Mulley and Principal John Crowe.

Pupils then had to select up to eight candidates from the 23 applicants who they felt would represent all pupils within the school.

The school then held its annual head boy and head girl elections on Friday, June 21, with the voting process replicating the General Election experience.

Year 10 pupils were issued with voting slips, filling in their slips in a polling booth and putting the completed slips into the ballot box.

The Returning Officer was Suzanne Maughan who announced who had become head girl and boy and also announced the deputy head girl and boy as Luisa Gibson, 14, and William Gordon, 14.

Whitburn Church of England Academy have announced that student Abigail Milburn is the new head girl and student Louie Scott is the new head boy.
They are pictured with deputy head girl Luisa Gibson and deputy boy Will Gordon. — Whitburn Church of England Academy have announced that student Abigail Milburn is the new head girl and student Louie Scott is the new head boy. They are pictured with deputy head girl Luisa Gibson and deputy boy Will Gordon.

Gold and silver ties were then presented to the four students by the Principal, John Crowe, the chairman of governors, Jean Mulley, and the previous head boy and girl Carl Murta and Rebecca Cook.

Head of School Deborah Smith said: “The campaign speeches from all candidates were exceptional, with all showing great leadership potential.

“There was a real appetite for social action, with pledges to engage with a variety of projects, both within and beyond our school community.

“I am hopeful that all students involved gained valuable insight into the democratic process and appreciate how much their voices matter.”

During the election day Year 9 pupils took part in a range of environmental democracy-themed activities and Year 10 pupils took part in the launch of a new Careers Programme, Unifrog.

Following that they attended a careers fair and gained information on apprenticeships, employment and further education from more than 60 different organisations.

Year 12 students also attended a careers and higher education fair with universities, higher level apprenticeship and gap year providers in attendance.