Globeducate hosts annual student leadership summit at Stonar School

The annual Globeducate student leadership summit for students took place over three days, 4th-6th October, at Stonar School, England, and challenged the thinking and leadership styles of more than 50 students - in person and online. The event, led by Head of Sixth Form at Stonar School, Charlotte Bennett, proved very popular with the 28 students attending and more online.

Globeducate is one of the world's leading K12 education groups with 55+ bilingual and international schools in ten countries, educating 31,000 students. The group hosts a calendar of global events with the aim of providing unique experiences and of nurturing global perspectives. The calendar kicked off with this bespoke leadership summit.

Two head pupils, IBDP or A-Level students, from each K12 Globeducate school attended the residential event, coming from Canada, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and they were joined online by students from schools including The Indian Public School Coimbatore. It was a diverse, international group of students all working together in English and coming away with new understandings of themselves, skills and knowledge about how to become the best leaders possible, and with new friends and goals.

Students arrived at Stonar, checked in with their host families and had a welcome dinner in Bath. The first day was a full day of leadership workshop activities with Farren Drury MBE and Tony Reilly OBE, followed by a social with bingo and a quiz.

On the second day, students explored the Belbin leadership characteristics and worked on a group task before a lively session of Etiquette training to prepare them for networking and formal events in the future – some of these skills were put into practice at a formal dinner at the school. The final day saw some entertaining team-building activities involving blindfolded social sorting, plank puzzles and a great deal of laughter as students bonded over their different challenges.

The final day involved team presentations about iconic leaders to BBC journalist Lizzie Powell, who fed back on presentation skills before the group moved to an evening social.

Seyi, from Nigeria, Deputy Head Pupil at Stonar School, said: “The amazing speakers gave me a lot to reflect on and ideas to use in the future. I had been aware previously of different styles of leadership but I have a much clearer view of these styles now, and where I fit into them. The summit gave me a real sense of how important it is to reflect on other people’s experiences and ideas as well, and I really enjoyed hearing from students from other Globeducate schools. The three days really pushed me out of my comfort zone and it is really important to meet new people every so often – it puts you in a good mindset to get geared up for life beyond school. I am sure I will feel more confident now about working with others, pitching my ideas, and I will listen better to others – get more involved in what everyone is doing in a team, and how everyone can contribute. It has been a fantastic way to transition into the real world.”

Kit, an English student living in France, attending ISN Nice, said: “I know that being a leader is not an inherited trait and that there is always something new to learn – I wanted to improve my skills in this this area, in public speaking and I see how developing teamwork skills makes it so much easier to work with other people in a connected way – it is so important not to be an isolated leader. As an IB student I have been used to reflecting on my work and on my development, and believe it is so important to recognise the different types of leaders.

“What I am taking away is that I need to improve my directional skills, to be able to be the one to make difficult decisions. Working with the students at this event has been so rewarding – some faces are familiar from previous events I have taken part in, and I think perhaps that many students don’t realise what a closeknit community Globeducate schools share. With events like this, it’s an exciting experience and you can’t shield yourself from different perspectives – getting out of the classroom helps you learn to adapt.”

Lily, a Canadian student from Blyth Academy, Toronto, said: “This has really changed my point of view, even just being here in Europe. Up until now I have been very focused on my future but here, I feel I am able to focus on the present, make connections, make friends, and take new ideas back to Canada. Working in this summit has also made me think about the goals I want to achieve and that I should be looking to aim beyond these goals.

“The knowledge and connections I am coming away with from this summit will really help me at university and it has also been a leveller, showing me that there are so many smart people out there and that I will have to work smart and be prepared to face competition. I think I will have gained some edge from realising this at this point, before I apply to university.”