New Head Boy Team Announced

Congratulations to James O’Sullivan who has been announced as the new Head Boy, and Edward Pope and Marcus Baldwin who are the new Deputy Head Boys. The Head Boy team are representatives for the whole school and have the important task of leading the student voice, as well as organising a variety of events. We spoke with the boys following the announcement.

James O’Sullivan – Head Boy

Q: Congratulations on becoming the new Head Boy, how does it feel?
James: Thank you! I’m delighted to have been appointed as Head Boy, and I’m really looking forward to having a positive impact on school life. I have looked up to all the Head Boys during my time at Merchants and I have tried my hardest to meet the high standards that they set, so to be appointed to the role was a tremendous honour for me.

Q: What do you hope to achieve during your time as Head Boy?
James: One of my main goals for next year is to create more opportunities for the different year groups to interact with each other. I feel that the younger years can learn so much from the older boys and, whether it be through Sixth formers helping at form periods, clinics or sport sessions, I would like to encourage a lot more interaction between the year groups. Through this I hope to inspire the younger boys in the same way previous Head Boys have inspired me.

Q: How are you finding working from home at the present time?
James: I’ve got to admit that it did take me a while to get used to such a big change. To start with I found it difficult to distinguish between the weekdays and the weekends. However now I have managed to get myself into a good routine where I am able to get all my school work done whilst also having lots of spare time, most of which I have filled with garden rugby. I’d say the hardest thing for me has been not being able to see my friends, so I’m really looking forward to getting back to school as soon as possible !

Q: Do you have any tips for other students?
James: I’ve found that sticking to my normal school timetable has helped me with my productivity and has meant that I stay on top of all my work and tasks for the week. Another tip I would give to the boys is, at the start of the day, write a list of all the things you want to achieve on that day and then assign them a time slot. I find I’m much more likely to get it all done if I write it down, it’s like a little commitment to yourself.

Q: For those who may want to follow in your footsteps and become Head Boy one day, what advice would you offer?
James: My main piece of advice would be to say yes more than you say no. This school offers such a wide range of activities and when you join the school you won’t know what you like and what you’re good at unless you give it a try. This will not only push you out of your comfort zone, but you will be able to pick up little bits of knowledge from all the activities which will be an enormous help as you grow up, not to mention all the friends you will make along the way! And lastly, I’d say whatever you find yourself doing here at Merchants, give it your all, because you don’t want to have any regrets when you look back at your time here.

Edward Pope – Deputy Head Boy

Q: Congratulations on becoming the new Deputy Head Boy, how does it feel?
Edward: Thanks very much! I feel very proud to be able to represent Merchants and I’m really excited at the opportunity to make a positive contribution and give something back to our school in my new role.

Q: What do you hope to achieve during your time as Deputy Head Boy?
Edward: I hope to encourage more communication between the different year groups at our school, and help ensure that everyone has access to support if they need it so that their time at school is as beneficial as possible. I also hope to create an environment where others feel encouraged to come forward with their suggestions to improve the school.

Q: How are you finding working from home at the present time?
Edward: It’s definitely something different and unexpected and I’m trying to make of the most of the current situation. For example, it’s given me the opportunity to dedicate more time to thinking about my future plans and do some research into universities. However, I’m still looking forward to returning to school!

Q: Do you have any tips for other students?
Edward: I would just advise that you try and stick to a timetable, as if you were in school, so you know what you should be studying, and when, as well as making sure that that you’re spending enough time on each subject, so you keep on track with your work.

Q: For those who may want to follow in your footsteps and become Deputy Head Boy one day, what advice would you offer?
Edward:Take as many opportunities as you can and get involved in all aspects of school life whether it’s sport, music, drama or any other kind of activity. No matter whether you want to be one of the head or deputy head boys, this’ll help you really enjoy your time at school and make the most of it.

The following boys have been chosen to be Prefects for 2020-21:

Marcus Baldwin
Alex Day
Vandam Dinh
Huw Evans
Ben Falconer
Charles Farrar
Seb Keegan
Lucas McAdam
Ben Maitland-Titterton
James Moores-Pearce
Daniel Naguib
Roshan Naidoo
James O’Sullivan
Edward Pope
Shripad Pullagura
Samuel Roughley
Oliver Spencer
Cameron Stokoe
Luke Suarez