Prefecting Policy

November 2023

Prefecting

Pupil Leadership

The College places great store by the positive relationship between senior and junior boys and

regards it as a crucial element of the strong pastoral care at the heart of the school. It is vital

that the 6.2 year lead by example in order to maintain this relationship. The following outlines

the structure within which leadership is exercised in the 6.2 year.

1. It is expected that all members of 6.2 set an example of leadership to other year-groups

throughout College life.

2. All boys in 6.2 will be expected to have duty responsibilities in Social. These will be defined

by the Tutor.

3. The Warden, in consultation with the Sub-Warden and Tutors will appoint a Senior Prefect,

a Second Prefect, a lead Academic Prefect and a lead Co-Curricular Prefect as the four most

senior positions of responsibility in the College. This group is commonly referred to as the

Senior Four.

4. The Tutor, in consultation with the Warden and Sub-Warden, will appoint a boy as Head and

Deputy Head of each Social

5. Each Tutor has the right to appoint additional positions of responsibility within the Social as

they see fit.

6. The eleven Heads of Social, alongside the Senior Four, will automatically be 'Pups' and form

the key leadership team amongst the boys, taking responsibility for day-to-day College life

and pastoral issues both in and beyond Socials. Pups are answerable to the Sub-Warden and

Warden.

7. In addition to the Pups, ten College Prefects will be appointed. These will be appointed on

merit and not by allocation per Social. Deputy Heads of Social will be eligible for these roles.

8. College Prefects will split into two groups of six, under the leadership of the Academic

Prefect and the Co-Curricular Prefect.

9. College Prefects (Academic) will be expected to model and exercise academic leadership

across College life. They will be answerable to the Academic Director and the Warden.

10. College Prefects (Co-Curricular) will be expected to model and exercise leadership across all

areas of College activity. Each group of six will include representation of major sports, minor

sports, music, art, drama, charities, CCF, and student journalism. They will be answerable to

the Senior Master (Extra-Curricular) and the Warden.

11. Role descriptions for each of the above roles are available.

12. 6.1 boys will be briefed by the Sub-Warden in the early part of the Summer Term. All boys

interested in any of the above roles will be asked to submit a general letter of application

and CV. These will be taken into consideration as appointments are made.

13. In addition to the above, there are many other positions of responsibility (societies, sports

teams, musical groups etc), each of which will be appointed by the dons in charge of the

said activity.

No leadership structure should be allowed to detract from the fact that it is character and values,

rather than status, that shape ethos and that we have high expectations and equal regard for the

importance of each member of the 6.2 year.

Structure of Senior Leadership

Senior Prefect

Second Prefect, Academic Prefect and Co-Curricular Prefect

Heads of Social (Pups) (11)

College Prefects Academic (5)

College Prefects Co-Curricular (5)

Social Prefects

Application Process

It is hoped that all boys will wish to be considered for a leadership role in their final year. Boys

in 6.1 will apply in writing to Warden for a senior leadership position (Head of School, Second

Prefect, Head of Social and College Prefect), submitting their letter via their Tutor. Boys will

make clear in their letter of application the qualities, skills and experience they have to support

the application: boys are free to express an interest in particular role if they so wish. Social

Prefects will be appointed by the Tutor and are not required to write a letter of application. The

Warden will shortlist his candidates for Senior, Second Prefect and liaise with Tutors regarding

Heads of Social. The Warden, Sub-Warden and outgoing Senior and Second Prefect will interview

candidates for Senior and Second Prefect. Tutors may decide to interview their shortlist

candidates for Head of Social. The Academic Director and Co-Curricular Director will then

consider candidates for the College Prefect roles, in consultation with Tutors and other interested

parties.

Following the appointment of College Prefects, Tutors will appoint 6.2 members of Social to

appropriate positions of responsibility according to individual needs. The expectation is that all

members of 6.2 will make a leadership contribution at some level, unless their disciplinary record

shows them to be unsuitable.

Summer Term dates for application process:

Sunday, Week 3, Job descriptions circulated and applications open.

Sunday, Week 5, Applications close.

Sunday, Week 9, College appointments announced.

Sunday, Week 10, Social appointments announced.

Recognition

The Pups and College Prefects will be recognised through their exemplary conduct and the

example they set to others. The visibility of senior leaders is achieved through:

• The example they set in the way duties are performed around College.

• Stage seating in Warden’s assemblies.

• Host visiting speakers and College guests.

• Prefects’ jumpers or waistcoats may be worn.

Pups’ Duties

Duties within the Social are decided by the Tutors and may vary from one Social to the next.

These notes are intended to offer advice on the wider role in College and when a Social is on

duty in College situations.

1. Chapel

a. It is important that there are Pups in Chapel at the beginning of weekday services to

ensure a reasonable level of behaviour. Always take action if anyone is misbehaving and

make the prefects in your Social aware of their role in Chapel. Obviously, your own

example in Chapel is extremely important.

b. Pups who are at Radley at the weekend should help in the 10.00 a.m. service. This may

involve showing parents and visitors to their seats, encouraging boys to sit in the main

body of the Chapel, ensuring quiet and directing traffic during Communion (so that

people are not obscuring the choir's view of the conductor during the singing at this

time) and monitoring people leaving Chapel at the end of the service.

c. Reading the lesson.

2. Hall

Pup and College Prefects are expected to act at once on any form of misbehaviour in Hall. It may

be difficult for a Social Prefect to take action with boys from another Social but Pups and College

Prefects should act at once. As with Chapel, it is very much up to the Pups to establish the right

atmosphere and model appropriate behaviour in Hall. You need to be particularly vigilant when

your Social is on duty.

Pups are responsible for the supervision of queueing at lunch and in the winter months it is

important that you get to your queue-supervision duty in good time.

3. College Activities

Pups should be seen to be setting an example in supporting College activities. An obvious

example is Music.

Prefects are not expected you to go to every college event, but should aim to support members

of their Social whenever possible.

Notes

1. Your primary function is that of a role model. Your behaviour, actions and approach

should be a personification of the pupil Code of Conduct.

2. An important part of your position will be introducing new prefects in the Social to their

roles. Be aware that apart from their duties in the Social prefects have a role around

College. They will receive training from the Pastoral Team, but any support that you can

give will also be very useful.

3. Over the year it will be your job to see that prefects in your Social are up to the mark.

You should also be ready to act if prefects in other Socials are being a nuisance.

4. Individual duties (Chairs, Hall, Shop, etc.). If an adult is involved get to know them as

quickly as possible. Always get things done in plenty of time. This is easy enough early

in the term/year, but gets more difficult later on.

5. Much in the end comes down to a Pup being prepared to use his initiative. There are a

lot of situations that won't necessarily become much worse if a Pup doesn't act, but which

will improve things considerably if he does. Here are some random areas:

a. keeping an eye on the entrances to Hall during duty-week and sending someone

to clear it up when messy.

b. being aware who your smokers are and where they are smoking. Liaise closely

with your Tutor.

c. keeping in mind people with punishments to do and at the same time seeing

areas of College that need tidying etc.

6. You are very much the lynch-pin between boys and adults in the community. In this

position you can often ease the smooth running of the school.

7. The attitude which you adopt at the beginning of your time as a Pup is crucial. If you are

slack you will quickly lose respect, and you will become inefficient. On the same note,

you are very much a role-model, and you will find that your own behaviour will be

reflected in the attitude of those around you, and especially in Social.

8. Relationships with prefects in Social are very important. Try to strike a happy medium.

There is bound to be disagreement over certain issues, so establish your own rules first -

make sure that everyone knows where they stand with you. Have regular meetings with

your prefects (sometimes just you and them): this will keep morale high and make

prefects feel as if they are completely involved.

9. It is important that you feel able to seek advice from adults in the community. Obviously

this will usually be your Tutor but try also to communicate regularly with Form Masters,

Pastoral Housemistresses, Sub-Tutors etc.

10. It is important to support each other. Even if you don't entirely agree with a colleague's

decision or action, you should try to support him as a Pup.

11. It is equally important to remain true to yourself and your moral compass. If you believe

something to be wrong, you must take action. This is particularly important in the case

of a safeguarding concern, which should be brought to the attention of the Sub Warden

(DSL) at the earliest opportunity.

College Prefects’ Duties

The College Prefects’ primary duty will be to lead by example, modelling scholastic and extra-

curricular commitment in all that they do. A strong value system underpins good leadership

and the College Prefects will endeavour to demonstrate how this framework translate into all

areas of College life. The role will provide senior leaders with an opportunity to:

1. Work in partnership with the Warden, Academic Director and Co-Curricular Director to

develop a culture in which individual and collective endeavour of all kinds are supported

and celebrated.

2. Meet on a regular basis with members of the SMT to assist in the evaluation of current

practice and in formulating proposals for future development.

3. Encourage junior boys to adopt leadership roles in their areas of particular interest.

4. Introduce visitors and speakers to the College.

5. Discuss the development of areas of interest with members of Council.

6. Promote engagement

Social Prefects’ Duties

Many of your duties are within the Social and obviously your Tutor and Head of Social will brief

you on these, but being a prefect also involves a role around the College, and the title is

deliberately 'prefect' rather than 'house prefect'.

Outside the Social the main areas that you will be involved in are as follows:

Chapel

Sunday checking. It is important to be completely straight about this even with contemporaries.

If people know from the start that you are straight on it, the system works better and you will

have fewer problems handling it yourself.

You will be assist in maintaining an atmosphere of quiet reflection during weekday Chapel.

Anyone who misbehaves or is a nuisance should be dealt with quietly but firmly and reported

to the Head of Social or Tutor immediately after the service. Serious offences should be

reported to the Sub Warden.

See that you set a good example yourself in Chapel. This tends to happen early in the school

year, but standards can sometimes drop. Most difficulties in Chapel have occurred when

prefects aren't setting an appropriate example. In particular, please adhere to the rule about

not talking until you are out of Chapel as this is an important example to set for junior boys

who will be watching you depart.

Hall

When your Social is on duty it is responsible for behaviour in Hall, the running of Hall and to

monitor queues. The don is there to preside. Therefore it is important that at all important

stages of the meal there is a prefect responsible for Hall. There is a separate routine for the

running of Hall but the main responsibilities are:

• seeing that there are no lapses in behaviour and acting if there are.

• seeing that the meal runs smoothly and liaising with the Caterer or his deputy if there are

any problems (e.g. the washing-up machine stopping).

• clearing up at the end of the meal.

At all times prefects should be helping to ensure that Hall runs smoothly both by their own

example and being ready to act when trouble occurs. Important times are supper on

Wednesday and Friday.

Dons sitting on the dais at breakfast appreciate it when prefects sit with them. This requires a

bit of initiative on the part of the prefect but it helps the system to work smoothly.

JCR

You should always be using your influence to stop members of the JCR from being rowdy or

from breaking the drinking limits. It is very helpful if you lead in fulfilling members'

commitments: putting rubbish in bins etc. Keep an eye on and give sensible advice to new

members of the JCR from your Social.

Shop

Duty week. Ensure that shop and the courtyard are tidy at the end of short break and at closing

time in the afternoon. See that any books lying outside shop are taken to Lost Property. Also

see that the entrances are cleared each day.

Do what you can to encourage people to put their rubbish (cans, crisp packets etc.) in the bins

provided.

If anyone is being rude to staff or difficult with them act at once in calming things down and

finding out who the boy is.

Notes

1. While your main role is in the Social you should always act if you see serious things

happening. An example might be a boy being bullied or seriously teased by others. Any

serious matters must be reported to Tutor.

2. Always pace yourself for the job. Be aware of how long the first half of term is. Anyone

can be a prefect at first, but the really good prefects are those who maintain their

standards and have the stamina for the job. A good career as a prefect can be ruined by

silly behaviour in the last 24 hours of a term or by a momentary lapse in standards.

3. Be aware that to act on an occasion will often require courage and that it may be easier

to do nothing. Every time this happens you become less effective as a prefect. It is very

important that you support your co-prefects in the Social.

4. You should have read the School rules recently and know their content.

5. The role of the prefect has been blurred in recent years and it would be a good thing if

prefects (led by the Pups) could take a more active role in the day to day running of the

school as well as the Socials and this is one of the purposes of this initiative.

6. Do not forget your duties as a Mentor.