Student Leadership Opportunities

Vision for leadership

Develop Student Leadership – our vision is to increase leadership opportunities for students at Whakatāne High School.

Develop Shared Expectations – we support and encourage a wide range of opportunities across all year levels.

Sports Committee

The sports committee is an opportunity for students at all levels to take on leadership roles through sport. The committee is responsible for organising lunchtime activities, helping run local school sports events, and providing feedback and feed forward on how sport is run within the school.

Year 12 House Leaders

House leaders are Year 12 students who have been chosen to promote house spirit, help run the house competitions throughout the year and develop leadership skills. In 2025 there are 24 House Leaders spread across the four houses.

Community Contribution

Students from our school make a significant contribution to the Whakatāne community. Prefects and the Student Council organise fundraising activities to support many charities such as CANTEEN, World Vision, EBOP Rainbow Group and the RSA Poppy Appeal. We are also part of SVA, a nationwide framework which acknowledges the voluntary contributions our students make to the community.

Enviro Club

Manaaki whenua, Manaaki tangata, Haere whakamua – Care for the land, care for the people, go forward.

A passionate group of students have chosen to combine their efforts to make positive environmental change within our school and wider community. This is a space for student leadership and initiative to take action. Students from Year 9 to Year 13 work together to undertake a range of projects and fun activities; ranging from vegan cooking classes, to whole school energy audits, to local beach restoration projects.

We are proud to offer a range of opportunities at Whakatāne High School. In Year 12, one of these is the chance to apply for a Year 12 House Leader role.

Leadership portfolios are available in Sport, Culture, Academic, Novelty, and Performance/Arts. These students run inter-house events including:

Sporting – touch, netball, football, etc.
Cultural/School Pride – teaching school waiata, haka, and karakia.
Academic – spelling bees, quizzes, mathletics, etc.
Novelty – truck push, obstacle course, eating competitions, card tournaments, etc.
Performance/Arts – wearable arts, logo and flag competitions, karaoke, talent shows, etc.

House Leaders also play a key role in running house assemblies, so confidence in public speaking and encouraging participation is essential.

Throughout the year, there will be opportunities to develop your leadership skills and grow in your role.

When the Senior Students go on exam leave in Term 4, we ask for applications from Year 10 students who would like to help run fun house events for the remainder of the year. These students become our Year 10 Leaders. It gives these students a small taste of what it’s like to be a leader within the school so that when the opportunity arises in Year 12, they may want to apply to become a Year 12 House Leader.

Each mentor group elects a student to represent them on the Student Council which is chaired by the student representative on the Board of Trustees. The Council meets at least twice a term, providing an opportunity for representatives to put forward ideas from their peers on how we can improve our school for the benefit of our students. A number of projects have been approved by the Board, for example, the addition of basketball hoops around the school, a fitness trail and recycling and composting facilities.