Last week pupils from all of our Primary Academies joined us for our first ever Primary Student Voice Conference.

We are proud to be somewhere students and colleagues feel valued, empowered and trusted to do the right thing for each other and our community. And where better to celebrate this that at Co-op Headquarters, One Angel Square in Manchester!

Each academy brought members from their Student Councils and our CEO Chris Tomlinson challenged them to think of their top 5 priorities to make their academy the best it can be.

We had a wonderful presentation by Co-op Young Leaders Lead, Liz Garrity and students from Co-op Academy Stoke-on-Trent, Woodslee, Oakwood and Portland. They shared their journey of becoming empowered co-operative student leaders in their community.

Co-op Academy Woodslee also shared how Student Voice in their academy has made it an even more wonderful place to be and learn. They even took questions from the audience. We were so impressed by their confidence and understanding of why Student Voice is so important.

“Student Voice and Leadership is a great way to empower our young people taking ownership and responsibility for their academy’s community. When done right it really shows what can be achieved when we work together in cooperation. 

I was so impressed by the pupils’ understanding of what student leadership can do.  And I look forward to seeing what they take back to their Academies. This is the start of an exciting journey across our Trust. Thank you to all the colleagues and students who attended.” Chris Tomlinson, CEO Co-op Academies Trust

Take a look at what out other academies had to say about the day! 👇