At Beaumaris Secondary College, we believe in the power of student voice. We recognise that our students are not just learners but also valuable contributors to our community.
Through GOAL sessions, students are given opportunities to ask questions, share experiences and learn from one another. These cross-year level connections help ease transitions between learning stages, encourage student mentoring and create meaningful conversations about school life, learning and personal growth.
Led by our student leaders, the Bigger Buddy System reflects our commitment to building a college community where students feel connected, supported and known. It also brings our motto, Belong, Believe, Become, to life by helping students see that they belong within our college community.
See The Bigger Buddy System in action
Beauy Voice is an annual student-led initiative that gives every year level the opportunity to reflect on their experiences at Beaumaris Secondary College and provide meaningful feedback to help shape school priorities.
Grounded in the Attitudes to School Survey, students explore data relevant to their year level, identify strengths and areas for improvement, and share suggestions that support a positive learning environment. Insights gathered through GOAL groups and student roundtables help inform future planning and decision-making across the college.
A key feature of Beauy Voice is the ‘Teach the Teacher’ program, where students work collaboratively to design and deliver professional learning sessions for staff, providing authentic student perspectives and practical ideas for improvement.
Beauy Voice continues to evolve each year, ensuring student voice remains central to shaping learning, wellbeing and community at Beaumaris Secondary College.
Teach the Teacher is a student voice initiative that empowers students to work alongside staff to create positive change within the college community. Students analyse data from the Attitudes to School Survey, identify areas of importance for their year level and develop presentations and professional learning sessions for staff.
Through the program, students take genuine ownership of the process — designing inquiry questions, leading discussions, gathering feedback and working collaboratively with teachers and school leadership. Focus areas have included rubrics and feedback, sparking meaningful conversations and informing future school planning.
Teach the Teacher provides students with authentic opportunities to develop leadership, communication and problem-solving skills while ensuring student voice plays an active role in shaping the learning experience at Beaumaris Secondary College.
In 2023, the Amplify leaders designed our survey and tested it on a small number of Year 7 classes. After some refinement, the leaders delivered it to the entire Year 8 cohort. This data was then presented to teachers in their Professional Learning Teams (PLTs) and the students provided ideas to help refine the survey based on the feedback. Our leaders then further refined the survey, based on their reflections as leaders and the feedback received, and rolled it out across Years 7-10. Moving forward, the Amplify leaders will present a semester overview of student feedback to PLTs and offer their insights to assist in refining our curriculum.
Over the past few months, I’ve had the privilege of working closely with the Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC) as an Ambassador Intern. In April, I participated in an intensive workshop organised by VicSRC, where we focused on enhancing students’ advocacy and leadership skills. As part of this transformative experience, I developed a project proposal aimed at amplifying student voices within our local community. To my delight, my proposal was selected for implementation.
My proposal is called Local Schools Council (LSC) program.
The purpose of the LSC program is to address the need for consistent and meaningful communication between students from different schools in the area, creating a clear pathway for collaboration in future events and projects. Possible ways that this program could achieve this are organising student voice events and forums and working with stakeholders to provide student voice on matters that affect high school students in the area. Basically, it is a multi-school student council.
I’ve learned valuable lessons about leadership, teamwork, and the power of student advocacy. As I continue this journey, I look forward to further growth and making a lasting impact within our educational community.
Oskar E (Year 8)
June 2024
Mr Bartlett had the pleasure of accompanying Year 9 student Oskar Edwardes to the South Eastern Victoria Regional All-Staff Forum Education Conference in Warragul on June 19, 2025. Oskar delivered a powerful and eloquent speech on the importance of authentic student voice, agency, and the impact of being known, understood and respected in education. His message was clear: students deserve to be active participants in shaping their learning experience — not just recipients of it.
We are very proud of Oskar's maturity, insight and passion as we continue to nurture the leaders of tomorrow!
Jasper H (Year 8), Cameron H and Ariston J (Year 10) showcased their enthusiasm for learning and leadership at the VicSRC Congress. Their passion for participating in education through extracurricular activities shone through as they shared ideas and collaborated with students from across Victoria to help shape the future of education!