The bespoke, annual Globeducate student leadership summit for students took place over three days, 4^th-6^th October, at Stonar School, England and challenged the thinking and leadership styles of more than 40 students. The event, led by Head of Sixth Form at Stonar School, Charlotte Bennett, proved very popular with the 28 students attending and more online.

Two head pupils, IBDP or A-Level students, from each K12 Globeducate school attended the residential event, coming from Canada, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain, and they were joined online by students from five schools including The Indian Public School Coimbatore. It was a diverse, international group of students all working together in English and coming away with new understandings of themselves, skills and knowledge about how to become the best leaders possible, and with new friends and goals.

Students arrived at Stonar, checked in with their host families and had a welcome dinner in Bath. The first day was a full day of leadership workshop activities with Farren Drury MBE and Tony Reilly OBE, followed by a social with bingo and a quiz. On the second day, students explored the Belbin leadership characteristics and worked on a group task before a lively session of Etiquette training to prepare them for networking and formal events in the future – some of these skills were put into practice at a formal dinner at the school.  The final day saw some entertaining team-building activities involving blindfolds, 3D shape puzzles and a great deal of laughter as students bonded over their different challenges.

The final day involved team presentations about iconic leaders to BBC journalist Lizzie Powell, who fed back on presentation skills before the group moved to an evening social.

ISN Nice Directrice, Mel Curtis, reiterates,

It's important for students to experience leadership opportunities during their schooling, to learn the art of building relationships within teams, defining identities, and achieving tasks effectively. It also provides an opportunity to learn to identify and display effective communication and interpersonal skills.

Kit Beresford and Sophia Bille Rouhier attended from ISN Nice. Below they have shared some of the skills and knowledge they gained from the summit.

“Leadership is anything but a skill one is born with, it's something that is nurtured and grown over time. Nothing has helped with this more than the Globeducate leadership Summit in Stonar.

Experiences beyond the classroom are rare for most students, the ability to travel outside of the country is even more unique. Working outside of the classroom was incredibly interesting. Not only did it allow more freedom from a rigid structure, but also aid in the interaction and development of students. 

The opportunity to work with others in a low-pressure environment created more confidence and many appreciated this. The Stonar campus was also incredibly exciting for everyone traveling, and created an intense amount of excitement. 

The event was truly amplified by the international connections Globeducate had made. Many students knew each other and those who didn’t were motivated to make friends from around the world with the knowledge there’d be other events to reconnect. The closeness of all the students helped international mindedness be part of the foundation of this event. 

The culture was at the event’s core as students interacted with the consideration of other perspectives. A diverse set of ideas was able to flourish due to Globeducate’s international characteristics. 

Leadership events like this one in Stonar are personal, powerful works that tap into the best of individuals to empower them to be exceptional.

Does it come with some hard feedback? Absolutely. It is not for the faint of heart.
Leadership coaching done well, removes internal blocks, and brings out the leadership abilities in the executive so that they understand how to connect with those they lead, and ultimately succeed in helping to drive the organization forward. 

You are challenged to step up and be the person you need to be. Skills are rarely the thing that will hold leaders back..but things like motivating, connecting, and communicating effectively with your teams can lead you to sink or thrive. 

The leadership event we went through helped us become more aware of ourselves, and how what we do influences groups of individuals to be what they can be.” 

Kit Beresford and Sophia Bille Rouhier, ISN Head Students 2022/23

You can read about all the other Globeducate events available to students by clicking here.