Student Leaders

A word from our school captains

As we come to the end of not only Year 12, but also our 13 years of schooling as a whole, Cohort 2025 has been feeling all the feels. As we're sure all the adults can relate, Year 12 is not easy! It's a whole lot of work, stress and late nights that maybe shouldn't be that late. It tests resolve, dedication and, maybe most intensely, the people who you rely on for support, a laugh and relief from the VCE of it all. 

Community has always been something preached to the students of Preston High, and as only the second year to pass through, we felt the importance of building relationships, traditions and strong school spirit. But the true value of community is only ever seen when you have to rely on it to help you through. Whether it's a sport team, choir, shark club, debate team, study partners or friends, having others around you is truly invaluable. 

We know that the relationships forged in the fires of Year 12 will remain for years to come, and hope that Preston can continue to build strong, lasting community that brings together everyone from all different walks of life in the beautiful menagerie that we as a school are.

And this is something that we believe needs to be driven, more than anyone else, by the wonderful students of Preston High. It's always interesting to consider what our school would potentially be like if it hadn't slowly grown in the way it has. This has meant that, at least for the earliest cohorts, students felt absolutely comfortable to go to their teachers, vice principals or Mr Butler with their questions, recommendations and concerns. 

Our student leadership structure has evolved from the ground up, and as only the second ever school captains, we can see how the traditional roles of the 'highest' school leaders are already distributed among the entire student leadership system. Ultimately, this is not something to decry, but instead a shining example of why student leadership at Preston is so strong; because every single cohort, interest group, and student is encouraged to find what issue interests them and then pursue the changes they feel are needed. Instead of a top-down structure, we have leaders going straight to the person most responsible. 

There is always more work to do, especially in ensuring that the student leadership can represent and pursue the wills of the student body more closely, however everyone at Preston must never lose sight of the invaluable impact student voice has had on shaping our growing school. A school built from the ground up by students, for students will always be stronger, responding to concerns and giving the best opportunities for the future.

The 'future' is quite a nebulous concept however. Humans have never been particularly good at planning significantly in advance, despite our ability to plan for the short term ultimately contributing to our global domination. Year 12, and school as a whole, asks us to consider where we want to be next year, in five years, 10 years, 50 years into the future, which is a pretty heavy thing to place on kids. The best a school can do is not to load students full of content and analytical skills and then shoot them off into the sunset after exams, but instead to foster thought, interest and conviction. 

Without school, most would never have the opportunity to look into the psychology of criminals, or the economic factors motivating the Russian Revolution, or the biological features enabling peak sporting performance, or any other niche topic that draws curiosity out of students. That is the real reason why a school can be 'good' or 'bad'. How it prepares its young people for the wider world, how it helps them to find their place in it and how it supports them to seize their own power and shape it to their specifications.

Your 'future' could be which apprenticeship you take, which degree you preference or which job you apply for. But it is also how you will live, who you will be close to, what interests you will pursue and what you will give back to the communities that have raised you. 'Future' is, ultimately, unknowable. But we all possess the agency to guide it in our own direction, using the tools afforded to us by our parents, friends, teachers and communities.

Preston High is not perfect, and there are many things being worked on currently or that demand greater attention. But this is something that can often lead us to forget to be grateful for the absurd amount of work our teachers put in every day, for the brand-spanking new buildings and facilities we have access to, and for the values imparted to us to mould each and every student into the best version of themselves. Maybe no one will take anything from this article, but we hope that at least one person will remember to be grateful, to refocus on supporting not tearing down, to prosecute the changes they want to see, and to recognise the infinite possibilities their future holds. 

Thank you, to everyone who has ever been involved at Preston, for everything you have done. We can't express how much it has meant. 

by Quinn (Inclusion), Paul (Community) and Ishita (Excellence)