Woke headmistress ditches traditional head boy and head girl titles

Woke headmistress ditches traditional head boy and head girl titles and replaces them with gender-neutral ‘head ambassadors’ roles to provide a ‘welcoming atmosphere for all’

• ‘Head boy’ and ‘head girl’ terms have been ditched at Church of England school 
• Headmistress at Bolton St Catherine’s Academy says the terms are ‘outdated’ 
• She says ‘head ambassador’ titles will provide ‘a welcoming atmosphere for all’ 
• It is part of school’s ‘desire to continue to be known as an inclusive community’ 

A headmistress has ditched the titles of ‘head boy’ and ‘head girl’ at her Church of England school after claiming the terms were ‘outdated.’

Rachael Lucas, 47, said pupils elected to the roles at Bolton St Catherine’s Academy in Greater Manchester would now be known as gender neutral ‘head ambassadors’.

She said the new titles would provide ‘a welcoming atmosphere for all’ and the move was part of the school’s ‘desire to continue to be known as an inclusive community.’

The three chosen pupils were Ted Hodson-Fitton, Jemima Alasoudura and Sophia Hughes. The school has maintained the head boy and girl titles in its junior school.

Sophia Hughes, Ted Hodson-Fitton and Jemima Alasoudura are the new ‘head ambassadors’ at Bolton St Catherine’s Academy in Greater Manchester

Mrs Lucas said: ‘At Bolton St Catherine’s Academy we recognise and celebrate diversity and inclusion.

‘We are delighted to be able to showcase our commitment to this by thinking about how we address our lead student ambassadors – moving away from the outdated notion of a head girl and boy.

‘Small gestures can have big impacts, and with many other initiatives around school, we are signalling our resolution to be an institution that is welcoming to all.’

A post on the school’s website added: ‘Taking the place of the traditional Head Boy and Girl titles, we will now use the term Head Ambassadors. The three selected students to take on this exciting role are Sophia, Ted and Jemima.

Headmistress Rachael Lucas said the three pupils would be known as ‘head ambassadors’

‘They have already started strong, by giving their first public speech at Open Evening, touring parents around the Academy, hosting activities and helping at Summer School. 

‘They also assisted staff on our Year 7 Transition day at the beginning of term. We are looking forward to seeing all they achieve this academic year.’

More than 20 pupils applied for the ‘ambassador positions’ at the 1,260-pupil school which teaches children from the ages of 3-16. 

They completed an application form and gave a speech, outlining the reasons they wished to take on the roles. Three students were chosen – Ted, Sophia and Jemima.

Bolton St Catherine’s Academy was formed in 2009, following the merger of two other schools

The other students who applied were selected to be ‘Year 11 ambassadors’, and are said to be ‘identified’ in the academy with a special silver tie.

So far, they have assisted with open evenings, Year Seven transition meetings, tours for visitors around the academy, and they will be hand delivering Christmas cards to the local area in December.

Ted said: ‘I am grateful for the opportunity to be a head’s ambassador because I am able to represent my school in a positive way, showing our community how amazing we are.’

Sophia added: ‘Our community is a place to thrive from and not a place to impose limitations.’

The school’s website made the announcement and also featured a picture of the three pupils

And Jemima said: ‘Being someone from a multi-heritage background within an English school, has helped me to understand the importance of celebrating culture and diversity within school life, and as a head’s ambassador it’s essential to me that as a school that we celebrate those differences that make us all unique.’

The school, which was formed in 2009, following the merger of two other schools currently has an ‘LGBTQ+ group’ for students. 

History teacher Mrs Lucas arrived at St Catherine’s in 2017 having been deputy head at Sir John Thursby Community College in nearby Burnley.

Earlier this year she said she would be filing a report to public health officials about pupils flouting lockdown edicts after several schoolgirls turned up to class wearing false eyelashes having had them applied by professional beauticians, apparently in breach of Covid rules.

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