Helping to ensure student voices are truly heard and help to shape their educational experience, public school students in the northern half of Sydney are now participating in the Metropolitan North District Representative Council.

Covering Sydney suburbs from the northern beaches across to the banks of the Nepean River, the Council’s aim is to help shape policy and initiatives with a stronger student voice.

Executive Director Metropolitan North, Cathy Brennan said the Council’s strongest function was collaboration between schools in the directorate to share ideas, provide feedback and plan for initiatives.

“The Council will amplify voices from all networks in the directorate, identifying common issues and influencing change at state level,” she said.

“Their role is to connect the dots, to take what's happening in schools, identify priorities at a directorate level and then carry those towards DOVES, the Minister's Student Council.”

Council member Sam McQuillan, a Year 10 student from Cherrybrook Technology High School, also sees a role for the council to make changes that help students.

“You need the student's opinion and voice as part of that change, because otherwise it can lean towards a more adult view that doesn't actually help students get the best results,” he said.

Fellow member Isaac Pudney, in Year 11 at Northern Beaches Secondary College, Cromer Campus agreed; noting that it was important for students to be involved in the whole process.

“I'm a very big believer in this concept of closing the loop,” he said.

“We are a really strong strategic representation of voices, so being involved in all the different steps and ensuring we're informed on what comes out of these discussions is super important.”

Initial projects the Council identified to be involved included an approach to AI in education, and how to make best use of the NSW Public Schools Student Survey, particularly on issues like racism.

The Council also joined the Metropolitan North Principals Conference and shared their opinions with more than 240 Principals about how students need to be known and represented as individuals for their learning and wellbeing at school.

The Metropolitan North District Representative Council captures the voice of both primary and secondary students in Cambridge Park, Carlingford, Gordon, Hornsby, Mount Druitt, North Sydney, Pittwater, Quakers Hill, Ryde, South Creek, The Beaches, The Forest, The Hills and The Ponds networks.