Twenty schools, 200 students and a simple but powerful idea: that the best person to help a young leader find their voice might just be another student.

That was part of the thinking behind the inaugural ELEVATE Student Leadership Initiative, which brought together Stage 3 student leaders from across the Beverly Hills network at Canterbury-Hurlstone Park RSL.

The day was built around four structured sessions covering communication, teamwork, leadership identity and some very honest conversation about the transition from primary to high school.

One of the event organisers, Hannans Road Public School Assistant Principal Curriculum and Instruction, Michael Dickson, said it gave primary school students an opportunity to tap into what they can bring to the table as future leaders.

"I want them to think more about their potential and what they could do to change within their school community," Mr Dickson said. "I want to move away from the idea that being a leader means wearing a badge and putting up flags."

High school student mentors from Years 9, 10 and 11 worked alongside primary school students throughout the day, guiding activities and helping capture something that has traditionally been hard to pin down: what Year 6 students are genuinely feeling about moving to high school.

Rather than that information passing through teachers, it came directly from students to students, recorded on large display boards by the mentors themselves.

Jessica Donohue, a teacher at Beverly Hills Girls High School, said it was immediately apparent that information channelled through peers could remove barriers.

"I think they're a lot more honest when it's not a teacher asking," she said. "When they've been with the same groups all day and the mentors are good kids who encourage them, you get real information."

Ms Donohue said that information would be fed back to school executives and future year advisors to help make the transition from Year 6 to Year 7 smoother.

"If I'd known what they were most nervous about when I was a Year 8 student advisor, it would have made my life a lot easier," she said.

The day also featured guest speakers including representatives of the Minister's Student Representative Council DOVES, whose presence gave younger students a window into what senior leadership looks like in practice.

Beverly Hills Girls Year 12 student Adiba Rahman, who co-presented a session on driving change, said the message she wanted primary students to take away was straightforward.

"It doesn't have to be over-complicated," she said. "Just smiling, acknowledging someone, being respectful and kind; it gets overlooked a lot."

Year 6 student Jason Jiang from Beverly Hills North Public School said talking to older students made the day feel different.

"They can understand kids better than teachers can," he said. "They help us understand school a bit better."

The ELEVATE conference was just the beginning. Students will return to their schools over the next two terms to plan and run a leadership project, before reconvening in Term 4 to showcase what they have achieved.

Mr Dickson hopes that for some students, the impact will extend well beyond primary school.

"If they take what they've learned here and move into high school and become SRC members or school captains, that'd be fantastic," he said.