School Captain

School Captain is a student elected, or appointed, to represent the school.

This student, usually in the senior year, ("Year 13," in secondary and "Year 6" in primary schools) in their final year of attending that school. It is similar to "Student Body President" in the United States, it is the senior representative of a school's pupils, and the school, in the community.

School captains are mainly found in British Empire legacy school systems, like the Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, etc.

In some schools, the staff appoints the captain while in others an extensive interview process is involved but generally the positions are filled by election. Some elections involve the student body, some the faculty staff, and some both. Often there is some pre-selection of candidates by the school executive.

To be elected as school captain is a high honour, and the student who fills the position usually has earned particular distinction among the student body as well as among the staff. They are usually a student that has achieved a higher degree of commitment, dedication, experience, and knowledge above that of the average student. In some schools the captain is the head prefect. However, it must be noted that the head boy/girl and the school captain can both exist within the same school, and where hierarchy dedicates that the head boy/girl are ranked higher than the school captain.

The school captain can act as a liaison between the students at large and the faculty staff, and between the school and the community. If a student gets into trouble, it can reflect badly upon the captain.

References

* [http://faxmentis.org/html/captains.html School Captains @ Parramatta High School] , Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia
* [http://www.glennie.qld.edu.au/Secondary/leadership.asp Student Leadership @ The Glennie School] , Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia
* [http://www.schools.nsw.edu.au/studentsupport/studleadsrc/index.php Student Leadership and Student Representative Councils @ New South Wales Department of Education and Training]
* [http://www.stgeorges.bc.ca/leadership.asp Senior School Leadership @ St. George's School] , Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
* [http://www.mckinnonsc.vic.edu.au/school/leaders/ Student School Leadership @ McKinnon Secondary College] , Victoria, Australia
* [http://www.balmoralhs.vic.edu.au/activities.htm Student Activities @ Balmoral High School] , Balmoral, Victoria, Australia
* [http://www.thaneweb.com/education/feature_016_saraswati_rabodi.htm About the School @ Saraswati Vidyalaya High School and Junior College] , Thane, Maharashtra, India
* [http://www.staidan.qld.edu.au/content/?id=54 Leadership Selection @ St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School] , Brisbane, Australia