Student Ambassadors
Our student ambassador groups are comprised of volunteers from across Years 7-10 who wish to help make changes within the Academy.
We have groups for the following areas:
- Eco Ambassadors
- Fundraising Ambassadors
- Anti-Bullying Ambassadors
- Mental Health Ambassadors
- LGBTQ+ Ambassadors
Below you will find more information about each group and what they do. If your child wishes to be a part of our Ambassador groups please ask them to speak to Ms Hill (Head of Year 9).
Eco Ambassadors
The Eco-Ambassadors are a group of pupils that meets fortnightly to discuss issues around the academy regarding the ecology and environment and start to put actions in place to help improve it. For example, our ambassadors have worked hard to improve the vegetable patch within the Academy. It now has a full suite of gardening implements, two raised beds made from re-used materials and five fruit trees in bloom. All products were sourced from an educational charity.
The team is currently completing the TfL STARS Programme which aims to encourage sustainable and responsible travel to school. This is an external accreditation and they have worked exceptionally hard to create resources for pupils to learn about in Learning Guide time.
Below our team have offered a short introduction about themselves and what they want to achieve through being eco-ambassadors.
Harrison - Year 9
Favourite thing about nature: My favourite thing about nature is being able to look at plants close-up and watch animals in their natural habitat. My favourite animals are red pandas, llamas and jaguars.
What do you want to achieve through being an eco-ambassador? I want to help the local ecosystem and make Harris Academy Rainham more sustainable.
Leo – Year 9
Favourite thing about nature: I enjoy learning about the environment and how nature works. I also enjoy watching animals in their natural habitats. My favourite animals are wild and historic animals such as tigers, dinosaurs and red pandas.
What do you want to achieve through being an eco-ambassador? I want to help make Harris Academy Rainham more a sustainable and welcoming place for wildlife.
Mredula - Year 11
Favourite thing about nature: I like the diversity of animals and plants we find in our environments. Nature is beautiful and has positive impacts on society. We are part of nature, so we must take care of nature to help ourselves.
What do you want to achieve by being an eco-ambassador? Greta Thunberg is an inspiration to me. I want to follow her lead by making Harris Academy Rainham more sustainable while learning about nature and our world. I also want to show other students the importance of making our school eco-friendly.
Modestas - Year 11
Favourite thing about nature: I love the sky, the clouds and how nature takes over abandoned buildings over time. I enjoy volcanoes, rain, trees and all types of insects.
What do you want to achieve by being an eco-ambassador? I want to improve the school environment, make a difference and learn leadership skills.
Ife - Year 10
Favourite thing about nature: I love fresh air and seeing animals in their natural habitats. I enjoy learning about how food is produced and growing my own vegetables.
What do you want to achieve by being an eco-ambassador? I am passionate about nature and want to help other students see how exciting the outdoors can be.
Justin - Year 9
Favourite thing about nature: I love looking at and taking care of plants.
What do you want to achieve by being an eco-ambassador? I want to make the Harris Academy Rainham ecosystem more diverse by creating more habitats for interesting plants and animals.
Picture: Our eco ambassadors have worked hard to improve the vegetable patch within the Academy.
LGBTQ+ Ambassadors
The LGBTQ+ Ambassadors Group comprises staff and students across the year groups and meets fortnightly to discuss issues affecting LGBTQ+ community members, and to carry out projects to increase visibility of LGBTQ+ matters.
Our ambassadors have worked hard to support students with difficulties, offering drop-in sessions at lunch time for discussions, organising an area in the library dedicated to LGBTQ+ literature and hosting assemblies.
They are continuing to offer support and guidance for all students in school and work hard to celebrate diversity.
Mental Health Ambassadors
Mental Health Well Being Ambassadors have been set up to raise awareness and to remove the stigma around poor mental health. This is what our pupils have said their aims and role is within the Academy:
Layla – Year 11
We are ambassadors who stand for mental health and encourage people to speak out about their struggles and make sure our pupils do not feel alone. Our purpose is to help children understand and comprehend their feelings and emotions and teach them ways to cope with what they are going through.
Theodore – Year 11
We stand for helping other pupils' mental health, how they feel about themselves and others. Its purpose is to help children who are struggling with their mind and to help them overcome their struggles. We wish to focus on improving their ability to speak out about their emotions because saying you have a mental health issue is not a bad thing.
King – Year 10
Our aim is to be able to help people talk about their emotions and help people be in a better position than they were before. I think our purpose is to improve the wellbeing of our pupils and become a better person.
Gabija – Year 10
To help others and to make the pupils in this school feel more comfortable with themselves.
Keira – Year 10
Our group is aimed to encourage other children to speak up and talk about their emotions rather than feeling like they cannot talk about it.
Anti-Bullying Ambassadors
We are the anti-bullying ambassadors. Bullying is something that can affect one’s everyday life, and it can become a shadow that does not go away. At Harris Academy Rainham, we believe that bullying is something that should be taken and acted upon seriously and immediately. We are a group, currently recruiting for more anti-bullying ambassadors, to make support more accessible for all. The purpose of this group is to ensure pupils of the school feel safe from one another, whether the bullying is inside or outside of school, we feel it is our duty as students to share our advice.
"Our aim is to eliminate bullying, particularly in KS3 when students are younger and less responsible," says Harleen, Year 9 Anti-Bullying Ambassador. "Currently, we are making further improvements to our bullying policy, making it certain, everything is included. We are beginning to see more and more ways and techniques on reporting bullying, and we want to ensure every student is aware of this."
Fundraising Ambassadors
The Charity Ambassadors at Harris Academy Rainham work hard to raise money for local charities and support their community. They have helped to organise and run a bake sale, supported the Trussell Trust's foodbank and plan a summer ice lolly sale to take place in the final half term.
Money raised so far has been donated to a local cafe that supports vulnerable people who are struggling financially as well as the homeless. Students aim to raise as much money as possible and have voted to support local cancer and animal charities in the future.
