By my reckoning, I was elected to the post of Secretary at the end of September last year, and this means that I have been holding this position for almost fourteen months now. It seems a long time, doesn’t it? Even discounting the holiday periods – during which the writing of minutes was replaced by the creation of constitutions, bicameral legislatures and websites – it probably looks like I have been around forever, and I would be inclined to agree with that assessment.

I would agree because it’s true. My first year as a rep came in Year 8 on the back of an awe-inspiring speech packed with senseless rhetoric and quotes from Iain Duncan-Smith, and since then – for better or for worse – I have clung stubbornly on. I held the position of Food Rep for two years, making it my own. Looking back I performed so badly in that role that a promotion was surely in order, and it was only a matter of time before I was scaling the lofty heights of Vice-Chair. Last year I stood as Secretary and the rest is (very recent) history.

Back in the present day, Mike and I held a series of interviews with the candidates for Chair and Secretary (the elections for which we held today) and saw it as a good sign that none of them pledged to reverse our reforms. We must have done something right then! While I’m on the topic, I should congratulate Adeo Fraser, Lucy Crane and Matt Anderson who have been named as Chair, Vice-Chair and Secretary respectively. There is no doubt that they will do a superlative job. At the same time, I commiserate with James Proctor, Coby Tunnicliffe and John Parnell, the first two standing as Chair and the latter standing as Secretary. As Mike and I have told them in person, there will be many ways for them to contribute to the Parliament in future, just as there are for all members of the school.

The structure for the Student Parliament is in place. Points are being dealt with more effectively than they were before, and it is for this reason that we decided to step down. The system has been created but it needs to be maintained, and it’s a big responsibility to shoulder. Constructing it was one thing, but turning it into a long term success is something else.

Long term success is the priority, and Mike and I are soon to leave the school – much as we felt we had more to contribute, it needs new leadership to carry it further. This allows Adeo and Matt to make it their own, with guidance from Mike and me if they choose to ask for it. We made the system; it only seemed fair to be around to answer any structural or procedural questions on it. At the same time, it’s quite exciting to work as regular ‘reps’ within the system!

From my perspective, working as secretary is an exhausting job, especially under the new system where there are more minutes to process than ever. Perhaps it is fitting, then, that I step out of this job and into the technical rehearsals of the play, which will see many of us using the school as our second home for the week. The calendar has us in school from 10am to 8pm tomorrow and Sunday, and for every day except Tuesday we’ll be in from 8am to 11pm (15 hour days!). Having said that, it’s a week which we all look forward to and which always results in a great performance.

Finally, I’ll just say a word on this blog in general. It’ll be a fortnightly occurrence from me, and we might just have special editions from high profile members of the school every so often. Being a politics student you can expect the usual from me – my primary emphasis will be on telling you what to think, and I might just throw in the occasional political fact or two. If you – the reader – want to submit something for the blog, you can do so by going to the ‘Submit Information’ page. I’ll be sure to post it up for you.