For Students By Students: Elevating youth voices on the issues that matter

Posted on: 02 Apr 2025

Posted by: Rosie Burt

Rosie Burt, a Year 12 student at Quinton House School, explains how an annual conference led by pupils is shining a light on some of the key issues facing young people today.

Student opinion, I believe, should be at the heart of any educational environment. It allows the opportunity for communication, development and inspiration. For Students By Students on the 20th of March achieved just this.

At Quinton House School I am part of a team of students representing The Global Ambassadors, and together we hosted our third annual conference. For Students By Students (FSBS) was initially founded when a harrowing event took place in Northampton. A young boy became the victim of a knife attack and lost his life. Safety on our streets for young people should be a priority, so our head boy (at the time) posed the idea that students across Northampton, from both state and independent schools, come together to tackle these issues through education. We felt that if we prevented just one child from carrying a knife, then the conference had been successful. Our past themes have explored county lines, knife crime, harmful sexual behaviours, toxic masculinity, and, most recently, the pressing issue of youth mental health.

This year, I joined five other students from sixth form and Year 10 to organise the running of the FSBS conference. The main aim of the conference was not only to destigmatise the conversation around mental health but also to equip students with coping mechanisms and techniques to share with their peers. Teachers also made useful contacts and gained new teaching material for PSHE lessons, expanding our reach even further.

The conference entailed a day of talks from mental health professionals, the Samaritans, and other local charities such as The Lowdown. A detailed overview of the “healthy” and “unhealthy” functions of the brain and stories of overcoming periods of mental crisis were shared with students. Following this, interactive afternoon sessions from Sport in Mind, Action For Happiness and The Frank Bruno Foundation enabled students to see how sport and movement can foster a positive mental outlook. Break times allowed both students and staff to ask questions throughout the day; the opportunities for learning were abundant! The impact on our local community in terms of its social value has been huge, with delegates communicating across schools about these pressing issues.

“It was good a good place to network and seek support through the agencies for schools. There was one agency there which I didn’t know, I managed to speak to the person running the stall and get their contact details.” – A delegate from Guilsborough Academy

“I loved the whole experience, and it was so nice to see everyone engaged and working together. I found it super impactful also how many kids went to speak to the speakers about their struggles as I know that would have been really big for them to do, so it felt a very safe environment.” – A student attendee

I collated students’ opinions, recording voice memos about how the day personally impacted them. I hope to put this together as a podcast, illustrating how FSBS has become invaluable to our local school community. When interviewing students, a common theme was that with exam season coming up and pressure beginning to build, students said that the techniques they were given could be used in their day-to-day lives to relieve anxiety.

At the heart of a valuable education is the ability to communicate and work in a group environment, and The Global Ambassador team has gained these skills in abundance. Organising an event that hosted 200 student delegates across 14 schools – alongside organising speakers, charities, logistics, sponsorship and resources – is a challenge. Regular online meetings with speakers, charities and sponsors really developed my confidence in talking to others and speaking publicly. My ability to balance both my A levels and event organisation became a key learning curve that will be a skill for life.

Now preparations for next year’s conference have begun, and we are aiming for the attendance of 500 students! Currently, our topic of discussion is undecided, however, feedback from this year’s conference has directed us towards ideas such as diversity and inclusivity, digital literacy with AI, and healthy choices. In the future, we hope to host internationally, whether that be virtual or in person, aiming to reach more and more students year on year.

We want other schools to host events such as this, and we are more than happy to offer support based on our past experience. If you are interested and would like to hear more, please contact [email protected].