Leadership Arc

The Cabinet

Student Parliament allows every King’s Bolton student a voice and is an integral part of life at the Academy. All students are encouraged to take an active role in decision-making processes that lead to improving the quality of life and learning at King’s Leadership Academy Bolton. The focal point for this is our Student Parliament, made up of representatives from each house and elected cabinet members.

Each learning cycle, student houses discuss issues and proposals that they feel need to be considered. Two representatives from each house present these proposals to a Ministry for discussion. Each Ministry is based on a key theme and has a designated Minister.

Following these discussions, Ministers meet with the Student Cabinet to put forward the ideas of their Ministry. The Cabinet then meets with the Principal to discuss the students’ suggestions and concerns.

At King’s Bolton, we value our students’ opinions and are working together to make King’s the best it can be.

A life-changing experience. A fun time with friends. An opportunity to discover new interests and talents. A tool to develop essential skills for life and work. A recognised mark of achievement; respected by employers.

The DofE is many things to many people, at King’s we have adopted the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award as it enhances the character and leadership education of our students. It is a great vehicle for students to develop their; social, personal and leadership skills. There are four sections to complete at the Bronze and Silver level. They involve helping the community/environment, becoming fitter, developing new skills, planning, training for and completing an expedition. 

Achieving an Award will give you skills, confidence and an edge over others when you apply for college, university or a job. Beyond academic achievements, universities want to see evidence of character developed through extra-curricular activities, such as communication, commitment, leadership and teamwork.  

In Year 9 you will be signed up for the award and will start your DofE journey. The school has dedicated activities and staff that support you through your award, allowing you to achieve. You will learn to be self-driven and design and drive your award at all stages. 

You will be trained in:

• Navigation skills 

• First Aid and emergency procedures

• Campcraft and cooking 

• Safety in the outdoors 

• Nutrition and menu planning

• Countryside code  

You will return having faced challenges, risks and adventure in the outdoors and be able to apply the learning to everyday life. 

You then progress onto the Silver award and continue your learning and adventure with us until the completion of your Silver in Year 11. Once you leave King’s Bolton your DofE journey does not end there. You have until age 25 to finish your theory awards and also to progress on to the Gold award, where you will attend St James Palace, London to receive your award from a member of the Royal family. 

Our Outdoor Education programmes offer opportunities for you to enjoy first-hand experience outdoors, whether within the school grounds, in urban green spaces, in the local countryside or wilder environments. Such experiences motivate everyone to become successful learners and to develop as healthy, confident and responsible citizens.

Outdoor learning helps develop skills of critical thinking and reflection necessary for children and young people to meet social, economic and environmental challenges. 

Outdoor learning connects our students with the natural world and encourages lifelong involvement and activity outdoors.

We link a lot of what the students learn outdoors to the academic studies they do in the classroom.

There are CCF contingents in over 400 secondary schools all over the UK, offering young people a broad range of challenging, exciting, adventurous and educational activities. Our aim is to enable the development of personal responsibility, leadership and self-discipline. Each CCF is an educational partnership between the school and the Ministry of Defence, and a CCF may include Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Army or Royal Air Force sections.

The tradition of cadet units in schools goes back over 150 years to the 1850s. In 1948, the Combined Cadet Force was formed, covering cadets from all three Services.

Today the Combined Cadet Force contingents are very different to those early groups of young people. Although they are still based on the ethos of the Armed Forces – their focus is on helping young people to develop and reach their full potential by providing challenging, active, adventurous and fun activities.

A weekly programme of military training is designed to give young people at King’s a chance to exercise responsibility and leadership, to provide them with the knowledge of our defence forces, and to encourage those who might be interested in becoming officers of the Armed Services.

The self-confidence and self-discipline required in service life are equally vital in the civil life of the nation today. As such, the King’s CCF also aims the engender a sense of public service and provides opportunities to take part in some military training together with outdoor activities, including the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and leadership qualifications accredited by the Institute of Leadership & Management.

Furthermore, Adventure Training and Challenge Pursuits are seen as a very important part of the Cadet experience, defined as challenging outdoor training in specified activities, involving controlled exposure to risk, to develop leadership, teamwork, physical fitness, moral and physical courage among other personal attributes and skills vital to the development of the rounded cadet.

"I have excelled through the ranks to become the youngest Sergeant in the country at age 12, and have now reached the highest rank available, Cadet Warrant Officer. Furthermore, I represented the CCF as the standard bearer in the 2018 Festival of Remembrance in front of the Queen." Cadet Warrant Officer B Frank