Leadership Through Service
At DGHS we believe, “Leadership is not about titles or positions. It is about one life influencing another.” (John Maxwell) The focus of our leadership development is, therefore, leadership through service and a wide range of opportunities are available, throughout the school, through which our learners’ leadership skills are identified and nurtured.
Our Prefects are an elected group who assist in the daily running of the school and promote the wellbeing of the learners as a whole.
The Representative Council of Learners (RCL) forms an integral channel for communication between the various stakeholders within the school. The RCL comprises an executive committee of Grade Representatives and each class elects a Class Representative, thus ensuring a broad base of representation for the learners of the school. In addition, the Chairperson, Vice-Chairperson and Secretary serve as members of the School Governing Body.
We have six Service Committees, comprising interested learners from Grade 9 – 12, which are dedicated to various spheres of the school. The Academic, Environmental, Culture, PR & Communications, Special Events and Sport committees are hardworking and innovative, enhancing the school experience for all learners.
Our Class Captain system ensures learners throughout all grades have the opportunity to serve their peers and teachers as they take on responsibilities within their register class.
Mentorship is valued and promoted throughout the school, whether as a Grade 11 mentor for a Grade 8 class or as a subject mentor assisting other learners academically.
Responsibilities are taken on by a variety of Monitors who assist with duties in the Art Studios, Computer Rooms, Drama Rooms and Media Centre.
Throughout the extensive extra-curricular programme, our Sport, Culture and Service codes are enhanced by the leadership of learners within each code.
Further Leadership Opportunities
While our learners develop their leadership skills through active fulfilment of service roles, we also offer a number of focused, specific programmes designed to promote the unique abilities of each learner.
From the outset, when all Grade 8 learners attend a three-day leadership camp, we focus on leadership both of self and others. Every year a leadership course is offered to Grades 8, 9 and 10 and we offer support for those in leadership positions via custom-designed training for various roles including: Monitor Camp, Prefect Camp, RCL training, class leader training and extra-curricular leader training.
Our learners also take advantage of a variety of external opportunities for leadership development, such as the Rotary Goodwill Leadership Course and many others.
We are proud of our learners who participate in the President’s Award programme. This self-driven, non-competitive challenge provides a framework for non-formal education and experiential learning, where learners can develop and engage with skills and talents that do not necessarily appear in the classroom. There are three levels that can be achieved: Bronze, Silver and Gold. Each level requires the learner to complete four sections of challenges: community service, skills development, physical recreation and an adventurous journey.