Speak Week - Best Left Unspoken

Like a sad, ill-judged fart, Speak Week was short and a little wet. As with some of the 'initiatives' that have come before it (Drop Everything and pretend to Read, the Sport Relief 1 Mile piss off home), Speak Week was less a thing everyone could rally behind (like non-school uniform days) and more a dimed-down showpiece to hand the Ofsted officers when the looming inspection finally arrives.

For Hampstead, 'Speak Week' means forcing teachers to incorporate some form of speaking and listening activity into every lesson, even though speaking and listening is not tested at GCSE or A Level in a majority of subjects now, and if it is, they are probably already doing it in class as it would then be an integral part of the qualification. For everyone else, Speak Week is a time when a lot of universities and their respective student unions listen to student views on a wide range of subjects, in a hope to address them. Why the difference in meaning? Why do you think - one is way easier to implement and doesn't invite difficult questions and opinions, whilst the other one sounds like the powers that be giving a crap about what people think.

The situation isn't helped by the state of the so-called 'student voice' at Hampstead at the moment. We know we've repeatedly pointed out that the Student Council has all the effectuality of a mouldy lemon, but, if only for the satirical material, it's still worth at least having one. After the initial hoo-hah at the start of the term about 'real' student elections, even using the same system that Labour used for their Leadership elections, the elected student council has yet to convene, almost a third of the year in, and no dates for meetings have been released.