Get your views heard

Instead of moaning and whingeing about things you hate about school, why not do something about them? Put your energy and voice to better use...

As British citizens living in a democratic nation, we are all entitled to a vote so that we can have a say in who governs our country.

But if you have not yet reached the age of 18 then what do you do? Stay silent until you reach the legal age? Definitely not.

You can change things you hate or fight to save things you love. Whether it's bullying or bad food in the canteen, here's how to get your views heard at school.

Where do I start?
One of the most popular ways to get your voice listened to is through the school council - if your school has one. If it hasn't, see facts on school councils.

If you have a school council, you can offer suggestions to your form or class rep to push forward things you want changed at school.

This could be anything from getting the school toilets cleaned up to giving your opinion on the range of subjects you are taught.

Make sure you know your facts and are clear about what you want changed before you approach them. See how to get the best out of your school council.

If you're a school, form or year rep yourself, you play a key role. You can listen to the views of your fellow students and act as a link between students and other groups such as teachers, governors and parents.

As the active voice that is actually heard in meetings, speeches and assemblies, you can provide key support for any issues or causes that are getting your fellow pupils fired up.

What else can I do?
If you can't get results from the school council or your school doesn't have one, start your own campaign standing up for what you believe in. If there's an issue you feel strongly about, the best step is to find out who else agrees with you and try to get your teachers on your side and listening to you.

A campaign might involve:

• Approaching your teachers/head teacher as a group to explain how you feel
• Having meetings at school with all the people who are in agreement with you
• Putting posters up or handing out flyers
• Starting a petition.

The key is getting as much support as you can. See how to create a petition.

Outside the school gates
If you still can't force the powers that be to change their minds, take your campaign outside the school gates. For a start, try to get parents to support your cause.

Write to your local council, to the department that deals with your issue, and write to local papers and radio stations to raise awareness of your campaign.

Jessica Gold from School Councils UK - an organisation devoted to getting pupils' voices heard at school - says that taking your campaign outside of school is not easy: "Get clued up on your research. Find out who the people you're targeting are and use the internet to gain access to websites that may help you. Then construct your arguments and make sure you know them well."

You can find out more in our section covering campaigning.Stop press! Speaking out in the school newspaperSchool newspapers are another way of representing student concerns to the rest of your school or college. If you don't have a school newspaper, see the box on "how to set up a school newspaper" in Ruth's story.

Contact the editor or news editor of the paper and tell them you'd like to write an opinion piece (or viewpoint) outlining what you feel about a certain issue - whether it's the state of the school uniform or racist attacks outside the school gates.

If they're willing to print your article, be sure to write an interesting, original and fair piece standing up for what you believe in. Your article could start by:

• Saying what it is you want done
• Explaining why it's an important issue
• Telling people what they can do to change things (for example, sign your petition, get parents to write to the head).

Your writing doesn't have to be prize-winning material, just straightforward and to the point. Don't try to attack other people - simply stick to the issues involved.

It seems obvious, but don't forget to make sure your article is neatly typed up, spell-checked and in on time.

If you need help writing the article, don't be afraid to ask for the help of a sympathetic teacher, pupil or a parent.

So if you're fed up of being ignored, talked down to or badly treated, then do something now.