Creativity and Confidence Shine in Swavesey Leadership Challenge Projects
Year 9 Future Leaders use art and literacy to inspire joy and a love of reading across their school community
See Happy, Be Happy: Bringing Joy Through Art
One Future Leader, passionate about both art and supporting others, chose to combine these interests in a project titled See Happy, Be Happy. She designed and painted six vibrant canvases, each representing one of the school’s houses — Wilberforce, Cavendish, Pendleton, Orwell, Brunel and Newton.
Understanding how important the house offices are as spaces for pastoral support, she chose these locations intentionally, hoping her artwork would bring colour, comfort, and happiness to students visiting for guidance. To extend the reach of her project even further, she also created a large canvas for the school reception, ensuring that staff, parents, and visitors could experience the uplifting impact of her work. The project reflects the heart of the Leadership Challenge: using personal passions to make a meaningful difference to others.
Book Board: Encouraging Younger Students to Read for Pleasure
Another Year 9 Future Leader focused her project on promoting reading among younger students. She designed and created an interactive Book Board — now proudly displayed in an English classroom — aimed at inspiring Year 7 and Year 8 pupils to read for fun.
The board features a “Book Bingo” activity, her top three book recommendations with summaries, and a rotating section where she plans to update recommendation images weekly. By making reading accessible and engaging, she hopes to support students who may not know where to begin when choosing a book.
Reflecting on her experience, she shared:
“If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now – this quote is relevant because I deliberately chose a project that needed skills I hadn’t quite developed yet. I did more than what I thought I could do and ended up exceeding the standard I held myself to!”
Both projects highlight the imagination, compassion, and commitment of Swavesey’s Future Leaders. Through art and literacy, they have created lasting contributions that will continue to inspire joy, confidence, and curiosity across their school community.
Josie Crisp
Progression Coach for Cambridgeshire
