Prefects
In the lower school, ages 13 to 16, a boy and a girl in sixth form (ages 16 to 18) are elected to be Captains of the lower school. They provide liaison between teachers and pupils so that any concerns can be rectified. Other roles they partake in can include organisation of inter-house activities, charitable events and the lower school social ("social" refers to social event or party).
In the Upper School, ages 16 to 18, responsibility is available through a hierarchy of positions. This starts with Captains of Sports, Service and House. In the case of Captains, no peer voting takes place but rather a pupil is elected by the Head of the respective department. This way it is not uncommon for some people to be re-elected as Captain for multiple terms depending on whether or not anybody else of suitable stance is available. Captains of Sport such as the Football or Rugby Captain are chosen by the Head of that sport and will help the Head organise teams for practice and preparation off the field of play as well as on it. Similarly Captains of Service will aid the Head of Service organise training sessions and be a point of contact for the rest of the members.
Captains of House are slightly different though in that they play a more personal role for pupils who want to voice problems with conditions within the house and this often means that House Captains have a lot more pupils to be responsible for. This difference is more evident in their original title of 'Helper'. They tend to be in close contact with the House Master so that any issues requiring immediate attention can be sorted out as well as being able to relay any general ideas or concerns in the House Captains' Council which meet once every two weeks. At the meeting a teacher is present and minutes are taken so that they can be passed onto the Colour Bearers (CBs).
Colour Bearers get their name from a band of purple they wear as insignia on their uniform, purple being one of the school colours. They are elected by the pupils and the staff, similar to Eton's Pop, and have important roles in the school community as a whole. Unlike captains they keep their positions for a whole year unless they are demoted which is usually the punishment for untoward behaviour. They meet every week with the Headmaster to attend to a wide range of school matters. As well as this they are responsible for maintaining the refectory and the library and for serving drinks behind the bar at the weekly socials in addition to organising major school wide events that take place throughout the year.
From the CBs a boy and a girl are chosen to be Guardians for the academic term. These are the Head Pupils for the entire school and only normally 6 people a year are allowed to have this position. The term Guardian comes from the name of the supportive rulers of Plato's ideal state. Like the staff they are closely involved in the management and wellbeing of the school.
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