The Pupils’ Committee (PC)
The Pupils’ Committee represents students at the European School of Karlsruhe (ESK). We work to improve school life, communicate student needs to the school, and organise projects and events for the community.
Purpose and role
The PC exists to ensure that students have a structured, democratic voice in school life. It acts as a bridge between students, teachers, and school leadership, and supports initiatives that make the school a better place for everyone.
- Representation: collect student concerns and proposals, and bring them to the relevant school bodies.
- Communication: share information back to students in a clear, reliable way.
- Projects & events: organise activities that strengthen the school community.
- Support & wellbeing: help students get support and signpost them to the right people when needed.
What the PC does
- Run student-facing projects (events, campaigns, improvements to facilities or school life).
- Maintain communication channels (posts, announcements, meetings with class reps, feedback forms).
- Coordinate with student representatives to identify priorities.
- Cooperate with school staff when projects require permission, safety checks, or scheduling.
Structure and membership
The PC is made up of elected student representatives. These representatives take up specific roles in the PC:
- PC Executive (core leadership): President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer.
- Teams / departments that run key areas (examples: Events, IT, Environment, Fundraising, Care/Wellbeing).
- Representatives / delegates for coordination beyond the school (e.g., CoSup representative).
Teams / Departments
- Events: planning, logistics, risk/permission checks, coordination with staff.
- Fundraising: sponsorship outreach, fundraising actions, budget support.
- IT / Communications: website, posts, digital tools, transparency archive.
- Environment: sustainability initiatives, awareness, improvements around school.
- Care / Wellbeing: student support initiatives, safe communication pathways, referral to staff when needed.
Elections and legitimacy
The PC is elected so that students can choose who represents them. Class representatives vote for PC members at the start of the year, while the Presidency is voted on by all students.
- Candidate eligibility: All students can run to be in the PC no matter which year or class they are in. The Presidency has to be above the age of 16 and can only run if they are part of the PC.
- Voting: PC members are voted in by class representatives, who all have one vote per class. The Presidency is chosen by a majority vote of all students.
- Term: After being elected, members serve for that school year.
Meetings and decision-making
PC work happens through regular meetings. A statute usually sets minimum frequency and rules for decisions.
- Agenda: topics are collected, prioritised, and shared before meetings when possible.
- Minutes: decisions and action items are recorded by the Secretary.
- Voting: decisions are taken by discussion and, when needed, by vote.
- Quorum: some statutes require a minimum number of members present for valid decisions.
Transparency and accountability
Students should be able to see what the PC is doing and why. Transparency builds trust and makes it easier for everyone to contribute.
- Public updates: summaries of projects, announcements, and results.
- Transparency archive: selected documents (for example meeting minutes) published when appropriate.
- Responsible handling: sensitive or personal information is never published publicly.
You can view public documents here: Transparency
Communication and contact
The PC is here to listen. If you have an idea, concern, or request, you can contact us in multiple ways:
- Ideas page: submit suggestions (optionally anonymously): Your Ideas
- Email: [email protected]
What the PC cannot do
The PC supports students, but it does not replace school leadership or staff responsibilities. Some topics require staff decisions, legal requirements, or safeguarding processes.
- We cannot change school rules alone, we can propose and negotiate improvements.
- We cannot handle serious safeguarding issues alone, we will guide you to the appropriate staff.
- We cannot promise outcomes, but we can promise to take issues seriously and communicate progress.
How to get involved
- Talk to your class representative / year representative.
- Join PC projects and volunteer for events.
- Run in the next election if you want to represent students.
- Send ideas and feedback regularly, it genuinely helps.