During the first weekend of October, student leaders from SDB and FMA schools in Great Britain met in Savio House Bollington for the second Salesian Student Voice gathering. There were representatives from Savio High School Bootle, St John Bosco School Croxteth, Salesian School Chertsey and Salesian College Battersea. The weekend was led by Fr James Gallagher SDB, Schools Adviser for Shrewsbury Diocese, and Mr Kevin Reagan, Assistant Headteacher at Salesian College Battersea. Staff members from each of the schools accompanied their pupils.

The aim was to assist those who are members of the School Council or Student Voice teams in our Salesian Schools to take their responsibilities seriously and to introduce them to the network of Salesian Schools. The focus groups were years 10 and 11 (14 to 16 years old) since we were also evaluating the leadership roles our students could take in our schools. The gathering reinforced the principles of encouraging and training leaders in our schools and establishing better relationships between students and staff, which are fundamental features of Salesian education.

 The topics for the working sessions were:

• Sharing what you do in your school and how you do it
• Things you would like to be able to do
• Leadership within school: input, discussion and activities
• Salesian Schools in England and Worldwide
• The Salesian Network
• Liturgy Preparation and Celebration (Fr Tony Frain SDB)
• The Way Forward
• Going Back to Our Schools

During the weekend the group produced a Salesian School Charter:

In the footsteps of Don Bosco...

We will share the Salesian Ethos with everyone we meet

We will respect everyone, listen to everyone, appreciate everyone's opinion and treat everyone fairly; we will learn the skill of listening.

We will take responsibility for our actions; we will admit to our faults and learn to forgive others.

We will aim to fulfil our potential.

We will acknowledge when people are in need and help them to the best of our abilities.

As young people in a Salesian school...

We believe everyone has the right to express their views and to be listened to in a calm and respectful manner.