Leadership Day 2026

We had a fantastic weekend with our current School Leadership Award holders as we welcomed the Class of 2026 to the Rank Foundation community and caught up with our Class of 2025. It was brilliant to see the award holders coming together from across the country, many travelling independently to take part in the weekend and begin another year of their School Leadership Award journey.

The weekend began with a warm welcome from John Hind, who introduced students to the history of the Rank Foundation, including the story of Lord Rank and how his wealth was accumulated, before exploring the work of the Foundation today. John also gave the students a deeper insight into the School Leadership Award and what they can expect from the programme over the coming years.

The students then had the opportunity to get to know one another through an icebreaker, before hearing an inspiring talk from RankNet member Jordan Ignatius. Jodan encouraged the award holders to think critically about the things they accept as “normal” in everyday life, and to consider what might happen if they challenged some of those assumptions. It was a thought-provoking way to begin the weekend and set the tone for the discussions that followed.

The main focus of the weekend was producing three-minute films, with Shazia Ur-Rehman and her colleague from CTVC, Alya Din, providing the students with practical guidance on how to develop and communicate their ideas effectively. The students then put these skills into practice, working together to create their own short films.

The quality of the films produced was fantastic, with the groups tackling a wide range of thoughtful and important issues. Topics included the desensitisation of young people to global issues through social media, as well as gender inequality in the workplace. The students demonstrated not only creativity in how they presented their ideas, but also a real willingness to engage with complex issues and consider how they could contribute to positive change.

On Friday evening, we were also joined by Project Trust, who delivered an engaging session encouraging our award holders to look beyond their comfort zones. The session was particularly relevant to the students as they consider the opportunities and challenges ahead of them, encouraging them to embrace new experiences.

The weekend concluded with an Oscars-style awards ceremony, celebrating the hard work and creativity that had gone into the films. Awards included Best Picture, Best Actors and Best Concept, giving everyone an opportunity to recognise the different strengths and contributions of their fellow award holders.

Overall, it was a brilliant weekend and a wonderful opportunity to catch up with the Class of 2025 while meeting the Class of 2026. Our award holders continue to impress us with their enthusiasm, creativity and willingness to engage with new ideas. It is particularly commendable to see so many young people travelling independently and stepping outside of their comfort zones to take part.