Joel M. is a student that sat on the COBIS Student Council during its pilot year of 2025-2026. From COBIS Member School International Community School, Amman, and as co-chair, here is what he had to say about his experience...

When I first joined the COBIS Student Council, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect. A network of students from British international schools around the world, brought together to share ideas and shape the future of our learning communities. It sounded ambitious. Looking back now, I think that ambition was exactly the point.

This past year marked the first pilot year of the COBIS Student Council, and being part of something at its very beginning felt like a responsibility I took seriously. As someone who eventually took on the role of Chair, that turned out to be one of the most formative experiences of my school life.

One of our biggest achievements this year was creating the COBIS Changemakers Competition entirely from scratch. Designed for students in Years 1 to 13 across COBIS schools worldwide, Changemakers challenges young people to collaborate on projects that address the UN Sustainable Development Goals within their own local communities. The fact that we, as a student council, built a competition that students around the world can now enter felt like a genuine milestone. It wasn't just a discussion or a report. It was something real and lasting.

My involvement didn't stop there. I also took part in the judging process, which gave me a very different perspective on student work and initiative. Alongside that, the council helped shape the themes for art and poetry competitions, and we provided student-centred feedback on issues that matter to young people and schools around the world today. It was a reminder that a student voice, when taken seriously, can influence things far beyond the walls of any single school.

What struck me most was how quickly a group of students from such different backgrounds found common ground. We came from different countries, different curricula, and different time zones, and yet the conversations felt genuinely meaningful. Chairing pushed me to listen as much as I spoke, to hold space for disagreement while still moving us forward, and to represent perspectives beyond my own. I'm grateful I had the chance to learn them here.

What also made the experience particularly meaningful was the opportunity to work alongside my fellow Chairs and the COBIS staff. Leadership within the council never felt like an individual role, but a shared effort shaped by encouragement, trust, and collective commitment. Their support and insight played an important part in everything we achieved, and I value the relationships and experiences that came from working so closely together.

Perhaps the moment that brought everything into focus came near the end of the year, when I had the privilege of chairing a meeting to welcome the incoming council members. Introducing a new group of students to something we had built from nothing was an experience I won't forget. You want to convey not just the practicalities, the structure, the goals, and the projects, but the spirit of it. The sense that what they're joining genuinely matters, and that they have the power to take it somewhere none of us imagined.

Watching them ask questions, share ideas, and start to find their footing reminded me of how I felt at the very beginning. It made me realise that the most important thing we built this year wasn't a competition or a framework. It was proof that this council works, and that it's worth passing on.

I've come away with a much clearer sense of where I want to go. The work we did on student wellbeing and the real-world impact young people can have has sparked something I hope to carry into university and beyond. If the council has shown me one thing, it's that students don't have to wait to make a difference. We can start now, and I'd encourage anyone with the opportunity to do exactly that.