Next, you will need to recruit volunteer Book Club Leaders from Years 9, 10 and/or 12 – two Book Club Leaders per Book Club. To cover the whole of Year 7, depending on how big the year is, most schools need between 20 and 24 Book Club Leaders who will commit to three terms of running book clubs. It is not necessary for them to be prefects, A* students, or doing A-level English. Enthusiasm is the key to a good Book Club Leader.
School Coordinators or Team Leaders announce the opportunity to become a Book Club Leader at assemblies. Some schools have pupils fill in an application to apply to become a Book Club Leader. Others target those students who may become prefects. Some schools choose pupils who they think would most benefit from this leadership opportunity, who may become leaders, but need the opportunity to develop these skills. The point is to make it a sought-after position.
When recruiting the Book Club Leaders, it may be useful to emphasise the benefits they receive for volunteering. Besides the most important benefit of feeling that you are helping others, the Book Club Leaders receive a BCiS Accreditation Certificate which lists all the skills they have acquired. They can list their experience on their C.V.s and in their personal statements for UCAS. Book Club Leaders may use their experience to fulfil the volunteering or skills requirement for the Duke of Edinburgh as BCIS is a partner of the DofE
You will need to sign off on Book Club Leaders’ weekly attendance if volunteering hours are to be used for the Duke of Edinburgh scheme
