Student Leadership

Every student at Westlake Girls High School belongs to one of five houses named after significant local areas. The house colours – black, gold, red, blue and green – reflect the Olympic rings to encourage the pursuit of excellence and relate to the meaning of each of the house names. The house system offers leadership opportunities for senior students and allows all students to feel connected to a smaller community within the school. Throughout the year the houses compete in a variety of events and select a house charity to support.

Each House has a House Captain, Academic Prefect, Arts Prefect, Cultural Prefect, Environmental Prefect, Service Prefect, Sports Prefect, Tuakana Co-ordinator – and a group of Tuakana students overseeing the Junior School. We also have several International Prefects. In addition, our Head Prefect and Deputy Head Prefect are highly visible leaders and role models for their fellow students at assemblies and school events. They also fulfill responsibilities in the wider school community.

Prefect Roles

Message from our 2023 Head Prefects

Isabella Drummond (Head Prefect) 

Dinithi Thiwanjana Liyanage (Deputy Head Prefect)

“Receiving the news that I was Head Prefect for 2023 was such a surreal moment,” says Isabella.  “When our Principal Mrs Stanley told me I was next year’s Head Prefect, I was at a complete loss for words. It took me a second to fully comprehend the news, but once I had, I was overjoyed and honestly a bit emotional. I was beyond excited to share the news with my whānau who I knew would be just as happy as I was. It is such an exciting opportunity and a great honour to lead such a prestigious school alongside Deputy Head Prefect, (and my close friend) Dinithi Liyanage. I cannot think of a more rewarding way to conclude my final year of high school!”

It was an exciting moment for Dinithi as well who said “To be completely honest, I don’t think I fully comprehended that it was real when Mrs Stanley first told me. I had always hoped to become a part of the senior prefect team at Westlake Girls so it is incredibly humbling to see one of my most esteemed ambitions coming true.”

Isabella says the role of Head Prefect is a huge honour but also a great responsibility. “I feel extremely humbled to be in a position where I can represent a school that has given so much to me over the past four years. I believe the role of Head Prefect will allow me to give back to the generosity Westlake has afforded me.”

Both students have immersed themselves in the abundance of opportunities and extracurricular activities our school has to offer. Isabella is very passionate about te Ao Māori (the Māori World) and says, “being a part of the Westlake’s Kapa Haka group is the highlight of my high school experience, as it has allowed me to learn, share and embrace my culture”. Both Isabella and Dinithi share interests including debating, Amnesty International groups, service committees and public speaking. Dinithi is also involved in our school choirs and is super excited to be the soprano section leader of Cigno Voce for 2023.

Isabella’s goal is to help foster an environment that ensures all our students thrive and feel supported to achieve personal excellence. “I hope to be an approachable role model that leads by example – who encourages others to make the most of their Westlake experience and leave high school knowing they fulfilled their potential. We all have something to give, something to offer, and by recognising and cherishing each of our different values, we can all flourish.”

“Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi” – “With your food basket and my food basket the people will thrive.”

International Prefects

Cathy Shin

Lubing Jiang

Phunatcha Fufa Pimolsri