A student council speech should last about a minute. Say who you are, name one thing you would change, say how you would actually do it, and ask for the vote. That is the whole shape. The speeches that win are not the loudest or the funniest, they are the ones where the rest of the class can picture the thing being done. Below is a template you can fill in, two worked examples, and the mistakes that sink an otherwise good speech.
This works the same whether your school calls it a school council, a student council or a pupil council.
Five sentences. Fill in the brackets and you have a speech.
"Hello, I'm [name] from [class], and I'd like to be your [role]." Get it out of the way in one line. Nobody needs your life story.
"The thing I want to change is [one thing]." One. Not three, not a list. The single idea you would be happy to be remembered for.
"I've noticed [what you have actually seen]." This is the sentence that makes people believe you. Something real that has happened, that everyone listening recognises.
"If you pick me, the first thing I'd do is [a first step]." Not the finished result. The first step. It shows you know it takes work.
"I'll listen to what you tell me, not just what I think. Please vote for me." Ask for the vote out loud. A surprising number of candidates forget.
Read it out loud and time it. If it runs under a minute you are in good shape. If it runs over two, cut the part you like best, because that is usually the part that is about you rather than about them.
Hello, I'm [name] from [class] and I'd like to be your class representative.
The thing I want to change is the lining-up at lunch. I've noticed that the same classes go last every day, and by the time we get there the good tables are gone and everyone's cross before they've even eaten.
If you pick me, the first thing I'd do is ask every class what order they think is fair, and take it to the school council.
I can't promise it'll change. I can promise I'll ask, and I'll tell you what they say. Please vote for me.
That is 95 words and it takes about fifty seconds. Notice what it does not do: it makes no promise it cannot keep, and it names a first step rather than a result.
Hi, I'm [name] from [class], and I'm standing to be [role] on the student council.
I'm not going to stand here and promise you a vending machine or shorter lessons. You've heard that before and you know how it ends.
The thing I want to change is that most people in this room have never been asked what they think. The council talks to itself, writes it down, and nothing comes back. I've noticed that when something does change, most of us find out by accident.
If you pick me, the first thing I'd do is make sure every class gets asked the same question, in the same week, and that the answers come back to you rather than disappearing into a meeting.
I'm not the loudest person in this year group and I'm not going to pretend to be. What I will do is ask, and then tell you the truth about the answer. Please vote for me.
Around 170 words, just over a minute. It works because it names the actual problem with most school councils rather than promising something impossible.
Promises about food, holidays and money. Vending machines, shorter days, longer breaks. Everyone promises them, nobody delivers them, and the audience knows it.
A list of everything you would change. Five ideas said quickly is less convincing than one idea said properly.
Your CV. Being good at football is not a reason to put you on the council. What you have noticed about the school is.
Jokes you have not tested. One that lands is worth a lot. One that does not costs you the next thirty seconds.
Reading the whole thing off the page. Learn the first line and the last line by heart. Notes for the middle are fine.
One minute, or around 120 to 180 words. Most schools give candidates between thirty seconds and two minutes, so ask before you write. A speech that finishes early is remembered warmly. One that gets cut off is not.
Write it shorter. A quiet ninety-word speech delivered steadily beats a long one delivered fast, and the best class representatives are very often the pupils who were nervous about standing. If reading aloud to the whole class is genuinely too much, ask whether you can record it or have it read out. Plenty of schools allow that and it does not make the candidacy count for less.
Candidates write better speeches when they are given a shape rather than a blank page, and the whole election runs better when every candidate gets the same shape. Our free election pack includes the candidate poster template, a class announcement script written for a pupil to read out, application forms, ballot papers, a count sheet, and certificates for everyone who stands, not just the winners.
If you are running the election itself, start with how to run school council elections, which covers the whole fortnight from announcement to the day after the vote.
Member schools get every one of those resources personalised automatically, with the school's name and election date already on them. Membership is £199 for the year, whatever the size of the school. If you are not a member, see how it works in the live example school first.
The speech is the easy part. What decides whether a school council is worth standing for is what happens in the weeks afterwards, and the honest answer at most schools is not much. A committee of twelve meets, talks, and the other four hundred children hear nothing back.
The alternative is that every class is asked the same question in the same week, and the council's job is to carry the answers rather than to have the ideas. That is the difference between a school council and a Smart School Council, and it is why the promise "I'll ask, and I'll tell you what they said" is one a candidate can actually keep.
Say who you are, name one thing you would change, say what you have noticed that makes it a real problem, give the first step you would take, and ask for the vote. Five sentences, about a minute.
About one minute, or 120 to 180 words. Check what your school allows, because some give thirty seconds and some give two minutes.
Avoid promises about food, money, holidays or shorter lessons, avoid listing five ideas instead of explaining one, and avoid reading the whole thing off the page. Learn your first and last lines.
Your name, your class and the role you want, in one sentence. Openings that try to be clever usually cost you the time you needed for your idea.
Yes, and quieter candidates often make the best class representatives. Write it shorter, learn the first and last lines, and ask whether you can record it if reading aloud is too much.
See it in a real school
Ready-made topics, a short meeting each class runs itself as often as suits you, and every child's view in one place rather than the same few voices. Have a look round an anonymised school, no sign-up.
Take the tourOr join a free walkthrough →
Used by 700 UK schools · a registered charity