It’s the culture and “brotherhood” within Waitaki Boys’ High School that makes Ben O’Sullivan excited about being head boy this year.

The leadership role is something Ben has looked on as a goal for a lot of his high school career, and when he was named at last year’s senior prizegiving, as the new head boy, he was “very, very excited”.

“Almost stunned,” he said.

“Waitaki Boys’ has had some outstanding head boys in the four years I’ve been there. So I guess it’s just an opportunity to follow in the steps of those boys, and lead the school and try and inspire the year 9s coming through.”

There was a lot of opportunity for change at the school, and Ben hoped he could leave the school a better place than when he started, in some capacity. 

He considered his fellow pupils at Waitaki Boys' to be his brothers, he said.

"We love each other, we’d do anything for each other, and it’s the culture of the school that makes it so special to me, and that’s what makes it so exciting to lead.”

Outside of school, the 17-year-old is a successful multi-sporter, and adventure racer. He will soon be competing in the two-day Coast to Coast event with a former fellow Waitaki Boys’ pupil, Will Plunket.

Ben was a big fan of most sports, but was also passionate about the youth voice, climate change and the environment. He had been on the Waitaki District Youth Council for the past year. 

He was not completely sure of his plans for the future, but was considering a double degree in engineering and commerce at Canterbury University.

Ben was enthusiastic about the year ahead of him, and felt hugely supported from the other student leaders he would be working alongside.

“We spent the last couple of days on a prefect camp - the boys bonded really well together. 

“We’ve actually got a really exciting team, and there’s awesome staff supporting us too, so exciting times ahead.”