Woodberry Forest School - Prefect Board

Prefect Board

A principal feature of life at Woodberry is its student-run honor system. A Prefect Board of roughly 19 senior students decide the fate of any students who "lie, cheat, or steal", and its decision is approved or vetoed (though rarely) by the headmaster and the dean of students. Anyone found violating the honor code on any scale is dismissed from the school. The Prefect Board is determined through a process involving students, faculty, and administration. In the spring trimester, an election among the students is held where students are given a roster of the rising senior class and asked to select the 19 they feel are best suited to the role. Faculty undertake a similar process, and later the administration interviews the individual candidates as determined by the initial elections. Finally, the headmaster decides the final composition of the board and they are announced publicly to the student body before the close of the year.

Aside from maintaining the honor system, the Prefect Board is charged with guiding the new students though orientation. Prefects also serve in roles similar to that of resident assistants, organizing dormitory events and informing students of news and events. A Senior Prefect is elected by the Prefect Board from among its members; his role is similar to that of a student body president, giving a speech at the assembly commencing the school year and at graduation in spring.