If having a magnetic personality is a key leadership quality, Year 11 students Dewayne S and Kelsey M have it in abundance.

That is the assessment of the director-general Michael Coutts-Trotter after he spent the day with the students as part of the Director-General for the Day event held during Education Week.

“I observed in both of them that rare thing you can’t quite put your finger on which is charisma,” Mr Coutts-Trotter says. “There is something about both of them that made you pay attention to them.”

The day proved to be a busy one for the two students, who started their duties with an executive meeting and videoconference with senior department staff. They were not alone in stepping into big shoes with students from across the state shadowing departmental staff that included the deputy director general (schools) Trevor Fletcher and a range of directors.

Kelsey, a state Student Representative Council (SRC) member from Crookwell High School, says the meeting was a highlight of the day and she enjoyed the “focus on the Premier’s Sporting Challenge … because [I’m] into sport”.

She also took the opportunity to impress upon policymakers that “learning has to be relevant” for students.

Dewayne, a member of the NSW student equity advisory team, a regional SRC member and talented rugby league player from Newcastle’s Hunter Sports High School, says he enjoyed visiting the Conservatorium High School.

“I never knew there was a high school inside it and just how the school works … we had a chat to the principal and the students [and] sat in on a class and watched a few performances.”

The visit was also Mr Coutts-Trotter’s first to the school. He says he was impressed with the rapport the visiting students were able to establish with their peers at the Conservatorium High.

“What was fascinating, apart from the quality and extraordinary things happening at the school, was how very, very quickly Dewayne and Kelsey fell into conversations with students at that school,” Mr Coutts-Trotter says.

“There really is a notion of the public education family – those young people took to each other in part because they were fellow students in public education.

“I just thought that actually captured a large part of the spirit of what public education is about and that is a respect, a welcoming and curiosity about everyone, no matter how different people’s backgrounds or experiences in life.”

Mr Coutts-Trotter says the pair’s obvious affection for their schools and home communities was also evident.

Other students who had the opportunity to follow in the footsteps of senior department staff in state office locations on the day were: Mohammed N (Punchbowl Boys High), Rikki C (Burwood Girls High), Justin T (Bega High), Catherine B (Beverly Hills Girls High), Michael N (Marrickville High), Hanna G (Lismore High), Benjamin S (Greystanes High), Willamina W (Canobolas Rural Technology High), James D (Mudgee High), Cameron O (North Sydney Boys High), Max V (Ballina High), Mitchell Dahlstrom (Moree Secondary College), Lauren Black (Cheltenham Girls High), Jessica H (Colo High School), Ashley E (Guyra Central), Millicent B (Wagga Wagga High) and Phebe M (Gosford High).