Introduction. Volunteering is widespread among Russian youth. It makes sense to use the opportunities offered by state and public educational management to support and develop students' volunteering activities. The Governing Council of the educational organisation, the main collegial institution of state and public administration, includes students aged 12-17 who possess certain personal qualities. To motivate students to volunteer, the Governing Council developed and implemented a programme of additional training for volunteer leaders. The study was organised within educational organisations in Penza. A total of 52 students, who are members of the Governing Councils of their educational organisations, participated in the experiment. The average age is 14.5 years. We examined some aspects of students' motivational needs and personal qualities that influenced their decision to participate in the volunteer movement. Materials and methods. The study employed a methodology for diagnosing individuals' socio-psychological attitudes (Potemkina, O.F.) and for examining school pupils' motivations for participating in activities (Baiborodova, L.V.), as well as semi-structured interviews. Analysis of the obtained information made it possible to assess the awareness of motives for participation within both the educational organisation's Governing Board and voluntary activities. A programme for the further training of volunteer leaders has been developed and tested at the initiative of the Governing Boards of educational organisations. The results of the study showed that, at the beginning of the experiment, motives such as power and encouragement (61.5%) prevailed, but after the training programme, socially significant motives came to the fore (56%). No change occurred in 7% of cases. This proves the effectiveness of the additional training programme for volunteer leaders, which aims to foster socially oriented motivation to participate in the volunteer movement and public life at school.  Conclusion. In order to optimise the preparation of schoolchildren for active social roles, Governing Councils must organise additional training programmes for volunteer leaders.