Within a wider study of pedagogic change, students from two innovating secondary schools described their experiences of the changes presumed to be occurring in their schools. The students exhibited scant knowledge of the innovations. While their learning was promoted as the motive for change, their role appeared to have been peripheral at best. There were indications, however, that enthused student engagement with new learning approaches, or, conversely, apathy or resistance, had the potential to intensify, or to sabotage, any change of pedagogy. An authentic, informed partnership between learners and teachers may be an essential element of any strategy for pedagogic innovation.