Another busy few months for the GDST and our schools…
2012 is a special year for the GDST as we celebrate our 140th anniversary, and I find it heartening that the principles established by our founders – to educate girls well, and to treat each one of them as an individual – are still relevant now. Down the years, the GDST has adapted to ensure it maintains excellence in educational standards – but where we haven’t changed is in our commitment to achieving the best for our girls and their parents. As I write we’re deep in planning for our anniversary celebrations which will be launched later this year; there’s a sneak preview of our plans in this Viewpoint.
One of our GDST alumnae MPs, Esther McVey, kicked off a debate on girls and confidence in Westminster Hall late last year. I was delighted to be quoted on the way our schools build confidence by encouraging girls to take risks, by challenges like Duke of Edinburgh, and by having confidence to feel that they don’t have to conform to group expectations. You can watch it here.
Just before half-term, there was some excellent media coverage from as far afield as Canada and India of Wimbledon High’s ‘Failure Week’, an initiative led by Heather Hanbury, the head, to encourage girls’ resilience and risk-taking. The story was covered in the Sunday Times and Sunday Express, was at one point the second most shared item on the BBC news website, and Heather was interviewed on LBC, BBC Radio London and Radio 4's Woman's Hour. The GDST in the news page has links to some of the online articles and broadcasts.
And lastly, thank you to those parents who responded so positively to our last Viewpoint. In response to your feedback, we’ve included an article on how we measure progress and ‘added value’, as well as highlighting some of the work that’s been initiated by our Innovation & Learning team. We would welcome your thoughts on other areas you would like us to cover - just email us.
My best
Helen