GDST future STEM leaders

At the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), we know that girls thrive when they are encouraged to lead, challenge expectations, and think big.

Astronaut, Rosemary Coogan, Brighton Girls alumna, has recently proven just this, spending the last six months training at the Johnson Space Centre in Houston, bringing her ever closer to her dream of getting to space.

Her former science teacher, Phil Marsh, shared on BBC Radio 4’s Profile how an all-girls learning environment made the difference:

“I taught in mixed comprehensives where teenage boys often dominated the room, and girls were reluctant to speak up. But in the environment Rose was in, she was encouraged—and she took full advantage of it.”

This is the GDST difference. Our schools are guided by three core principles for educating girls to realise their ambitions: Classroom, Curriculum, and Culture—as outlined in the GDST Insights Report and Framework.

We deliver a forward-focused curriculum and co-curriculum that removes barriers, breaks stereotypes, and equips girls with the skills they need for the future. It’s why girls in single-sex schools are more likely to pursue science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) subjects. According to the Institute of Physics, girls in single-sex schools are significantly more likely to study A-level Physics than both girls and boys nationally.

Fostering future STEM leaders

As GDST’s Head of Learning Technology, I see this every day across our 26 schools. We’ve created an environment that fosters future STEM leaders—offering both inspiration and opportunity.

One standout initiative is our GDST Space Technology Diploma Programme, founded in 2019 by Nicola Buttigieg, Head of Computer Science at Sutton High School. This hands-on programme gives students the opportunity to work with cutting-edge technology—building machine learning models for capturing earth science data, studying aerospace engineering, and exploring python programming for space applications.

As well as our GCSE astronomy programme hosted by Hannah Harrison Hughes and  Ellie Jenkins from Howells School, Llandaff which is an incredible introduction to space science for years 10 & 11.

For our younger students, the GDST Junior Science Conference is an annual highlight—bringing together hundreds of girls to present research, engage in workshops, and connect with leading scientists and engineers.

STEM results at GDST schools — they speak for themselves

Amy, Aaron, Casey and Christina, Year 12 students from Oxford High School, recently won the Entrepreneurial Innovator Award at the prestigious Conrad Challenge Innovation Summit in Houston, USA. GDST’s team mO=On impressed judges from NASA, academia, and the space industry by tackling a challenge critical to space exploration’s future: how to extract, store and transport liquid Oxygen and Hydrogen on the Moon.

Croydon High School becoming the first UK school to send two weather balloons into space. Students from the Astrogazers Club worked with the University of Bath to launch the balloons 32,000 metres into space and successfully retrieved images of the Earth.

And of course, Rosemary Coogan, Brighton Girls’ alumna whose remarkable journey continues to inspire a generation. You can hear more about her story on BBC Radio 4 and in this recent BBC article.

GDST girls are pioneering uncharted territory and helping to solve real-world problems. They’re not just the scientists and engineers of the future—they’re already leading, mentoring, and making an impact.

At the GDST, this is what happens when girls are empowered through the right classroom, the right curriculum, and the right culture.

Because when the environment is right—you truly can reach for the moon.

About the GDST

The Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) is a family of twenty-four independent schools and two academies across the UK, dedicated to academic and pastoral excellence. As pioneers and shapers of girls’ education for 153 years, we are global experts in tailoring learning experiences to nurture confident, happy and fearless young women. Our forward-thinking approach to education provides development opportunities beyond the curriculum and equips girls with the skills and attributes to become the leaders and changemakers of the future.