News
GDST students featured in BBC Radio 4’s powerful series About the Girls
BBC Radio 4’s About the Girls, which aired last week (April 13th-17th), brought the voices of teenage girls across the UK to the centre of the national conversation. Presented by Catherine Carr, the five-part series moves beyond headlines to explore what it really means to grow up as a girl today. From life online to education, relationships and identity, it offers a candid and unfiltered insight into the pressures, possibilities and everyday realities shaping young women’s lives.
We are proud that students from across the Girls’ Day School Trust featured in episodes 2 & 3 of the series, sharing thoughtful, candid perspectives on the opportunities and challenges they face.
In Episode 2, girls speak openly about the realities of growing up in a digital world. Social media is not just a tool but a constant presence shaping how they see themselves and each other.
They describe a culture where content is often unrealistic and creates distorted beauty standards.
Girls further reflect on how online life can feel performative, where moments are curated rather than lived. Some describe missing the simplicity of childhood, before social media became so dominant. Others highlight more serious concerns, including online bullying, exposure to harmful content, and the permanence of what is shared online.
At the same time, they show a strong awareness and many are able to critically reflect on what they see and question the norms being presented to them.
Episode 3 turns to education, exploring how girls experience school today.
The conversations highlight: a strong sense of ambition and awareness of opportunities available to them as well as reflections on behaviour in classrooms and gender dynamics.
The episode also looks more broadly at the challenges of navigating schooling alongside mental health issues or caring responsibilities.
Through it all, their voices remain central, offering insight into what helps them thrive and what holds them back.
Girls today are navigating a complex and fast-changing world. They are thoughtful, self-aware and ambitious, but they are also facing pressures that require attention, understanding and action.
Education plays a critical role in this. The environments we create for girls shape not only their academic outcomes but their confidence, resilience and sense of possibility.
Read more from CEO Cheryl Giovannoni about why, at the GDST, it’s always all about the girls.
