How the GDST is renewing our commitment to helping more girls learn without limits

A new academic year always brings a fresh sense of purpose and positivity for everyone at the GDST. After celebrating an incredible set of 2024 exam results that saw our 25 schools far outperforming the national average at both A Levels and GCSEs, our dedicated staff and colleagues are starting the new term with a refreshed commitment to helping girls to learn without limits so that they can go on to lead lives without limits.

I felt this infectious spirit during a recent visit to Oxford High, a GDST school that holds the unique status of being the only girls’ school in this diverse university city. It is also a school that encourages students to speak up and speak out, because making themselves heard is at the heart of Oxford High School’s identity and indeed the GDST’s. Our founders dreamed of using girls’ education to create a fairer, more equal world and I truly believe that it starts with helping each girl to find their voice and to use it with empathy and conviction.

The students were fascinated to learn that I was reading Kamala Harris’s book, “The Truths We Hold”, which is perhaps the perfect account of how to use your voice to break down barriers and lead positive change. She has worked tirelessly to reform the American criminal justice system, to raise the minimum wage, make higher education tuition free for the majority of Americans, and to protect the legal rights of refugees and immigrants. Ms Harris has always spoken up for those in society who did not have a voice, so it is incredibly uplifting to see so many Americans supporting her bid to become the first woman to serve as president of the United States.

The GDST also marked a significant milestone earlier this month with the news that Redmaids’ High School will be joining our family of schools from February 2025. Redmaids’ High School has its own proud history of educating girls in Bristol and will celebrate 390 years of excellence in girls’ education this year. The school embodies the ethos and values we hold so dear in all our GDST schools; a thoroughly modern, forward-looking education that equips girls with the confidence, skills and agency to become future leaders and changemakers, whichever future path they may choose. I am delighted that our two educational charities, equally and fiercely committed to the future of girls’ education, are coming together to further our shared mission, values and ambition for girls’ futures. We very much look forward to welcoming our new colleagues, students, parents and alumnae to the GDST family.

In addition to welcoming a 26th member, our pioneering work as the experts and global leaders in girls’ education continues at pace. Two years after the launch of The Girls’ Futures Report, our landmark survey of 5,000 students across the UK, we are collaborating with academic experts, researchers, teachers, students and campaigners on another important publication that will look to further address the issues raised by the girls we interviewed in 2022. Our ambition is that all schools, whether co-ed or single sex, will use these new GDST Insights as a critical resource to review any structural gender imbalances and stereotyping that might find their way into the classroom, and thus limit girls’ future potential.

Girls in every school need to learn vital skills such as how to influence, to improvise as well as prepare, and ways to pursue a less conventional career path, so that they can go on to co-create a more equal world for everyone. I believe that this upcoming work, which forms part of the GDST’s over 150-year vision to reach as many girls as possible, will help educators across the UK and further afield to reflect on the practices they need to embrace to ensure girls can learn at their best, regardless of the environment they find themselves in. We look forward to sharing these insights over the coming weeks.

Another important way that we are renewing our commitment to helping even more girls learn without limits this academic year, is through our role as founding partners of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS). In November, Wimbledon High School will host the ICGS Educating Girls Symposium, one of the largest global gatherings of girls’ schools. It is a unique opportunity for educators who are invested in shaping a brighter future for all girls to have crucial conversations about the latest challenges and opportunities in girls’ education, from mental health and well-being to academic excellence and leadership development.

In a world where there are currently fewer women CEOs in the UK’s FTSE 100 than three years ago and there is widespread concern about progress on women’s rights, it is even more important for us to continue to collaborate and focus on building a global movement in girls’ education to empower the next generation. I am honoured to be presenting a keynote at this event, and even more delighted that colleagues from Bromley, Norwich, Wimbledon and Liverpool will be leading breakout sessions with delegates from the UK, USA, Australia and Canada.

In spite of the changing educational landscape, we look ahead to this new academic year with boundless enthusiasm about providing even more opportunities for the girls and young women across our family of schools to learn without limits, so that they can go on to lead lives without limits. We also do this with a renewed commitment to reaching as many girls as possible, wherever they may be, with our world-leading expertise in how girls learn best.

The GDST Difference

The Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST) is the UK’s leading family of 25 girls’ schools including 23 independent schools and two academies. In 2023, the GDST published ‘The GDST Difference’  – a booklet compiling our own research, and analysis of the findings, setting out to break down why GDST schools and all-girl learning environments can offer the best start in life for young women.

Discover more about The GDST Difference