Apr 23
Congratulations to Nicky Hutchinson and Chris Calland, speakers at the last November’s GSA conference, who won the award for Education at last week’s Body Confidence Awards for their book, ‘Body Image in the Primary School’. It is a great book, aimed at teachers in primary schools who have responsibility for personal and social development, and …
Apr 21
I am in the process of reading Dr Steve Peters’ book on mind management, ‘The Chimp Paradox’. It comes highly recommended, as Dr Peters is a consultant psychiatrist who has worked since 2001 with the British Cycling team and has obviously taken their achievements to great heights during this time. A ringing endorsement by Sir …
Apr 19
I came across the most amazing 101 year old woman last week. Her name was Dr Ruth Gruber, and I met her during my visit on Friday to Nightingale-Bamford School, a great girls’ school in New York which is one of several partner schools across the world to my new school (from January 2013), Ascham …
Apr 16
I wonder if PL Travers could have imagined, when she wrote her first Mary Poppins novel in 1934, that her work would have had such an impact on generations of children to come. This impact is not limited to children, in fact; I can testify, having spent a joyous 2 hours watching the stage musical …
Apr 13
I have just been reading ‘The Search for Marie Wallis’ by Gerri Nicholas; Miss Marie Wallis was the founding principal of Ascham School, Sydney, Australia, and I shall be following in her footsteps in January 2013, when I become Ascham’s 10th Head in its history. Miss Wallis founded the school in Darling Point in Sydney …
Apr 09
It would be absolutely fascinating to be privy to the discussions currently going on amongst the inner circle of the Augusta National Golf Club, Georgia, where the US Masters Golf tournament has just concluded. The Club has found itself rather uncomfortably at the centre of a gender equality storm this past week, as one of …
Apr 06
Samantha Brick’s story has gone viral this week, following an article she wrote in Tuesday’s Daily Mail entitled ‘Why women hate me for being beautiful‘. Now, we have to understand that Ms Brick is a writer, and has in the past written features for the Daily Mail and other popular magazines and newspapers, many of …
Apr 05
Last week – and this week, still – America has been transfixed by the Trayvon Martin case. It has been the topic of news debate after news debate, and has been addressed by politicians, the President, church leaders and ordinary citizens, many thousands of whom have attended rallies and vigils. Why? Because this case has …
Apr 02
As I write, Suzanne Collins’ teen novel The Hunger Games sits at the top of USA Today’s bestselling books lists, with the next three slots also occupied by novels in the trilogy – the twelfth week that they have appeared in the top 10, with the top slot occupied by the first book in the …
Mar 31
The St Mary’s Calne Chamber Choir Tour to Florida was an amazing success, and every single one of the girls on the tour, including our Upper Sixth Form lead violinist, who played fantastic solos and accompaniments as part of the concerts, was heartily in agreement that this past week has been amazing. The girls certainly …