On Friday I returned from Edinburgh, where I met with some recent leavers from my current school, all now studying at Edinburgh University. It was a super occasion, and it was wonderful to see them enjoying student life – which includes studying very hard, of course! I had half an hour to spare between meetings, …
Category: education
Sep 08
Tulisa: a role model and inspiration for broken Britain?
I have been thinking a lot about female role models recently, and so was drawn to the Daily Mail online article this week which reported an interview in Look magazine with Tulisa Contostavlos, singer and X Factor judge. In the interview, she described herself as an “inspiration for broken Britain”; I was intrigued. I was …
Aug 02
Education changes the world
‘A changing world’: how often do we hear these words?! More frequently than not, they are accompanied by a frisson of anxiety, of an age gone by and lost forever, of an attempt in vain to halt the progress of time, in search of a better, more stable past. Undeniably we live in – and, …
Jul 28
The World’s Greatest Sport
Well, I thought the Opening Ceremony of London 2012 was just amazing! What a tour de force – a visual and musical retelling of British history from before the industrial revolution to today, reminding us all of Britain’s contribution to world history, while avoiding jingoism and one-up-manship. The staging was magnificent, the inclusion (of patients, …
Jul 22
The eighth habit
Stephen Covey’s death last week has sparked – quite rightly – a flurry of accolades for a man who has been described as a pioneer in the genre of self-help literature which aims to enable people to lead their best lives. His 1989 bestseller, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People’, subtitled ‘Powerful Lessons in …
May 06
What can we do to promote a culture of kindness in society?
If you read my comments in today’s Mail on Sunday – “Top headmistress says social networking and public rows between celebs are causing a generation of mean girls”, you will see that I am warning against the culture of nastiness that often pervades our online (and real-life) world. Why this is aimed more at women …
May 01
Is Susie Orbach right to be optimistic?
I have just been re-reading Susie Orbach’s article in the Guardian, published on 20th April, and I feel rather buoyed up by the experience. Writing about the Body Confidence Awards which took place in the House of Commons earlier that week, she drew attention, of course, to the grip which the ‘beauty’ industry has on …
Apr 19
Dr Ruth Gruber: an inspiration to girls in New York and across the western world
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 …
Dec 20
Curbing the sexualisation of children – new UK Government rules to start the New Year
News came in yesterday that Michael Gove has confirmed that changes to the National Curriculum in the UK will not now take effect until September 2014 rather than the planned September 2013, and this qualifies as a good thing in my book. We do of course have to change the national curriculum – it is …
Nov 12
Change in the air … Australia is beckoning
I say to my girls at school often that they should make the very most of their lives, as they only have one life, and every moment of it is precious. When opportunities come along, they should be grasped and girls should not be afraid to move outside the comfortable zones in which their lives …