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 …
Category: teaching
Nov 06
The fabulousness of girls’ schools!
I have just returned from the Independent Schools’ Show in Battersea, London, where I was speaking in the morning on the subject of ‘The benefits of single-sex education’. In the afternoon, I was on a ‘MyDaughter’ panel of Heads of girls’ schools, chaired by Sarah Ebner of Schoolgate, so I had a double dose of …
Oct 08
Queen Elizabeth I: a supporter of girls’ schools?
Toward the end of last month, in my capacity as President of the Girls’ Schools Association, I hosted a dinner for around 50 guests at the Honourable Society of Gray’s Inn in London. It was a super evening: present were Heads of a number of great girls’ schools, and Heads of a number of great …
Sep 25
The Pseudoscience of Single-Sex Schooling: do single-sex schools really make pupils more sexist?
I wish that I could gain access to the full study published in this month’s edition of Science journal which appears to conclude that single-sex education is bad, wrong, immoral, not worth it – you can imagine the tone. As the website of the American Association of the Advancement of Science, who publish Science does …
Sep 23
Women’s depression rates: how can we prevent them rising further?
A relatively well-considered article in the Daily Mail last week drew attention again to the rise in the number of women who are being treated in this country for depression, and who are as a result of this diagnosis are being prescribed anti-depressants. As usual in the Daily Mail, it is important to read beyond …
Sep 01
How to ensure we don’t wait 70 years for equality
Two weeks ago I wrote about the recent report published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission, ‘Sex and Power‘, which had calculated the rather gloomy statistic that in some areas of public life, we will most probably need to wait 70 years until there is equality of gender representation at the highest levels. Can …
Aug 15
Proud to be a Headmistress: Moira Buffini’s ‘Dinner’ at the Edinburgh Fringe
The very last show I watched at the Edinburgh Fringe before heading back south for exam results week was a show for which I had especially extended my stay in Edinburgh by a day. It was the Fringe debut of a group consisting essentially of 2011 leavers from St Mary’s Calne, presenting an adapted version …
Aug 08
‘An Education’: Carey Mulligan and girls’ schools
A parent of a girl at my school said to me a few weeks ago that the Oscar-nominated and BAFTA-winning 2009 film ‘An Education’, starring Carey Mulligan, should be compulsory viewing for all teenage girls, and now that I have (finally) seen it, I entirely agree. The film takes us on the journey of a …