I am currently in Seattle for a couple of days, attending the conference of the US National Association of Principals of Schools for Girls, which I had the privilege of addressing on Sunday. It is a fabulous conference, at the heart of which there is the opportunity to share experiences with colleagues and to grow …
Tag: making a diference
Feb 13
Filling in the history: famous Australian women (part 1)
Another week, another city – another continent. From Washington DC to Sydney involves travelling more than half way around the world, which is an exercise in physical resilience, but an opportunity to think and reflect, and I have enjoyed using the time to start preparing for our new life in Australia (for which this trip …
Feb 09
Inequality put right: recent lessons from America
Being in Washington tends to focus one’s mind on things American, which can be very refreshing and enriching, bringing as it does a slightly different perspective to one’s world view. Yet even though the view is different, the issues are often at heart the same, and as I was reading the comments made by the …
Feb 02
The London Eye and the human spirit
I swallowed my rather irrational (but probably essentially healthy) fear of heights on Sunday and went on the London Eye, the huge wheel that dominates the central London landscape and provides visitors with a bird’s eye view of the capital. The trip was a culmination of a rather irritating process of trying to persuade various …
Dec 11
Cowards, bullies and ‘freedom of speech’ online … the X Factor and its moral responsibility to right its wrongs
The X Factor is over and it will be left for the media and commentators to pick through the debris. As part of this process, we must not overlook the opportunity to take a long, hard look at the moral responsibility shows like the X Factor have in what they do, and especially in the …
Dec 03
Preparing girls to ‘have it all’ in life
On Wednesday I addressed an audience of Sixth Form girls at Wellington College in Berkshire, at a conference designed to explore whether it is possible for girls and women to ‘have it all’ in their lives. My approach was straightforward – the answer is, quite simply, ‘yes’ – they just need to work out what …
Nov 30
The Young Ambassador, feather earrings and dinner – a winning combination
When I took up my role as President of the Girls’ Schools Association this year, I really wanted to ensure that I used the platform I was given in order to be able to achieve more than just a representation of the value of girls’ education. I say to the girls at school that they …
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 …
Oct 11
Ed Smith, Cricket and Renaissance People
Last week I was in a blustery St Andrew’s for an excellent – bracing, even, in more ways than one! – annual meeting of the Headmasters and Headmistresses Conference. Led and organised by the new Chair of HMC, Ken Durham (Headmaster of University School, Hampstead), the conference took as its theme ‘Excellence, not Privilege’, and …
Oct 02
How a hijack revealed the immense power of humanity
One of the privileges of being President of the Girls’ Schools Association is being invited to the annual conferences of the other UK Heads’ Associations, and last week I was a guest at the IAPS conference of Prep School Heads, which this year was held in Birmingham. It was a super conference with a stimulating …