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In our latest podcast episode, we are delighted to welcome two familiar faces to our community in their new leadership roles: Executive Principal Eve Jardine-Young, and Head of College Jemima Edney.

Both alumnae of CLC, Eve and Jemima share their experiences of life as pupils, their fondest memories and what inspires them as they step into these new positions at College.

Reflecting on her school days, Jemima said:

“I wasn’t one of the academic high achievers but I don't think that was necessarily hugely important for me or for my teachers… as College still is now, it was very much focused on pupils being happy and thriving in their own world. That is exactly why I am back here, to make sure that continues through, so that every girl thrives regardless of where their strengths are.”

Eve echoed this sentiment, recalling how CLC gave her endless learning opportunities and shaped her outlook during Sixth Form:

“My cup runneth over… I love the fact that then, as now, whatever your academic subjects might end up being as you get older, you're never excluded from accessing co-curricular clubs in something utterly and completely different.

You never felt you were too old to be vulnerable enough to start learning and I think any school that has been like that for a long time is fundamentally quite a non-judgmental place. There’s no shame. It’s not embarrassing. It’s not uncool to get excited about stuff. That ethos is very precious and I'm not sure it's the case in every educational environment, so it's a very powerful quality.”

Their conversation also explored the special bond between alumnae and College today. Jemima reflected on the lifelong influence of Guild:

“It’s a terrific network – not just for staying in touch with people, but because of the incredible range of professions and careers and wisdom that's within that network of people who have gone off to do fantastic high profile things and people who have gone off to do fantastic less high profile things, but everybody has an incredible amount of experience.”

As they look ahead, both Eve and Jemima spoke about their partnership within leadership and the future of College. Jemima described her day-to-day role as “on the ground, pupil-facing, making sure that the day-to-day running is as smooth as it possibly can be”. Meanwhile, Eve emphasised the importance of the long-term view:

“We have the most extraordinary rich history and as we come into view of our 175 year anniversary, which is coming up fairly soon, I want us to elliptically return to some of that phenomenal courage of that pioneering endeavour of the mid-19th century. At the time, to educate girls at all in this way was an act of immense courage. What does that immense courage look like in a 2025-2030 context, that actually feels right to us, that feels important and meaningful in the world, and how is that going to be financially sustainable?”

The episode also includes quick-fire fun questions where Eve and Jemima share fun memories from their school days and even some surprising personal facts - from Irish dancing to football proposals!