Principal’s Reflections

Choosing a School: Always ask the difficult questions

Originally published by the Girls' Schools Association as part of their Heads' Blogs series. 

With so much information available on academic achievements, co-curricular options and pastoral care, picking a school for your child can feel overwhelming... 22 November 2018 Read more

Six Ways to Help Your Teenager Prepare for Exams

Originally published by the Girls' Schools Association as part of their Heads' Blogs series. 

Revision and exams are already upon us. While there is no quick fix to ease stress or guarantee success, here are a few tips to help parents prepare teenag... 8 May 2018 Read more

Are you pushing your child too hard?

Originally published by the Girls' Schools Association as part of their Heads' Blogs series. 

Many parents are driven by a natural desire to provide the best for their children, through which it is easy to fall into the trap of unintentionally tippi... 14 March 2018 Read more

Girls In Sport: Time To Level The Playing Field

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

Sport England's Active People Survey suggests that almost 230,000 more people played sport weekly in 2016 than in 2015, an encouraging trend. However, they also reported that two million fewer women play... 25 October 2017 Read more

The Future Of UK Education: AI, Virtual Lessons And Jobs That Don’t Exist Yet

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

From the whiteboards and VHS players of 20 years ago, to the tablets and virtual learning of today, education is evolving in exciting new ways.

New university concepts are challenging the status quo and... 20 July 2017 Read more

The Arts: Essential Or Expendable?

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

As we confront unprecedented political and economic changes both in the UK and across the world, just how important are the arts to our society? Do we need to protect them at all costs or, if push came t... 13 March 2017 Read more

Empowering The Next Generation Of Women

Originally published on The Huffington Post.

Empowered women can change the world. From the first woman who declined to say ‘obey’ in her wedding vows to the first female President of the Royal College of Surgeons, women are achieving personal and p... 25 November 2016 Read more

Women In Engineering Day: Forging a Pathway for Girls in STEM

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

‘Creative’, ‘inspiring’, ‘exciting’ and ‘fantastic’ - just some of responses from Year 7 girls when they were asked to sum up what engineering means to them. So with such passion for STEM subjects at an ... 24 June 2016 Read more

Single-Sex or Co-Educational - Which Offers the Best Preparation for ‘Real Life’?

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

Decisions about education are some of the most important choices that parents and children have to make. There is certainly not a one-size-fits-all solution and these choices should be informed by a chil... 9 May 2016 Read more

Why Student Wellbeing Is as Important as Academic Achievement

Originally published on The Huffington Post. 

Our children are our most loved and precious resource, and often our joy, purpose and renewal comes from our dealings with them. Sometimes they make us frustrated and occasionally even desperate but usua... 19 February 2016 Read more

A reciprocal approach to learning for a new generation

Originally published on the GSA website. 

Let’s start with the basics. Our children are our most loved and precious resource. This is not just because without them we’d be joining the long list of extinct species, but because a disproportionately la... 1 July 2015 Read more

Gathering STEAM!

Having originally trained as a structural engineer with Ove Arup before moving into teaching, I know there is a great deal to be excited about regarding new and currently unimagined careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics (ST... 23 June 2015 Read more

LESS FORMAL HOMEWORK BUT NOT LESS LEARNING

Lead editorial, The Times, 6th June 2015. 

The Principal's interview with The Times was published on Saturday 6th June 2015. The headline about homework being banned was not entirely accurate. As part of our overall review of teaching and learning a... 8 June 2015 Read more

FINDING A VOICE - Encouraging pupil-led initiatives

Alongside the routine cyclical Spring term events such as mock exams, the early weeks of this particular term have proved to be lively ones in College for us as a community. I am delighted to see various pupil-led initiatives coming to fruition. 

Sa... 10 March 2015 Read more