At the end of Term 2, I attended the annual Coalition of Girls’ Schools International Conference held this year in Philadelphia. It was an exhilarating experience being together with 600 delegates who are all committed to the value of a girls only education. Most of those attending were from America, together with several delegates from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the United Kingdom, South America and African nations. The keynote addresses, delivered by distinguished women from a range of fields, were particularly noteworthy, as were many of the workshops led by school leaders and teachers. The workshops provided ample opportunity for participants to engage with presenters, explore their educational initiatives in depth and for me to share current practices at St Peter’s Girls’ School, which were well received.
One of the keynote presenters was Cheryl Giovannoni, the Chief Executive of the Girls’ Day School Trust, a family of schools across the United Kingdom with the vision of creating schools where ‘girls learn without limits so they can go on to lead lives without limits in a world that is still far from equal.’ In Giovannoni’s address, ‘The Magic of Girls Schools (and how they will change the world)’ she considered the current backlash against gender equality based on the demonstrably false premise that women’s equality has gone far enough (for example, it is estimated that at the current rate it will take a further 168 years to achieve gender pay parity, more women are shouldering the burden of care for both children and parents, and the number of female CEOs of major companies is decreasing rather than increasing). She purports that this backlash is leading to a world that feels increasingly hostile towards women each day. There is blame placed on the current troubling manifestations of masculinity for our legitimate efforts towards gender equality in 2025. Giovannoni sees this as both simplistic and disappointing for a sophisticated and forward-thinking society. Boys are suffering but addressing their plight should not come at the cost of girls. Does fostering an environment that supports girls to thrive mean that boys are being disadvantaged? Now, more than ever, Giovannoni urged us to be bolder, louder and prouder about girls only schools – to hold fast to being here for girls, though not at the expense of boys.
Giovannoni impressed upon the audience the urgency of our ongoing commitment to girls only education. With changing perceptions of who and what makes a great leader, there is an opportunity for schools to approach the notion of leadership differently. Research has shown that girls do not necessarily want to lead in a traditional way “from the front”. Instead, they value more collaborative and open leaderships traits. As is our way at St Peter’s Girls, we encourage girls to stand up for themselves and ask for what they need and want, to realise that competition can be a healthy endeavour, and to not belittle their skills for fear of upsetting others; they should be encouraged to use and expand their natural collaborative problem-solving abilities and be aware of the value of empathy; and they must be able to adapt to a wide variety of rapidly changing circumstances.[1]
Giovannini emphasised that girls must view financial literacy as a vital life skill. The concept of freedom of choice and empowerment for women cannot exist without a solid financial foundation. This year at Saints Girls, we introduced the Future Finances program into the Year 10 wellbeing course. This program provides students with essential financial skills and strategies to manage money and make informed decisions, fostering confidence and independence for their financial futures.
Giovannini reinforced that central to girls becoming confident young women is being educated in a place where they learn that their opinions are valued, their voices are heard, and they are taught to be confident and successful in a way that is authentic to them. From the time a student joins our girls only school, she is encouraged to try things out, to resist perfectionism, to speak up, to speak out and to engage with opposing views with respect and confidence. Our EMPOWHER program also provides space for students to be equipped with the skills needed to address the social, emotional, and physical challenges that arise with growing up and to develop the skills in resilience required to face the vicissitudes of life with confidence.
On our Professional Development Day at the start of this term, I delivered an overview of the conference. Following this address, numerous staff members contacted me, sharing their interest in pursuing the educational opportunities that emerged from the rich conversations at the conference. I look forward to working with staff in further strengthening the girls only education we are so proud of here at St Peter’s Girls’ School.
Cherylyn Skewes
Principal
[1] Porges, M (2020) What Girls Need: How to Raise Bold, Courageous and Resilient Girls. New York