Educating Girls’ Symposium
Our pupils and staff celebrated the power of girls at the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS) UK conference.
South Hampstead was proud to host this year’s ICGS UK conference, bringing together over 150 Heads and senior leaders from girls’ schools around the world. The GDST are founding partners of the ICGS – the leading advocate for girls’ schools, connecting and collaborating globally with individuals, schools, and mission-aligned entities dedicated to educating and empowering girls. Mrs Paul welcomed guests who had travelled from as far afield as Dallas and New York. “We live in a time where so many global voices seem committed to proving that power is inherently connected to masculinity. Our schools are living proof that this is fundamentally untrue and today is a brilliant opportunity to showcase that.”
As well as high-profile panel discussions and keynote speakers, there were over 40 breakout sessions to join, including a dozen led by GDST colleagues. Topics ranged from supercharging girls in sport, the effective use of AI, holistic STEM education, and the benefits of student-led philosophical discussion; Mrs Paul spoke about leadership and parenthood while our Director of Teaching, Mr Merk, led a session on embedding the principles of cognitive and neuroscience. Our pupils did a wonderful job of introducing guest speakers and showcasing our innovative sustainability project, Think Local, Act Global, whilst a trio of alumnae and parents generously contributed to a lively discussion on creativity and cultural impact.
Delegates ended the day with the opportunity to network with fellow educators as they enjoyed refreshments from our catering team and fantastic accompaniment by our talented musicians – an uplifting end to an inspiring day, which positioned South Hampstead as a leading light in the sector.
We would like to thank the GDST, Granta Books and our local Waterstones for kindly donating books for the event, which were distributed with South Hampstead bookmarks emblazoned with the words of Ruth Bader Ginsburg… “Never underestimate the power of a girl with a book.”