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Scottish Girls Schools Unite to Support Future Leaders
Head, Mrs Carol Chandler-Thompson, with this year’s “Big 4” (from left): Stella (Deputy Head Student), Tilly (Head of Boarding), Hibah (Senior Prefect), and Ayza (Head Student).
“It starts young. Girls are discouraged from leading at an early age. The word “bossy” is largely applied to girls, not boys. I think we need to expect and encourage our girls and women to lead and contribute.” Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook COO. Sandberg’s book ‘Lean In’ whilst referring to the US of course, gives eye-opening statistics, for example that women make up only 7% of CEOs and women business owners get nearly 50% less in funding than their male counterparts. Whilst we would love to think the utopia of equality has been achieved in the world of work, there is still much to be done to get even close. It is therefore even more important that girls receive the best start in school to enable them to be part of disrupting this status quo. (1)
Developing the confidence and skills to lead is a vital element of a St George’s education and as a girls’ school we have the expertise to provide this specifically with girls and women in mind. We are delighted to work with our sister school in Aberdeen, St Margaret’s, whose Head Mrs Tomlinson is actually an ex-St G’s teacher, to run an annual leadership course to prepare our Student Leadership teams as they embark on their roles as leaders of the school. Making links between the two schools, which will continue to act as a support throughout the year, they came together in Aberdeen to work on identifying the skills, strategies and support they will need in their roles as they learn to exercise their leadership muscles. We look forward to seeing everything they achieve this year!
