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Girls' Schools Association

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Girls' Schools Association

The home of girls’ education since 1874. 180+ headteachers. 90,000 girls. One shared mission. GSA schools are experts in educating girls.

The Girls’ Schools Association represents the Heads of a diverse range of independent UK girls’ schools (day & boarding) including many of the top-performing schools in the UK independent sector. They encourage the highest standards of education, pastoral care and co-curricular activity, and provide a wealth of extra-curricular opportunities in art, music, drama, sport and more. Our schools share experience, specialisms, opportunities and facilities with state sector schools in a wide range of partnerships. Many also provide means-tested bursaries for families of limited financial means. Many of the schools in our membership were founded in the nineteenth century when a national movement to provide better education for girls and women gathered momentum. Campaigners founded new schools in which girls studied similar subjects to boys – a far cry from the superficial curriculum they had previously been given. Today, 21st century girls’ schools come in many different shapes and sizes. Some cater for 100% girls, others provide a predominantly girls-only environment in certain year groups. We work closely with the Association of School and College Leaders, are a member of the Independent Schools Council, and join hands with organisations in the UK and internationally – such as the Association of State Girls’ Schools (UK), the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools (USA) and the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia – in the interests of girls’ education worldwide. Visit our website to read all about our mission & values:
https://gsa.uk.com/about/values/

25/09/2026

🏆 Woman of the Week 🏆

This week, we're celebrating Tessa Coates, alumna of Oxford High School, whose series 'Ride or Die', an action-adventure comedy she created and wrote, has just launched on Prime Video.

Her creative work spans multiple platforms. She's built a successful career in stand-up comedy, is part of the sketch group 'Massive Dad', and is co-creator of the award-winning podcast 'Nobody Panic', which she's also adapted into a book. Her work shows real creativity and a sharp eye for storytelling.

Girls' schools nurture exactly this kind of creative confidence: the belief that ideas matter, that taking risks is worthwhile, and that your work can inspire and reach others. Her career is proof of what's possible when you start from that foundation.

Brilliant work, Tessa. 🎬

24/09/2026

This autumn, our professional development programme brings our Members together for an insightful series of conferences and events.

The Girls' Schools Association believes that professional development should do more than inform - it should uplift, connect and embolden. Its programme is designed for those who champion young women - headteachers, senior leaders, governors, and aspiring changemakers.

Together, we create the space for reflection, peer learning and purposeful leadership. There's something special about gathering together our unique community that champion girls' education.

Every course and conference is a commitment to intentionally growing leadership. So, why not take advantage of our events with colleagues at these upcoming events?

GSA Inclusion Summit (8 October, St Helen's School, Northwood)
Inclusion is complex for school leaders. This event tackles the questions that matter most, bringing together Heads and governors to explore practical approaches to belonging.

https://gsa.uk.com/event/gsa-inclusion-summit-2026/

GSA/HMC Admissions Conference (5 November, Holywell Park, Loughborough)
Join professionals shaping sixth form and admissions futures with fresh perspectives and the chance to connect with peers facing the same challenges.

https://gsa.uk.com/event/gsa-hmc-admissions-conference-2026/

Safer Recruitment Training with ECP Safeguarding (13 and 20 November)
Essential training for anyone involved in recruitment. This accredited course meets DfE standards and builds your confidence in leading safer recruitment practice.

https://gsa.uk.com/event/safer-recruitment-with-ecp-safeguarding/

Annual Heads' Conference (15 to 17 November, Leeds)
Reconnect with fellow leaders, be inspired by our wonderful speakers and explore fresh ideas at our ever popular conference.

https://gsa.uk.com/event/annual-heads-conference-2026/

22/09/2026

🤽‍♀️ It’s been a fantastic week of sport. ⛹️‍♀️

Our Girls Go Gold Conference at Loughborough University brought elite athletes, coaches and academics together with girls ready to explore what's possible. Then came our netball competition over the weekend showcasing exactly how our girls thrive. The evidence is clear: girls in girls' schools play more sport and stay active longer.

This is just the start of 2026/27 Go Bold, our full programme of events designed to empower every girl. We’ve got perennial favourites such as our Choir of the Year competition in Spring term and football tournament in Summer term, and so much more.

From politics to photography, writing to esports, not forgetting a new standout leadership and careers programmes designed for girls.

The whole programme is designed to spark curiosity and self-belief in every girl beyond the classroom. When girls have the freedom try new things, from the football pitch to the netball court, from the stage to the page, they have agency to discover what they're truly capable of. 💪

https://gsa.uk.com/events/upcoming-events/?_event-category=student-events

18/09/2026

🏆 Woman of the Week 🏆

This week, we're celebrating Rachel Mann, alumna of Lady Eleanor Holles School, who is championing the next generation of women in finance.

Rachel is a Vice President at BlackRock, working across Private Markets within the Asset Management and Asset Owners Team. Alongside her day job, she is Co-Chair of the Women in Banking and Finance Future Leaders Network, where her strategy has tripled membership and built it into the largest community within WIBF, connecting hundreds of women with mentors and career opportunities.

Rachel found her own community through women's professional networks, reflecting, "There were leaders to learn from, opportunities to grow and visibility of new roles that I didn't even know existed."

That's exactly what she's now building for others, giving hundreds of young women in finance the mentors, opportunities and confidence to go further, a lesson in community that starts early in girls' schools. 👏

15/09/2026

In our Leading the Conversation series, we speak with school leaders shaping the future of girls' education.

Everyone says their school is inclusive and work hard at this, but this isn’t quite the same as actually being inclusive.

Bridget Ward, Head of St Helen's, Northwood and Chair of the GSA's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Committee, argues that real inclusion means making sure a girl can ask a difficult question out loud and get a proper answer. It means staff who feel brave enough to try, even when they might get a word wrong. And it means deliberately finding the quiet minority, the girls who find one particular corner of school hard but never say so.

She challenges what inclusion actually looks like day to day, why frightened schools get smaller, and what girls' schools can teach everyone else.

"So, the job is to prepare staff properly, give them the facts, and make it clear that trying and getting a word wrong is far better than not trying at all."

Read her full piece on our website. https://gsa.uk.com/everyones-welcome-so-why-do-so-many-still-feel-they-dont-belong-inclusion-bridget-ward/

14/09/2026

The latest PISA education report reveals something important that deserves focus. Only 58 per cent of girls in England feel they belong at school, compared with 66 per cent of boys, one of the widest gaps, internationally.

Helen Jeys, Head of Manchester High School for Girls and President of the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) 2026/27, has been reflecting on what these findings mean for girls' education. England’s teenagers held their ground in reading in the latest PISA results, even as scores fell across the OECD but the report also contains a quieter finding that matters just as much – girls report a significantly weaker sense of belonging in a school than boy.

As Helen writes: “Every girl needs to feel that she has a voice, that she is valued as an individual; these are crucial to that vital sense of belonging.”

This is where girls' schools lead.

GSA research data reveals that girls in girls' schools develop higher levels of mental toughness and resilience; and this sense of resilience and tenacity is crucial to positive mental health. Every girl feels valued, heard, and knows her voice matters. When young women feel accepted and included, their emotional connection to learning strengthens.

As a Manchester High School for Girls student adds: “For me, belonging is about feeling like you have a purpose within your community. I feel that I have agency here and I am not just here to learn. My favourite thing about my school is the female friendships I have developed within it and growing up within a sisterhood.”

Read Helen's full article on the PISA report on our website: https://gsa.uk.com/pisa-2025-reading-and-belonging/

11/09/2026

🏆 Woman of the Week 🏆

This week, we're celebrating Naomi Alderman, alumna of South Hampstead High School GDST, whose career ranges across writing, broadcasting and game design. Few people manage to excel in even one of these fields, let alone all three, and Naomi moves between them with ease.

As an author, her novel The Power won the Baileys' Women's Prize for Fiction and was adapted into an Amazon Prime series. As a games designer, she co-created the bestselling fitness game Zombies, Run! and in 2025 bought the studio behind it. She also presents Science Stories on BBC Radio 4, exploring the history of science for a wider audience.

With September marking the start of a new academic year, it's worth mentioning her latest project too: a "Couch to 5k for reading" programme, designed to help people rebuild the reading habit that phones have quietly chipped away at.

Naomi's career is proof of just how many doors girls' schools open. 👏

10/09/2026

We are leading from the front. Girls' schools have always lead the way …

On 8 October, The Girls' Schools Association hosts its inaugural Inclusion Summit. It’s a day built for headteachers, governors, EDIB leads, and admissions directors of girls' schools, and designed from the ground up as a blueprint for what a truly inclusive event looks like, in how it runs as much as in what is said.

Created in partnership with The Schools Inclusion Alliance and kindly sponsored by Wellio, it will bring senior leaders together to provide evidence-based practice firmly grounded in the realities of running a school.

Come and join us for a day for doing and not just listening. You will work things out alongside colleagues who share the same challenges, and head home with practical tools you can use the following week.

You will hear from John Amaechi OBE, author of It’s Not Magic, on why inclusion comes down to everyday behaviour and not grand gestures, a former Chair of UN Women UK will talk about how schools can build trust when people can’t seem to agree on the facts. There are hands-on workshops on the issues that leader rarely get space to tackle:

👉 Getting past the fear of getting it wrong
👉 Neuro-inclusion for staff and parents
👉 Reasonable adjustments as a way to keep good staff and reduce legal risk
👉 Using data to show what’s really changing with Claire Harvey
👉 Talking about inclusion beyond the echo chamber
👉 Moving from ‘special needs' to support that’s built into every classroom
👉 Managing conflict in divided communities
👉 Plus clear guidance on what ISI will be looking for and how to show real progress.

It is open to all Heads, governors, inclusion leads, and anyone shaping how your school feels to the people in it. It’s even better if you come as a team.

Be part of the first - and book your place. All are welcome

https://gsa.uk.com/event/gsa-inclusion-summit-2026/

09/09/2026

'Knowing there's no barrier to what's available to them makes a girls' school an exceptionally empowering place to be.'

Speaking to BBC Three Counties Radio, GSA President 2026/27, Helen Jeys, set out why girls' schools matter, and the evidence backs her up.

Girls in girls' schools are three times more likely to take further maths, and more than twice as likely to take physics. On average, they take part in 25% more curriculum PE than the national average too.

🎧 Have a listen to our clip or find the full interview on BBC Three Counties Radio.

07/09/2026

We're welcoming Helen Jeys, Head Mistress of Manchester High School for Girls as our new GSA President 2026/27.

Helen arrives at a pivotal moment for girls' education, with a clear focus for the year ahead: making sure young women are heard and valued. As she puts it, girls today have never had more to say, and rarely found it harder to be heard.

It's a vision built on what we already know to be true. Girls' schools don't just support young women, they shape who they become, giving them the confidence, the platform and the results to back it up.

A philosopher by training, Helen is a long-standing advocate for teaching girls to argue well, to test their thinking, and to hold their nerve when the evidence doesn't change.

At the GSA we know girls' schools transform lives, and we look forward to realising Helen's vision this year. Read more: https://gsa.uk.com/helen-jeys-begins-year-as-gsa-president/

Address

Girls' Schools Association, 108 New Walk
Leicester
LE17EA

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 6pm
Wednesday	8am - 6pm
Thursday	8am - 6pm
Friday	8am - 6pm

Telephone

+441162541619

Website

http://www.gsa.uk.com/

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