Girls' Schools Association

🎉 We are delighted to share that Surbiton High School has been named a FINALIST in the Education Choices Awards 2026 in Category D: Working with Local Charities! Thank you, Education Choices Magazine.

This recognition celebrates the commitment of our whole-school community, including the Girls’ Prep, Boys’ Prep, Senior School and Sixth Form, to supporting local charities and making a positive difference within the local area.

We are incredibly proud of the work of our pupils and staff in building meaningful partnerships that have a real impact beyond the classroom.

We look forward to the announcement on Friday, 12 June! 🏆

🏆 We are delighted to announce that Manchester High School for Girls is the 2026 Education Choices Senior WINNER in the 'Enveloping Equality, Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging in the Curriculum' category!🏆

At MHSG we are fiercely proud of our diverse school community. We celebrate and reflect that diversity not just in our core values, but everyday throughout our approach to learning and pastoral care.

Head Mistress, Helen Jeys, said: "I am thrilled that MHSG has won the Education Choices Senior award for Enveloping EDIB in the Curriculum. EDIB sits at the very heart of our community and we will continue to strive to ensure that everyone feels that crucial sense of belonging."

Judges were blown away by the number and strength of the entries this year, from schools across the UK. We are thrilled that Education Choices Magazine has nationally recognised our commitment to equality, diversity, inclusion and belonging.

📖 Celebrating our 2026 GSA Senior Writing Award winner 📖

Congratulations to Charis from St Mary's School Cambridge winner of the 2026 GSA Senior Writing Award for her outstanding entry, After Themis. Her award was accepted by Head, Hannah Helliar.

Set in a future shaped by AI-driven justice, Charis's story explores empathy, humanity and the consequences of placing life-changing decisions in the hands of algorithms. Through powerful storytelling and striking emotional depth, she created a piece that stays with the reader long after.

Our judge, novelist Joyce Efia Harmer, said:

"Well done! Your story is that rare balance of compelling story and beautifully written, almost poetic narrative. You cleverly explore empathy versus algorithmic justice. . . What really stood out was the powerful emotional depth, which you made seem effortless, through the steady emotive voice of the girl in the courtroom. It is haunting and dystopian, yet with a feeling that this might very well be a possible version of the future ahead of us."

Congratulations to Charis on this remarkable achievement, and thank you to everyone who entered this year’s competition.

Read her winning entry on our website. https://gsa.uk.com/gsa-senior-writing-award-2026/

🎉 Celebrating our 2026 GSA Junior Writing Award winner 🎉

Congratulations to Ayla from Manchester High School for Girls winner of the 2026 GSA Junior Writing Award for her imaginative and compelling entry, The First Thought.

Through a vivid dystopian world, Ayla explores technology, consciousness and what it means to be human. Her story gripped our judge from the opening line, building tension throughout as a robot begins to awaken to a reality that is both fascinating and unsettling.

Our judge, author Tamsin Winter, said:

"I was blown away by the power of this entry. The form - short sentences, pared back, precise factual description and factual dialogue - perfectly capture the robotic theme. From the very first line, it's a tense and intriguing story. . . A very well-crafted and powerfully imagined scene that unfolds to capture the dystopian element of our technological world brilliantly."

Congratulations to Ayla on this fantastic achievement, and thank you to everyone who entered this year's competition.

Read her winning entry on our website. https://gsa.uk.com/gsa-junior-writing-award-2026/

The Girls' Schools Association Summer Briefing 2026 is now underway.

Today brings together headteachers and school leaders from across our community to explore the issues shaping girls' education, and hear from education and policy experts.

Opening the day and welcoming our membership, Jeanette Cochrane, GSA chief executive said: “Headship today is extraordinarily complex, you are educators, strategists, counsellors, community leaders, and yet, despite all that complexity, what I have seen is not overwhelm, but focus, not hesitation, but intent, and that is what makes girls' schools so distinctive, and a girls' school does something unique. In your schools, there are no limiting assumptions about what a girl can or should do. Every decision, every lesson, every opportunity places girls at the centre.”

Building on this vision, today will give our members the floor to shape GSA's priorities and direction for the years ahead.

As schools navigate challenges ranging from recruitment and retention to AI, wellbeing and educational policy, we're looking forward to a day of thoughtful discussion, collaboration and shared ambition for girls' education.

Earlier this week, our Chief Executive Jeanette Cochrane continued the GSA Listening Tour in Bristol with visits to two GSA schools: Badminton School and Redmaids' High School, GDST.

Paul Dwyer, Head at Redmaids' High School GDST, welcomed Jeanette to the oldest girls' school in the UK. Conversations with the girls shone a light on the incredible breadth of opportunity available to them, from music and science to cyber security, and more. Their enthusiasm and zest for life is clear.

At Badminton School, girls shared their equal passion for sport and the chance to take up whatever interests them. From elite level swimming to playing sport for the sheer joy of it, the girls' are testament to how learning in a girls' school has cemented an enthusiasm and joy to live life to the full.

Jess Miles, Head of Badminton School, says: "As a proud GSA school, at Badminton we encourage our girls to be curious, considerate, and active members of our global community, unafraid of speaking up and taking hold of every opportunity they're offered."

Jeanette was struck by all the girls' pursuing a wide range of interests and ambitions, and embracing every opportunity in the classroom, and beyond.

Thanks to Paul Dwyer, Jess Miles and everyone in their schools for sharing their time and perspectives.

🏆 Women of the Week 🏆

This week we're celebrating Amelia and Lydia Miller, Lady Eleanor Holles alumnae and co-founders of ivee, who have been named finalists in the Forbes 30 Under 30 Europe 2026 list for Social Impact.

Inspired by their mother's experience returning to work after a career break, the sisters created ivee to help people navigate a rapidly changing jobs market. Recognising the growing impact of AI on careers and recruitment, they built a platform that helps people develop practical AI skills and connect with new opportunities.

From securing investment on Dragons' Den to earning recognition from Forbes, Amelia and Lydia have shown how technology can be used to create meaningful social impact and help others thrive in the future workplace.

HUGE congratulations, Amelia and Lydia for lifting others up 👏

For Iris from Head and Shoulders the dominant conversation about screen time often misses the important perspectives of young people.

She understands the importance of a healthy digital diet and how limiting access to screens helps with focus. What she challenges is the assumption that every teenager is endlessly scrolling social media whenever they're on a screen.

Iris’s perspective is thoughtful and balanced: technology isn't going anywhere; we need real dialogue about corporate responsibility and digital design; coupled with understanding what heathy limits look like and knowing when to switch off.

By listening to our insightful young women and how they live with technology adults can hear, and better understand, how they're often are at the forefront of the most ethical and durable thinking on designing the digital future.

Read Iris and other GSA girls share their views on other topics that matter now for our young people in our recent feature with Muddy Stilettos. https://muddystilettos.co.uk/life/parenting/girls-schools-association-what-teenage-girls-really-think/