News & views
👉 Gender equality isn’t a women-only issue 👈
As our member, Richard Tillett, Head at Queen’s College London, says, feminism is about policy and opportunity in a society that still isn’t equal.
Our male leaders are part of the solution too and we walk shoulder to shoulder in allyship with our educational leaders to lift up the lives of over 90,000 girls and young women in our schools.
👀 What does a life well-lived look like for the girls, young women and teachers in our schools?
In our latest Leading the Conversation, Kristina Lewis, Deputy Head (Academic) at James Allen’s Girls’ School, shares her own thoughts on this and gives a rallying call for the powerful role creativity plays in education today.
A timely reminder that placing joy and curiosity at the heart of students` educations is vital to instil a love of learning, and for our young people to learn to trust their instincts and follow their own dreams.
Kristina`s also listed the best up and coming female-led art shows to see in 2026. Grab it now! The link’s in our bio.
🏆 Woman of the Week 🏆
Wing Commander Sasha Nash, alumna of Lady Eleanor Holles School, has made history as the first woman to lead the Red Arrows, the RAF’s iconic aerobatic team.
A former Tornado pilot with operational tours in Afghanistan, Sasha now commands one of the most visible symbols of the Royal Air Force, overseeing 150 RAF and civilian personnel. She has spoken of being inspired as a young girl by air shows, speed, and the thrill of flight, a dream she carried with her through school and into a remarkable career.
Her appointment is a landmark moment, not just for the RAF but for the generations watching from the ground. It is a powerful reminder of what happens when girls are encouraged to aim high, trust their ambitions, and believe their dreams can take flight.
📸 Cpl Iwan Lewis RAF
UK MOD © Crown copyright 2026
The start of a new year often comes with a fresh focus on being financially savvy. Whether that’s a pledge to do better across saving and investments, having clearer financial planning and understanding, or thinking ahead to plan for future ambitions and look carefully at the ESG credentials of pension funds, there`s a great deal to balance and consider.
The good news for girls and young women who attend girls` schools is that they excel at these. Embedding financial acumen and understanding is a core foundation in our schools.
We know that when girls are financially confident they don’t just earn money; they gain independence, agency and long-term security.
The girls and young women in our schools love maths and economics.
💪 Girls in girls` schools are twice as likely to take Economics at A level.
💪 Girls in girls` schools are three times more likely to apply for Economics at university.
We know that this advantage extends far beyond school.
💪 One in six girls’ school alumnae work in a financial career, compared with just 3% of women nationally. That’s no small margin of difference.
By backing girls in maths and economics, GSA schools are reshaping who holds the power, influence and economic confidence one brilliant lesson at a time. We’re committed to breaking down barriers that have long kept women out of maths and finance!
Read more on our girls` academic attainment and girls’ representation in economics and STEM over on the GSA website. The link is in our bio.
📸 St Hilda’s School and Queen Anne’s School
🏆 Women of the Week 🏆
This week we are celebrating two Cheltenham Ladies’ College alumnae now leading at the heart of Oxbridge.
Dr Alex Freeman has been elected Principal of Hertford College, University of Oxford. A former science broadcaster, mainly with the BBC, she has played a major role in public engagement with science and is the founder of Octopus, the not-for-profit platform working to reform research publishing.
Professor Rosalind Polly Blakesley was inaugurated as Master of Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. An internationally respected art historian, she is a trustee of the V&A and has led major exhibitions and research exploring art, culture and identity.
Together, these appointments highlight the breadth of influence women bring to academic life, from scholarship and public engagement to institutional leadership. They are a powerful reminder of what women can achieve when expertise, ambition and opportunity align.
This term, our hugely popular Choir of the Year returns, celebrating joy and the collective voice of girls and young women singing together, across GSA schools.
GSA Junior and Senior choirs are eligible to take part and join the 2026 grand finale at our host school St Helen & St Katharine, on Sunday 8 March.
Sponsored and brought to you by a tuneful partnership with The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, it’s a wonderful stage for our choirs to perform on, sing in unison, and raise the roof in full song!
We have an exceptional judging panel: Dr Charlotte Exon, Director of Music, from St Helen & St Katharine, and Dr Charles Béquignon-MacDougall, a leading light in the UK choral world and ABRSM Consultant.
With entries closing this week, be quick to submit for a chance to shine and sing on the GSA COTY stage. If you`re a GSA member school, don’t miss out!
Submissions close on Friday 9 January, at midnight. Find the full details on our website. The link is in our bio.
📸 Ed Kirwan
👋 A new term and a new year. Welcome to 2026 👋
To our new followers, welcome. To those who have been with us for some time, thank you for being part of the GSA community.
We thought it would be a good moment to reintroduce ourselves.
For over 150 years, The Girls’ Schools Association has championed girls, young women, and women’s lives through an education designed with their best interests at heart.
In our girls’ schools every girl has every opportunity to be whoever she aspires to be, to fully explore what interests her, and to be inspired by all that life has to offer. Over 90,000 girls attend our schools, both independent and state, in the United Kingdom and worldwide.
Our fearless and expert headteachers ignite young women’s imaginations and potential, from the youngest girl taking her first steps into school to the youngest woman stepping out into the next adventure of her life.
There has never been a more important time to prioritise the educations of young women. Across GSA schools, you will find a wide range of schools to choose from to support your daughter’s journey – and to help her to discover who she is and who she can become.
Why not start exploring them today? (links in bio to find a school)
We also create opportunities for girls in our Go Bold student events programme. This term includes our much-loved Choir of the Year competition and AI Educational Revolution, a special event organised with University College, London, which will explore how girls’ schools can engage confidently and ethically with AI.
Here’s to this term 💪
📸 St Paul’s Girls` School
A new year and it`s a fresh moment for girls to step forward with confidence and take part in our 2026 Go Bold student events series!
GSA student events celebrate the creativity, voice and the full potential of young women across GSA schools, with opportunities spanning the Girls Are INvestors investment challenge, Choir of the Year, Girls’ Football Festival, AI careers, ESports, and human rights.
First one up that’s not to be missed is Choir of the Year 2026. Submissions close THIS WEEK - so don’t miss out and be sure to get your Choirs in for the running. The FINAL DEALINE for first-round video submissions is this Friday (9 January).
Thanks to our sponsors ABRSM and to our stellar judges Dr Charlotte Exon and Dr Charles Béquignon MacDougall. We’re looking forward to hearing all our schools` choirs in full song!
Immerse yourselves in the entries from Years 10 to 13 from this year’s Go Bold Photography Competition on the theme ‘A Bright and Brave Future’.
Stay tuned for more opportunities for the girls and young women in GSA member schools students in 2026. Head over to our website to find out more details and if you’re not yet a GSA member - come and join us!
📸 With thanks to the students from Cobham Hall, Queen`s Gate School, St Helen`s School, Sutton High School GDST, Redmaid`s High School, The Ladies College, Withington Girls` School, Norwich High School for Girls GDST, Tudor Hall, Edgbaston High School for Girls, Mayfield School.
💪 Women of the Year 💪
Looking back over the past year, we’ve celebrated athletes and humanitarians, scientists and entrepreneurs, teachers, musicians, writers, academics, service personnel, emerging political voices and lawyers. A remarkable sweep of talent and purpose!
Drawn from such diverse fields, these stories show the real impact of girls’ schools. When girls grow up with confidence and opportunity at their core, they go on to shape the world in every sphere.
Here’s to the girls, young women and women who inspired us in 2025, and we’re looking forward to doing it all over again in 2026.
From our Go Bold Photography Competition earlier this year, the Years 7 to 9 entries tackled the theme ‘A Bright and Brave Future’ with striking creativity and maturity showing a wonderful confidence through the lens.
More moments from the competition to come over the holidays!
📸 With thanks to entrants from: Redmaids` High School, Manchester High School for Girls, St Helen`s School, St Teresa’s, Effingham, Oxford High School, GDST, Notre Dame School, St Paul`s Girls` School, The Ladies` College, The Marist School Ascot
Earlier this year, our Go Bold Photography Competition invited students to explore the theme ‘A Bright and Brave Future’. Take a look at some of the brilliant images created by our girls in years 3 to 6.
We’ll be sharing more photographic highlights over the holiday season. Stay tuned!
📸 With thanks to students from: Notre Dame School, St Swithun`s Prep School, Wimbledon High Junior School GDST, Pipers Corner School, Blackheath High School GDST, St Francis` College, St Mary’s School, Cambridge, St Nicholas` School, Lady Eleanor Holles School.
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