In her first address as Chief Executive Officer of the GSA, Jeanette Cochrane celebrates the transformative power of girls’ schools, thanks members and staff for their leadership and resilience, and commits to championing girls’ education, strong leadership, and the collective voice of the association in an increasingly complex educational landscape.

CEO’s Address, Jeanette Cochrane, Summer Briefing 2026

It is a privilege to stand before you today and speak to you for the first time as CEO of the Girls’ Schools Association.

This moment is special for many reasons. On a personal level, this week marks 30 years in education for me: 30 years of classrooms, corridors, staff rooms; difficult days and joyful ones; moments of challenge and moments of extraordinary hope. And throughout those years, one thing has remained constant: the profound difference that great schools and great leaders make in the lives of girls because I am one of those girls.

So I want to begin with gratitude.

Thank you to the GSA staff for all that you have done. Your commitment and your belief in this work have shone through all the changes you have had to deal with in these six months – new CEO, new Events team, new website, new CRM. Like schools themselves, organisations must evolve. Change is never simple. It demands resilience, and the team has shown this in abundance.

And thank you to all of you, our members. Thank you for your leadership and your relentless commitment to the girls and young women in your care. We know that leading schools has never been easy, and in recent years it has become even more complex. Yet across this association there is extraordinary wisdom, generosity, and resolve. That is one of your greatest strengths.

These first six months have already made one thing very clear: this role has real influence, and I intend to use it. Visiting your schools has been a highlight, and I will come to that shortly. But there have been other important moments too.

Through our link with ASCL, I have had the opportunity to question the Secretary of State for Education, Bridget Phillipson, directly on how the issues facing girls will be at the centre of national policy. Through our work with the ISC, I am able to engage directly with organisations such as ISI and the Department for Education, ensuring that your voice is heard and that it carries weight.

And I have been struck by the strength of collaboration across the sector: working alongside association and trust CEOs who have been overwhelmingly open, supportive, and committed to the idea that we can work together for the greater good, even where we are, at times, competitors.

It is an honour to stand in a room filled with leaders of girls’ schools. Over the past few months, I’ve had the opportunity to see your work first-hand. And what impressive work it is! From seeing Year 3s dissect plants and talk about photosynthesis, intentionally designed playgrounds full of girls encouraged to run, climb and play all kinds of games from football to table tennis, to speaking to sixth-form students about how they can and do call out misogyny in their everyday lives, I have been continually jealous!

What has struck me consistently is this: your schools are calm, ambitious, and full of purpose. That doesn’t happen by chance. It happens through deliberate leadership, through clarity, consistency, and care.

Headship today is extraordinarily complex. You are educators, strategists, counsellors, and community leaders, often all before lunch. And yet, despite that complexity, what I have seen is not overwhelm, but focus. Not hesitation, but intent.

And that is what makes girls’ schools so distinctive.

A girls’ school does something unique.

Every decision, every lesson, every opportunity places girls at the centre.

In your schools, there are no limiting assumptions about what girls can or should do. Subject choices are not shaped by stereotype. Leadership is not rationed. Opportunity is not conditional. Girls step forward in science, in leadership, in performance, in every sphere because there is nothing holding them back.

They leave your schools articulate, confident, and ambitious, not by accident, but because they have been immersed in an environment that consistently tells them: your voice matters, your ideas matter, your future matters.

And the outcomes speak for themselves.

Academic results are outstanding, though personally I want to shout more loudly about those outcomes! Personal outcomes are even more important. On my first school visit on 16 January, we interrupted a class of Year 11s and talked about what they loved about their school. The phrase they used will stay with me as a mission statement for my life. What they loved was the “unspoken sisterhood” in the fabric of their school culture. And last week, on my latest school visits, touring with two Year 10s, when asked which of their school values were hardest to live up to, they began by saying, “Well, courtesy is the easiest, as it is just so natural to be kind to each other here.”

The holistic education I have seen in GSA schools is second to none!

But we must also be clear-eyed about the context in which we are working.

Here in the UK, we know that some schools are closing, merging, or facing significant pressure. There is hope – I hear that across the Atlantic families are rediscovering the value of what girls’ schools provide: a focused, empowering education that equips girls not just to succeed, but to lead. Let’s hope that trend crosses the pond.

That is why this moment matters.

So my ask is simple:

Stand proudly for your schools.

Stand confidently in your excellence.

And continue doing what you do better than anyone else because no one else can replicate it.

Know that the Girls’ Schools Association stands with you. We are here to support you, to connect you, and to ensure your voice is heard where it matters most. And there has never been a more important time for that voice to be strong.

Throughout my career, one of the greatest privileges has been supporting leaders through coaching, professional dialogue, and development. I have seen first-hand the impact of giving leaders space to think and grow.

Strong leadership is not about having all the answers. It is about asking the right questions, being open to learning, and having the courage to keep going, even when the path is uncertain.

That is why the GSA matters so deeply.

It is not simply a membership body; it is a professional community. A source of challenge and encouragement. A collective voice for girls’ education.

And at the heart of that work is an unshakeable belief in girls.

We know what happens when girls are placed at the centre, when their ambitions are taken seriously, when their talents are nurtured, when their voices are heard. Educating girls well is not a niche concern or a historic tradition. It is a vital and modern mission.

Because the world our girls are stepping into is complex. It is fast-changing, technologically driven, and often uncertain. They will need more than academic success. They will need resilience, discernment, and confidence. They will need a strong sense of self and the conviction that their voice matters.

That is why championing girls is not a slogan.

It is a responsibility.

A responsibility to create environments where girls can lead, speak, question, and innovate.

A responsibility to ensure they do not shrink themselves to fit expectations that were never designed for them.

And a responsibility to model, in our own leadership, the courage we hope to see in them.

This brings me to the importance of leadership and of allyship.

Progress does not happen by accident. It happens because people choose to open doors, to amplify others, to challenge assumptions, and to act with purpose. Leadership shaped by diverse experience is stronger, richer, and more capable of meeting the needs of the world we are building.

And allies matter too. Progress has always depended not only on those pushing forward, but on those willing to stand alongside them. If we are serious about creating a world in which girls can truly thrive, we must continue to build cultures where opportunity is widened and talent is recognised wherever it is found.

In schools across the country, I have seen this work in action.

And just a word about the allies in this room, particularly our male colleagues, who champion both of us as female leaders and the girls in their schools. I’ve had thoughtful conversations with colleagues here about how we better support girls’ oracy skills and even challenge ourselves to rethink assessment in ways that play to their strengths. What has struck me is not just the ideas, but the spirit in which they are shared: a genuine collegiality and a deep commitment to getting this right for girls.

And that commitment extends beyond our schools. Just last week, I listened to a male nutritionist advocating for female athletes, highlighting how the physiology and menstrual cycle of the female body has too often been overlooked.

These are the kinds of allies we need: people who listen, who learn, and who are willing to challenge assumptions in order to do better.

So as I begin this role, I do so with humility, with pride, and with real optimism.

It is a privilege to serve as CEO of the GSA. I am deeply aware of the legacy of this association and of the responsibility that comes with it. But I am equally excited by what lies ahead.

My commitment is this:

To continue to listen carefully.

To champion boldly.

And to work alongside you for the girls and young women we serve.

To ensure that this association remains a trusted source of support, insight, and influence.

To keep girls’ voices at the centre of everything we do.

And to strengthen a community that is already achieving extraordinary things.

Thank you for everything that you do.

I am proud to stand with you and prouder still of what we will achieve together.