The recent GSA conference in Manchester had the compelling title ‘Girls – the voice for positive change’. No surprise, then, that many of the sessions made the connection between the power of educating girls (and just girls, in girls’ settings), and social issues and concerns more widely. The message threaded throughout the two days was that the time has come for girls and young women to take up more space, use their voices more powerfully, and ultimately play world-changing roles – not exactly new to us at Wimbledon, you might think, but an exciting call-to-arms nonetheless. This might be in participating more in engineering and design, tackling climate change in the process; it might be in developing truly authentic, compassionate leadership which allows a culture of genuine inclusivity, whatever the workplace; it might be by unabashedly following unorthodox and gender-challenging routes through life, professional and personal, allowing via example other girls and young women to feel less fettered by societal expectation; or it might be by entering male-dominated arena and knowing they have the skills and tools they need to be entirely comfortable.
No small task ahead of us – and them – you might think. And of course a small part of me was asking the question: why should the onus be on girls to be the voice for positive change, to fix all of the problems? At times it felt overwhelming in the face of the hugeness of the proposition. But by the end of the conference, having discussed it with some amazing colleagues, I realised it was in fact a very straightforward proposition in many ways, and the answer is beautiful in its simplicity. Let me explain.
Being in the locale meant that, halfway through the conference, I fulfilled something of a career-long ambition and visited, along with three of the aforementioned amazing colleagues, Chetham’s School in Manchester. Chetham’s is the UK’s largest specialist music school, and sits nestled against the Cathedral: so you can imagine my great joy in being there, especially when some teenagers sauntered into the darkened quad, effortlessly singing in six-part harmony whilst also chuckling about something that happened in rehearsal; that’s happiness for me, right there.
At one point in the tour with the excellent Head Nicola Smith, we entered one of their stunning auditoria, and a boy was playing the piano. He was – as you might expect – superb in his musicianship, and I closed my eyes and felt (as I so often do in this incredible job) enormously lucky to be there. When the final notes had died, his Head asked him what he was preparing the piece for. ‘Nothing’, he said; ‘I was just enjoying the room’.
The four of us who were lucky enough to be there have talked about this a lot: it resonated hugely with us as we begin our journeys into educational leadership.
Nothing. I was just enjoying the room.
There was no goal in mind, no deadline, no pressure, no anxiety about what was to come; he was just enjoying the room. And that’s where I think we need to focus our efforts: that every girl, whoever she is and whatever she is like, gets to just enjoy the room. To know that she has everything she needs, in that moment, to relax and pursue the pleasure of being a unique and talented young person. And that will ensure she is – authentically and without feeling overwhelmed – a voice for positive change.
My colleague from The Abbey School has summed it up, far better than I, thus:
In the end, it is vital that all students get the opportunity so well-expressed by the young pianist from Chethams: to enjoy the room – to learn for its own sake and in celebration of their talent. And if we can help give our students the assurance to enjoy the room, no matter where they find themselves in life; to know they belong; to be masters of their fates and captains of their souls, as was quoted at conference – then we are contributing to freedom and diversity of opportunity and to a more open and equitable world. That is the cause that unites and drives us.
Hear, hear.
What an inspiring few days. And how fortunate I am to work with our inspirational students, each and every day, enjoying every room I share with them. How could you not.