I am sure this title really boosted your ego, and even though that was not my pure intention, I must admit there is no falseness in the statement.
To start off, here are some quick facts for you.
- Did you know the Rutherford Centre didn’t actually always exist in the school? I know, absolutely shocking to think there was no costume cupboard to get lost in.
- Here’s another: did you know our existing Sports Hall used to be grass? That is correct – just grass…assemblies used to be held in the Senior Hall…
- Meredith, Hastings, Scott and Arnold – I’m afraid you were just never even heard of until pretty recently (imagine – no House music, and worst of all…not cheering to Mrs Duncan’s incredible dancing).
Of course, it’s to be expected that the school has changed since 1880, but what if I tell you that these were changes that occurred in the last twenty-five years? Talking with a WHS alumna and the current Director of Keir Starmer’s external relations Vidhya Alakeson at the MUN conference on Saturday, she remarked “how familiar WHS felt, yet still immensely different”. She said she could never even have imagined fitting in more facilities in the school, let alone the huge renovation project we’re undergoing now. Admiring the pride flags in the senior hall, Vidhya commented on how “Pride was barely even mentioned” during her time twenty-eight years ago.
Dismissing the changes in physical aspects (as these are certainly inevitable), I thought about how much has changed within society in the past thirty years. Or, perhaps, I should use the term “social change”, as Vidhya did so eloquently in her keynote speech on Saturday. When we look at the atrocious decisions being made by leaders in so-called advanced countries such as the USA, it really baffles one to realise that, instead of leaping forwards as we have successfully done so far, we are now going backwards in bettering the world. Being directly involved with the Labour party, Vidhya reflected on how “politics is becoming increasingly polarized” – a factor which is somewhat slowing down crucial changes that need to be carried out. This fight between politics and woke culture dismisses the needs of the country and only highlights the idea of the “Westminster Bubble” further, displaying the ideological polarisation in government.
However, WHS’s role in persevering with these issues is quite fantastic (as expected, of course).
Whilst showing Vidhya around her former school, one of her comments really intrigued me – “WHS is more open to the world; integrated into society” in comparison to the more traditional focus on solely core subjects in the curriculum years ago. Our emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and the more recent encouragement of Civil Discourse simply wasn’t fostered twenty-eight years ago. Vidhya told me how economics, let alone politics, was seen as highly new and abstract, even though many left the school to accomplish jobs in serving the world with civil services.
And now, with our new STEAM tower, the diversity of WHS girls’ ambitions are undoubtedly unlimited. This optimistic outlook, due to the strong and powerful platform GDST schools put their students on, is definitely vital in influencing leaders and changes in our community.
Therefore, despite the volatile atmosphere around us currently, this school is significant in ensuring that the future will be different.
Vidhya left me with a beautiful remark which summarises its importance– “A WHS girl leaves school believing she can do anything” – something which certainly hasn’t changed and will not change anytime soon.
