Girls in Education event
JAGS has held two weeks of events celebrating girls in education with its state school partners, St Saviour's & St Olave's and Central Foundation Girls' School.
Aims
2019 marked the 400th anniversary of Edward Alleyn’s charitable foundation, The College of God’s Gift, without which Central Foundation Girls’ School, James Allen’s Girls’ School and St Saviour’s and St Olave’s School would not exist as they do today. All three girls’ schools remain committed to providing the best education for their pupils and over the two weeks, the schools joined together to explore what it means to be a female in the 21st century.
Background
All three girls’ schools are beneficiaries of the Dulwich Estate. The Headmistress at JAGS, wanted to host a festival of events to bring the three schools together to celebrate the anniversary of Edward Alleyn’s charitable foundation.
Resources
JAGS welcomed a variety of high profile speakers during the first week, including space scientist Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock, journalist and broadcaster Emma Barnett and activist and journalist Caroline Criado-Perez. Diverse subjects were covered throughout the week, and included discussing powerful women in art history, examining growth-mindset, the importance of discussing periods openly and highlighting the extent of gender data bias in today’s society. All of the speakers proved extremely popular, and pupils enjoyed lively Q&A sessions after each talk.
Impact
The Headteacher at Central Foundation Girls’ School said:
‘We have been delighted to take part in the ‘Celebrating Girls in Education’ talks at JAGS. These events have been a fantastic opportunity for our students to hear from a range of inspirational speakers, and to have time to reflect on their own aspirations. We are thankful to JAGS for inviting us, and we share the sentiment of forging closer working links with JAGS and our partner schools, to learn from each other in the spirit of empowering all our girls through education.’
The Headteacher at St Saviour’s and St Olave’s said:
“It has been amazing for St Saviour’s & St Olave’s girls to take part in the ‘Girls in Education’ event hosted by JAGS, in celebration of the 400th anniversary since the Edward Alleyn’s Charitable Foundation was set up. I’ve heard so much from staff and students on how wonderfully inspirational the speakers were across the week and I’m looking forward to strengthening our links through future projects with JAGS.”
Pupil Involvement
Over 1200 girls from across the three schools took part in events over the fortnight. There was an event for each year group from Year 7 to Year 13.
Frequency
This was the first joint event that the schools have been a part of. Since then, both schools have returned to JAGS for an event with journalist Afua Hirsch. The three schools are in discussion about future events and how we can work together effectively.
