Norwich High School for Girls is part of the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), a family of 20,000 students and over 100,000 alumnae bound together by a mission to help girls learn without limits, so they can lead lives without limits.

We think that schools should prepare children for the future and as specialists in girls’ education, we tailor our teaching to the way girls learn best. Girls from GDST schools have greater confidence that they can achieve their goals and believe in their school’s ability to prepare them for the future, compared to their peers in other schools across the country. We believe this demonstrates the GDST difference.

And we have the proof. The Girls’ Futures report, commissioned to celebrate the GDST’s 150th anniversary, worked with specialist research agency YouthSight to gain insights from 1,358 girls aged 9-18 in England and Wales, as well as a control group of 374 boys in key age groups.

Our experience as experts in girls’ education has shown us that it fosters higher academic achievement, greater diversity of subject choice, stronger self-confidence and resilience and enhanced career progression. In mixed-sex schools, girls often adopt roles that reflect others’ views of them and which tend to narrow their academic and non-academic choices. GDST schools are girls’ schools by design, rejecting gender stereotypes and designed around collaborative classrooms, curriculum that gives girls the freedom to explore, and strong positive role models who shape inclusive cultures.

The GDST Girls’ Futures report found that girls want to reshape the workplace so that it fits them, their preferences and their aspirations. They want to be able to work flexibly in a job that makes a difference to society, with less emphasis on being their own boss or becoming rich. Whilst girls hold strong ambitions in what they want to achieve, they want to bring more collaborative and open traits to leadership, succeeding without compromising their own well-being for career success.

• Girls are passionate about taking on roles that they both enjoy (83%) and that make a difference to society (66%).
• Three in four girls want to work flexibly and nine in 10 want to work in an environment that “best suits them”.
• While 42% of girls want to take on leadership roles, when asked to rank their career ambitions, ‘being a leader’ ranked as the lowest priority out of a list of 17 attributes.
• Three out of four girls believe it is their generation’s responsibility to make the world a better place
• 35% of girls say that they do their best to take responsibility for social issues, while 36% want to make a difference but do not feel like they can.**

Girls at GDST schools feel more free to pursue a wider range of subjects, to participate more actively in lessons, challenge others’ views, take leadership roles and work collaboratively than girls nationally.

Aged 18, 25% of girls nationally avoid certain subjects because of their gender, compared to just 12% of GDST girls. More than 47% of GDST students took at least one science subject, and 39% took maths at A Level.*

Our teachers work with empathy and dedication to deliver not only a first-class education, but produce the leaders, creators and thinkers of the future, young women with strong character and strong values.

At GDST, we are proud of the role models and strong leaders found in our community:

• Many of our schools have developed ‘Big Sister’ programmes – buddy systems for younger pupils to be supported by older girls.
• Our bursary, outreach and partnerships work shapes the role models of the future, designed to help girls from all backgrounds to access a GDST education.
• Our alumnae community connects with our sixth formers through the GDST Rungway scheme, to offer advice, expertise and mentorship on careers and more.

Across a number of different measures, the GDST Girls’ Futures report found that girls’ confidence drops during their teenage years. This results from a range of potential factors, including expected models of behaviours, and perceived roles in school and social situations. Girls also cite a heightened focus on body image – particularly through social media – and the pressures of exams as playing a part in limiting their confidence. They do however generally feel confident about overcoming challenges and perceived barriers in life.

• Two-thirds (66%) of girls feel positive about the future. But while this increases from 61% to 74% between the ages of 9 and 14, it then decreases to just 56% by age 18.
• Nearly half of girls (43%) are confident about getting the job they want at age 14, but this more than halves to 20% by age 18.
• The number of girls wanting to work in digital technology falls from 43% to 16% between the ages of 14 and 18.
• One in four girls (26%) feel like they cannot take part in certain subjects/ pathways because of their gender.
• Two-thirds of girls aged between 9 and 18 believe that they can overcome the main problems they see in life, of which they rank ‘not having enough money’ as the greatest barrier to achieving their goals.**

Trends in confidence, positivity and ambition in students at GDST schools are closer to those of a representative sample of boys in the UK than other girls across the country.

Nationally and at GDST schools, girls’ confidence dips from age 14, but this is more likely to be regained at GDST schools. 66% of GDST girls agree they are comfortable taking risks compared to 52% of non-GDST girls.*

GDST schools are girls’ schools by design – founded on the belief that success is best achieved by educating girls in distinctive, girl-friendly environments, built around principles of Classroom, Curriculum and Culture:

• Classroom: GDST classrooms are characterised by collaboration and discussion-led learning that encourages girls to try new things.
• Curriculum: Our girls are empowered to reject gender stereotyping: for example in sports, the subjects they take and future career choices.
• Culture: We give our students the opportunity to try out leadership roles throughout their school career, building confidence in taking risks.

The Girls’ Futures survey found that girls considered personal barriers as a greater challenge to overcome than environmental ones and we recognise that girls need emotional support alongside academic support that not only nurtures them but challenges and empowers them. We have a strong pastoral programme with the girls at the centre of it.

Girls recognise that they need practical skills, such as financial education and critical thinking to thrive and gain independence in the world. But according to the GDST Girls’ Futures report, on a national level they are not adequately learning those skills in a school setting. Similarly, whilst girls feel confident engaging with people who hold different opinions to them, the ability to navigate social media and determine facts in a world full of opinion is becoming an additional essential skill.

• Around half of girls (49%) say that they feel prepared for the future, with 47% feeling unprepared and 3% unsure.
• Only 8% of girls believe that school fully equips them for adulthood, decreasing from 24% at age nine, to 11% at 14 and just 2% at age 18.
• Just 11% of girls feel like they gain education in understanding finances at school, although 70% would like more financial education.
• A significant majority of girls are confident about engaging with people who have different views to their own (68%).
• More than half of girls (56%) say they see fake news online at least once a week, but only 40% say they are confident they know what to do when they see fake news.**

GDST girls are more likely to feel prepared for the future than non-GDST peers, and are more likely to want to do a job they enjoy, have a job that pays well, and be their own boss.

Aged 9, just 5% of GDST girls feel negatively about the future compared to 35% of girls nationally. They are also more comfortable talking to people with different views to their own at 80%, significantly higher than non-GDST girls at 48%.*

We work on developing students’ problem solving, powers of deduction, using logic and thinking differently. We give students lots of opportunities to tackle novel situations where things will be unexpected, where they will learn and experiment. Students gain confidence by learning to think on their feet, and to apply their knowledge, which are essential skills in the modern world.

Along with academic lessons, there is a busy programme of curriculum enhancing activities and an extensive careers programme. Being part of the GDST gives students access to a nationwide network of teachers, alumnae and experts; from scientists and engineers to fashion designers who can all be approached for information and support, talks and presentations.

* All findings are taken from a representative sample of girls at GDST schools across the country.
** All statistics are taken from a national sample of 1,358 girls aged 9-18 at state, academy and independent schools in England and Wales. The following data does not include findings from GDST girls.