Partnerships and Social Action

Through our partnership network, we aim to foster aspirational futures, academic curiosity and social action. 

We are committed to opening up our facilities, expertise and time to our local community, creating opportunities for collaboration and supporting and engaging with their initiatives.

Our comprehensive approach to partnerships enriches the experience of every student, fostering invaluable skills in leadership, responsibility, planning and collaboration. Through diverse initiatives, including community projects within our Beyond programme, girls gain enriching experiences that extend far beyond the classroom. We also proudly host events that bring our students together with their contemporaries from local schools, such as the empowering Hack-her-thon coding event, inspiring author talks and our signature EmpowerHer event. In line with our founding value to reach as many girls as possible, both staff and students are deeply committed to this vision, ensuring a broad breadth of activity that benefits both our school and the wider community.

Our partnership network

Little Caterpillars

Our Little Caterpillars Stay and Play group offers free half-termly sessions for pre-schoolers. Families, including grandparents and childminders, are invited to use our Early Years Hub for outdoor and indoor exploration and play with themes such as forest schools, arts and crafts and cooking.

Check our events page for the latest available sessions.

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Swan Swimming Club

We launched our partnership with Norwich Swan Swimming Club in September 2021. Our through school swimming provision benefits from the experienced swimming coaches provided by Norwich Swan. Our Sixth Form students are also able to gain qualifications including the National Pool Lifeguard Qualification and to be part of the Norwich Swan Coaching Academy to give back to the sport.

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Supporting Local Initiatives

We are proud to be a part of the vibrant city of Norwich and we are committed to supporting local events, organisations and charities that enrich the cultural and educational landscape of Norwich for all residents. We are proud to be a corporate sponsor for Norwich Theatre and a sponsor of the Norwich Science Festival, the Norwich Book Festival, the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and The Royal Norfolk Show. We also take part in the Norfolk Heritage Open Day Festival every September. These valuable partnerships underscore our belief that by supporting local initiatives, we are jointly creating a stronger, more inspiring environment for our students and the wider city.

Sport

Did you know that nationally, two thirds of teenage girls quit sport by the age of 13? This is not the case in girls’ schools. At Norwich High School for Girls, we are passionate about providing opportunities for girls to engage with sport and develop a lifelong love of movement and sport. Beyond our comprehensive sport curriculum and extra curricular activities within school, we are supporting key sporting opportunities for girls and women in the local community. In 2023, we became the host venue for the MCCF Girls’ Cricket Hub in Norfolk, providing access to free coaching and match play for state-educated cricketers aged 11-16. In 2025, we proudly sponsored Norwich City Women Football Club – fantastic opportunity for us to support the rising profile of women’s football and connect with our local community.

Social action

A CarbonNeutral® organisation

The GDST celebrated Earth Day 2022 as a CarbonNeutral® organisation for the first time in our history. Our family of 24 independent girls’ schools and two academies has achieved the certification by reducing our emissions internally and supporting four emission reduction projects around the world, to offset our carbon footprint in accordance with The CarbonNeutral Protocol. These include clean cooking using biomass in India, land restoration using funghi in Chile, improved water infrastructure in Africa, and protecting rainforests in Indonesia.

Working in partnership with climate impact company Natural Capital Partners, we have carefully selected these projects to ensure that they align with GDST’s emerging sustainability strategy. Our strategy has been shaped by those UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) most closely related to our ethos and mission: Good health and wellbeing, Quality education, Gender equality, Climate action, Responsible consumption and production.