School Blog

As beginnings go, last weekend’s Coronation of King Charles III proved to be quite a beginning – an immaculately rehearsed public spectacle on an international stage – they don’t come much bigger than that. Steeped in history, a re-enactment and remembrance of ancient traditions and events, the ceremonies and pageantry, with their centuries-old carriages, crowns and jewels, served to re-establish a link to the past, yet herald the beginning of a new era.

Watched by 20.4 million people worldwide as the King was crowned, viewers bore witness to the first moments of the formal Carolean era, last seen in the seventeenth century. But strong beginnings rely on strong endings.

It is not often you can say you witnessed the end of an era. But by definition, the second Elizabethan age ended with the death and subsequent funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, which was meticulously managed and undeniably moving. It was – as the odd but accurate phrase has it – a good funeral. Not least because it was in recognition of a genuine good. Whatever your view of the monarchy and the institution as a whole, it is hard to deny that Elizabeth II loyally served right to the end.

In school this week, on a somewhat smaller scale, Year 13 students marked the end of an era with a full week of costume planning, final lessons, yearbook receiving and signing, culminating in the Sixth Form Celebration event on Thursday evening. Year 13 students assembled with their parents to mark the end of their High School education, making way for study leave and final preparations for their A Level exams.

During the same week, our Year 6 pupils travelled with their teachers to Osmington Bay on the south coast for a week of fun-filled challenges and activities with their friends, cementing life-long relationships ahead of their transition to Senior School, signalling the approaching close of their primary education journey.

At the time of writing, Year 13’s final celebration assembly looms large – a chance for the students to dress up in their themed costumes, joined by the Senior School staff, to watch the Leavers’ film, and say final ‘thank yous’, creating a memorable close to the girls’ experience at Northampton High.

American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, whose over life-size white marble bust has stood in Poets’ Corner Westminster Abbey since 1884, quoted ‘Great is the art of beginning, but greater the art is of ending’. How apt.

As parents of Preschool, Year 6, and Year 11 pupils will know well and feel acutely, the transition ahead to the next important stage of school life – to Reception, Senior School, Sixth Form respectively – brings heightened anticipation, emotion, and perhaps a sense of nervousness. For the parents of Year 13 students, who have, in some cases, been bringing their daughters to Northampton High for the last 15 years, the next steps for their daughters will be understandably daunting, yet keenly anticipated.

What is crucial for this time of uncertainty is that the ‘endings’ for our students who are nearing the next liminal stage of their education are the best they can be, making way for positive new beginnings.

Good endings matter. The hoodies, the year books, the new plans, the celebratory events and the transition sessions are all part of making sure the culmination of the ‘lasts’ at that stage of school life make way for the myriad expectant ‘firsts’ to come.

Our Year 11 students will now prepare for their summer GCSE exams as they start their study leave. Our Year 13s leave us to prepare for their A Level exams, and the page is turning, ready for them to start their next chapter. We wish them everything of the best for the period ahead, and genuinely wish them ‘good beginnings’ for the next stage of their adventures.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

 

Emblems and mottos, more than just pictures and words?

Northampton High School is celebrating its 145th birthday this year, a remarkable milestone that highlights the school’s long-standing reputation as a leading institution in girls-only education. Since its founding in 1878, the High School has nurtured generations of bright and ambitious young women, empowering them to achieve personal success and make a positive impact in the world. In this article we take a look at the history of the school and at how the images and words we associate with it play their part in bringing our ethos and values to life.

Northampton High School dates back to the late 19th Century, when a group of visionary women led by Miss Mary Pearson came together with a mission to provide quality education for girls in Northamptonshire. They opened the school in a small premises on Abington Street with under 20 pupils and just a handful of teachers.

Over the years, the school has grown in size and reputation, moving to several locations in Northampton, most notably the buildings in Derngate and Cliftonville, before settling in its current site on Newport Pagnell Road in Hardingstone in 1992. Today, the school is a thriving institution with over 500 pupils from ages 2 to 18, offering a broad and rigorous curriculum that prepares girls for success in a rapidly changing world.

Research has shown that girls-only schools offer many advantages over mixed-gender schools, including higher academic achievement, greater self-confidence and leadership skills, and a more inclusive and supportive learning environment. Girls in single-sex schools are more likely to study STEM subjects and pursue careers in traditionally male-dominated fields, such as engineering, technology, and finance.

Northampton High School’s commitment to girls-only education has been a fundamental part of its ethos since its founding. This approach recognises that girls have unique needs and challenges that can be best addressed in an environment that is designed specifically for them. Teachers who understand and buy into this ethos complete the picture; indeed any school is only as good as the professionals who bring the curriculum to life. We are grateful to have a highly-qualified and experienced teacher body whose high expectations, commitment and belief help our girls develop the confidence to fulfil their potential and achieve their ambitions.

When the beautiful cherry in Derngate courtyard comes into blossom, I know that we will soon be celebrating another year in this remarkable school’s journey. It is my favourite time to be in school. We all love the birthday assembly tradition, when the school’s oldest and youngest pupils cut the cake and we come together as one to celebrate our vibrant community.

Of course, anniversaries and birthdays are important milestones for any community. They allow us to pause and reflect on our shared history, to acknowledge our achievements and our challenges, and to renew our commitment to our core values and mission. The celebration of Northampton High School’s 145th birthday is an opportunity to reflect on the school’s rich history and legacy, as well as its ongoing commitment to providing a world-class education for girls.

One part of our legacy is seen in the imagery and words we have chosen to represent the school over time. In particular, we are often asked about the school crest, its design, history and meaning. It is perhaps worth reflecting on this, along with our mottos, as representing a kind of shorthand for our values and our place in the community. Of course, they also speak to our ambitions for the young people whose early experiences of the world are ours to guide, nurture and enhance.

Miss Alice Straker, who led the school for 21 years from December 1890, introduced the school’s original motto ‘The Utmost for the Highest’. The school also became known as Northampton High School for Girls under her tenure. While the words ‘for girls’ were removed in the latter part of the 20th Century (largely to avoid confusion with a newly renamed local school!), we are still known by this longer name by many people. However, for most, the school is simply known as the High School and thus retains this link to Miss Straker’s vision for a school that would stop at nothing to champion and inspire young women to reach higher and achieve their ambitions.

In the original crest we see symbols for the county and the town through the Northamptonshire rose and the castle that is featured in the town’s coat of arms. The castle is said to have rivalled many of the most imposing structures of the time and was destroyed following the Restoration as a punishment for the town’s support of the Parliamentarians in the Civil War. The school’s original links with the church are seen in the other half of the crest. The keys on the right represent the Diocese of Peterborough, while the symbol with 4 crosses on the left remains something of a mystery and any local historians who might know more about its significance are warmly invited to get in touch.

When Dr Helen Stringer joined the school in the mid 2010’s the school logo and motto were renewed. In the modern crest we celebrate the school’s link to the town and its former home in Derngate via a representation of the artwork on the door of 78 Derngate. This house was formerly used as Sixth Form classrooms by the school and was famously designed and remodelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh. Now, of course, it is the centrepiece of Northampton’s most popular visitor attraction, celebrating the renowned architect’s last major commission. 

Our current location in Hardingstone is also referenced in the new crest, represented by the Queen Eleanor Cross, only a few hundred metres from the school and possibly Northampton’s most important historical monument. It is one of the only remaining crosses erected by Edward I along the route of the funeral procession of his late queen, Eleanor of Castile. Eleanor’s life was fascinating and this podcast offers an intriguing insight into the story of one of our lesser known queens.

We retain a tribute to the school’s historical status as a church school in the current crest, via the Dioscian keys. Of course, since the school joined the GDST in the early 2000s, we are now non-denominational as reflected in our diverse and vibrant student and staff body. However, the universal Christian values of kindness, charity and service remain at the heart of our ethos and these are marked out in the daily lives of everyone in school. The rose, as well as being the emblem of the county, also represents our girls themselves. As such, it is used as the symbol for our alumnae, every student leaving the Sixth Form being given a yellow rose to represent her time at the school and the flourishing future that awaits her. 

Northampton High School’s 145th birthday is a cause for celebration and reflection. As we mark this milestone, we honour the school’s rich history and the thousands of young women who have passed through its doors, and we look forward to a future of continued excellence in girls’ education. Through the school’s modern motto, ‘We believe in our girls and they believe in themselves’, we hope that we remain true to the original spirit and ethos of the school. A school that proudly puts girls first and helps them to ride high and confidently meet the challenges of life.

To finish I would like to quote from an article I found while researching this piece. I’ve not been able to trace the writer, so if anyone knows who penned this, please do let us know. I hope this former pupil will not mind my using her lines, though, as I think they are in a spirit that is as true of the school today as when she attended Derngate herself in the 1960s. I heartily recommend reading the whole blog if you have a moment to spare. 

For me school was a safe, protected and predictable environment at a time when my home life was dominated by worry and uncertainty. A lot was expected of us but I think that was a good thing for me, I probably needed to be pushed in order to do my best, but school wasn’t just about results. I did better than anyone expected in my exams but more importantly I left school with a wealth of poetry in my head, passion for history, a love of art, a desire to read and a need to write, and all those things have remained with me ever since.

 

Mr Rickman
Deputy Head – Academics

The use of calculators in Primary Schools has been debated for years now, with critics citing that they make children lazy, complacent and reliant on them, for even basic calculations.

Ministers banned the use of calculators in national maths tests for 11-year-olds in England from 2014.

Prior to this, pupils were freely allowed to use calculators from the age of 7 but the government felt children’s ‘dependence’ on calculators for basic maths was preventing them from gaining a true mastery of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.

The National Curriculum states, “Calculators should not be used as a substitute for good written and mental arithmetic. They should therefore only be introduced near the end of key stage 2 to support pupils’ conceptual understanding and exploration of more complex number problems, if written and mental arithmetic are secure.”

It is important for pupils to understand that the calculator cannot replace their own understanding of calculation structures or their ability to estimate. Without understanding of calculation structure, it would be difficult to know what to ask a calculator to work out. Without good estimation skills, judging whether the answer it produces is reasonable in the context of the problem, would also be difficult.

However, the calculator can give pupils opportunities to explore more complicated numbers, real life situations, try examples with much larger numbers and decimals which they might find hard to handle with mental or written methods, and to get through more calculations in a shorter time. This allows pupils to gather evidence to support reasoning and to test out hypotheses and generalisations.

There is evidence to show that the use of calculators can benefit children’s learning. Calculators In Primary Mathematics (1994) by Kaye Stacey and Susie Groves suggests their ‘use provides a rich mathematical environment for children to explore and promotes the development of number sense’.

David Boorman in his 2015 report Should Primary School Children Be ‘Calculator Aware’ Or ‘Calculator Beware’? states, ‘they can develop conceptual understanding, support and improve mental and written methods, be a stimulus for dialogic talk, provide instant feedback and help to develop key mathematical ideas’.

As with any approach it matters how teachers and pupils use calculators and thinking about when, where and why to use a calculator is a key skill that teachers can build into lessons. In primary school the use of calculators is maybe beneficial when taught alongside other methods in order to deepen understanding, test ideas, refine thinking and tackle mathematical problems in new ways.

(If you type 372215 on your calculator and flip it upside down, you get the word ‘sizzle’, a calculator word that is both an ambigram and an onomatopoeia! What numbers do you need to write ‘hello’?)

Mrs Shaw
Class Teacher Reception

Each week, girls in our Nursery and Reception classes enjoy a cooking session; which is very hands on for our school’s youngest students. Over the course of this term, we have followed various recipes including fruit kebabs, five bean salads and banana muffins.

Our older students from Years 3 to 6 have the opportunity to join a Cookery Club once a week after school, as part of an extracurricular activity. Here, pupils enjoy shopping at the weekend for their ingredients with parents, which helps them to prepare to create that week’s dish. Members of this club have made a variety of dishes from Singapore noodles and vegetable rice, to sweet treats like rocky road and marshmallow snacks. During these sessions, girls learn a variety of skills such as how to use knives and cut food correctly and the importance of clean hands and surfaces; whilst not only taking pride in their creations but also in clearing away their work space and leaving it prepared for the next class.

Bringing children into the kitchen environment has many wider benefits. It teaches children to be aware of potential hazards and, by spotting these together as a group, they learn how to avoid accidents and stay safe in the kitchen whilst still having fun. There are many important lessons children learn from cooking that will set them ahead for the future. Creating a meal from scratch gives children a sense of accomplishment which builds their self-esteem, boosts confidence and self-reliance. Cooking will encourage children to be more responsible and prepared for adulthood. Cooking alongside adults expands a child’s vocabulary whilst also covering mathematic and scientific concepts such as measuring and changes in food. These are all important characteristics that cookery promotes and enhances, and it is a joy to watch our school’s youngest people learn and develop whilst enjoying this essential life skill.

Miss Page
Junior School Assistant

The Rowan tree outside my classroom has just started to show signs of life. It is not the first tree to blossom in the spring but it is one of my favourites because they have, what garden centres nationwide would describe as, “Three seasons of interest!”. It sits next to another tree which I think (having trawled multiple dendrological websites), is a Northern Capalta, more commonly known as an Indian Bean Tree, which also offers an impressive floral display in late spring and follows this up with the production of abundant slender seed pods which look like runner beans. I have grown particularly fond of these two individual trees because they have framed the view from my classroom for the last 11 years. The bright green buds that burst forth from the Rowan at this time of year, are a sure sign that spring has officially sprung and warmer climes are on their way. Today, as I write this, there is not a cloud in the sky and the hopeful, watery warmth from the March sun promises a very different outlook on this season from the sudden and somewhat aggressive flurries of snow that hit us a fortnight ago.

As a keen gardener, I love this time of year. The reappearance of daffodils with their hopeful yellow glow, or feathery shoots from the peonies reassuring us that they have survived another cold and wet winter are wonderfully affirming that new life is on its way. For many of my students however, this time of year is not as joyful. The looming exams that will start in earnest after the Easter break are a hurdle that must be faced head on for all our GCSE and A Level pupils. A certain level of concern, and even anxiety, is natural and to be expected at this time of year as they prepare for these important assessments. However, there are things that can be done to alleviate some of this worry.

Getting outside and reconnecting with nature is an effective and easy method of reducing some of the anxiety associated with exams. There is a reason that GPs and other medical professionals are starting to prescribe time outside to their patients. Not only for physical exercise and fresh air, but also for positive mental health and wellbeing. You do not have to be particularly green fingered to enjoy the positive impact of getting outside and even sitting in the garden for half an hour can be hugely calming and rewarding.

There is plenty of available research around the positive impacts of plants on our wellbeing. Horticultural therapy, sometimes referred to as ‘Plant Therapy’, is a technique that relies on plants and gardening to help people overcome health issues such as high blood pressure and memory disorders. It can also greatly help those battling depression, anxiety, addiction, and for survivors of abuse. This form of therapy is connected to the concept of ‘biophilia’, which is the idea that people are genetically connected to nature and plant life. The goal of horticultural therapy, or ‘Plant Therapy’, is to help patients build self-confidence, social connections, increase compassion, and get out into nature more frequently. Watching the latest David Attenborough series, which focuses on the British Isles, I am reminded of the beauty that is on our doorstep and would actively encourage anyone to get outside and explore and enjoy the benefits of reconnecting with our natural environment.

Many studies have been conducted to prove that plants have therapeutic effects on people. One clinical study in particular found that people who care for plants tend to be more compassionate and empathetic towards those around them. Additionally, further research by George Berreto (et al, 2017) published with the National Library of Medicine, reinforces that this form of therapy has a positive impact on anxiety and can improve overall mental health and wellness. Some universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, continue to see positive results in research that gardening is a productive way to improve mental and emotional health.

Engaging with nature outside of the house has other benefits. As humans, we are not designed to be cooped up inside all day. We need natural light and fresh air. Movement offers us an opportunity to refuel our brains with oxygen and the sunlight helps our bodies to absorb key vitamins that are essential for both physical and mental wellness. 

For those of you with children who are sitting public exams this year, talk to them about their revision timetables. Check in with them that as well as having a sufficiently rigorous grasp on their revision for each subject, they are also scheduling regular and meaningful breaks. Some of these should be outside, away from their screens, away from social media and away from the noise of continuous online interaction. Take a moment to stop and breathe with them outside. Slow the pace completely and reset before the next round of revision kicks in. Not only will this provide them a much needed mental recharge, boost their mood and restore some positivity, it will also make them significantly more effective as learners and ensure that the revision they are completing is high quality and impactful. 

For those of you with children in other year groups, who can perhaps enjoy a more relaxed pace to the Easter holidays and the changing seasons more generally, what activities will you be planning that are outside? They do not need to be extravagant or expensive. A simple walk can do wonders for the soul and offer opportunities for discussion and reconnection with each other, as well as with nature. Encouraging them to learn a new skill outdoors, like gardening, can be incredibly rewarding and offers ongoing activity and interest as we move into the summer months. 

Now, as a Geographer, I am painfully aware that our British weather is not always conducive to enjoying the outdoors. Whilst I would always still encourage donning your wellies and tromping through the puddles on a brisk, if a little soggy, walk, I appreciate that this is not for everyone. If you can’t get outside, or the garden is not an accessible or practical option for you, bring the outdoors indoors. House plants can be an inexpensive but effective way of experiencing similar benefits to being outside. Certainly the popular trend of biophilic design in modern day living, looks as though it is here to stay and again, the research supporting this is wide and compelling. Caring for any living thing, flora or fauna, that will develop and flourish over time provides us with a great sense of achievement and teaches responsibility. Whilst a pet may be impractical for many reasons, a plant that relies on you for survival is a great way to teach children responsibility, without the same impact if things go slightly pear shaped. Even the smallest amounts of plant care, with specimens that are simple to look after and require very little fuss, can help children to appreciate nature, develop compassion and strengthen their skills in empathy. There is no feeling like seeing a new shoot from recently planted seeds, or a fresh leaf from a propagated succulent, or the bright flash of colour from the first flower, because at that point you are rewarded for all the love and hard work that you have put into it. 

Plant Therapy, by Dr Katie Cooper, talks about  why being surrounded by house plants can naturally boost your wellbeing, no matter what your environment. Living in a world full of technology and the ever increasing pace of modern life, tending to and caring for plants, both in and out of the house can offer an escape from the pressures of the daily routine and offer us a deep rooted connection to nature. The mindful nature of caring for house plans or tending to our gardens has also been compared to meditation. The process of focusing the mind on another task and being present in that moment can be wonderfully distracting from anxieties and offer us a much needed break from our screens or our textbooks.

For me, the Easter holidays offer these same moments of peace, tranquillity and reward in the garden. In between the moments of waging a war on the slugs that persistently attack my beloved hostas, I know I will take great pleasure in the methodical and rhythmic actions of weeding, re-planting and general tidying as well as enjoying the mood boosting explosions of colour from the cherry trees and spring flowers that come into their own at this time of year. 

I wish you all a wonderful break over the Easter period, when it comes at the end of next week, and I hope that it offers you all a chance to recharge after a busy and high energy term. Very best of luck to those preparing for exams and I hope that as part of that preparation you are able to get outside, or reconnect with nature in your own way so that you are your best selves for the GCSEs and A levels when they start in May.

Mrs Kneen
Deputy Head Pastoral

Warning! The following blog was written by Artificial Intelligence*

*Actually, only part of this article has been created using ChatGPT, an app developed by OpenAI, designed to respond to text-based queries and generate natural language responses. I started the blog by asking ChatGPT how Artificial Intelligence (AI) might impact positively on education and help teachers to work on a more developmental level with students. Can you work out which paragraphs have been left as originally produced by the bot? There are 3 of them and I’ll reveal all at the end!

Artificial intelligence (AI) has the potential to revolutionise the way we learn and teach, bringing about significant positive impacts on education. However, as AI becomes increasingly integrated into the classroom, it may also pose dilemmas for teachers trying to differentiate between real student work and that produced by machine learning.

One of the most significant ways AI can benefit education is through personalised learning. With AI, teachers can gather and analyse data on each student’s learning style, strengths, and weaknesses, allowing them to tailor their teaching to meet individual needs. Moreover, AI can also help teachers save time on repetitive tasks such as grading assignments, leaving them with more time to focus on teaching and interacting with students.

This is not a new concept and the use of AI assistants is already widespread to help with answering simple, repetitive questions or by marking multiple choice assessments etc., all of which ‘allows teachers to dedicate their saved time to higher-value work’ (Goel & Polepeddi, 2016). However, additionally, AI can help teachers to identify struggling students by analysing data over time, finding patterns and areas of weakness. This information can then be used to help teachers to meet each student’s unique needs, improving overall performance. Currently in most schools, this work is still relatively time intensive for teachers and administrators, and requires grades and other data to be input manually once papers have been marked (also manually).

So, in theory, by moving to AI, increased efficiency can lead to a more productive and fulfilling teaching experience. Beyond the purely mechanical processes of grading and storing data, it can also help teachers to create more effective and efficient learning materials that are tailored to each student’s learning style and pace. One such tool is Education Copilot which enables teachers to ‘generate lesson plans & other educational materials in seconds’. As with other industries, then, AI can take some of the grind out of the day-to-day nature of teachers’ work and give them back time and energy to be spent on the individual learning needs of the students. Furthermore, it also has the potential to help students to stay motivated to continue learning by delivering more immediate feedback that allows them to identify areas of improvement in the moment.

However, as AI becomes more prevalent in education, it may also pose dilemmas for teachers. One of the most significant concerns is how to differentiate between real student work and that produced by machine learning. AI-powered tools can generate high-quality essays, reports, and other assignments, making it difficult for teachers to distinguish between authentic student work and that produced by machines.

This raises concerns about academic integrity and could potentially undermine the value of the work all students produce, with or without AI intervention. Effectively, if students can produce high-quality work without actually putting in the effort, it could lead to a devaluation of education and limit the skills students develop through their studies. Indeed, the Australian education ministry has tried to ban AI from schools altogether, claiming it is essentially cheating.

So far, nothing particularly surprising you might think. However, while the prospects for AI are certainly promising, according to the Seo, K., Tang, J., Roll, I. et al. in the International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education, ‘the impact of AI systems on the culture of, norms in, and expectations about interactions between students and instructors are still elusive’. This is because relationships are at the heart of any learner-teacher interaction and the quality of personal communication and human support that lead to trust and freedom of thought, cannot be replicated by a machine.

In conclusion, AI has the potential to help teachers work on a more human level by reducing the time-consuming elements of their work that do not impact on improving performance. By automating administrative tasks, grading, and providing personalised feedback, AI can help teachers create a more effective and efficient learning environment that benefits both students and teachers. By leveraging the benefits of AI, we can create a more personalised and engaging education system that meets the needs of all students.

No, actually in conclusion, it seems to me that the news about AI is essentially quite good, as long as we can educate students about its use as a tool to enable us to make the most of our humanity in our day-to-day work and interactions. Where it is used as an assistant, it can improve our impact because it can build solid foundations from which detailed analytical and imaginative work can spring. It does not replace this overarchingly creative role for human beings because it can only really gather information, like an electronic magpie; it does not create anything new, as such. This is true not only for the text that Chat GPT produces, but also for the artwork that the image generator Dall-E (also developed by Open AI) creates.

And, in any case, the fight-back from (real) content creators is already beginning. According to Bloomberg Law, nascent legal cases in the US ‘could limit the number of images the tools [like Dall-E] ingest for training, ultimately affecting the content that they produce’. I wrote an assembly recently for the Sixth Form about French philosophy and asked Dall-E for its generous help with creating a picture of a ‘kind French philosopher’. His image now sits at the top of this blog. Is it just me, or does he have a passing resemblance to Johnny Depp?

 

References

Goel, A. K., & Polepeddi, L. (2016). Jill Watson: A virtual teaching assistant for online education. Georgia Institute of Technology.

https://educationcopilot.com/

Seo, K., Tang, J., Roll, I. et al. (2021) The impact of artificial intelligence on learner–instructor interaction in online learning. Int J Educ Technol High Educ 18, 54

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/jan/23/queensland-public-schools-to-join-nsw-in-banning-students-from-chatgpt

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/mar/16/the-stupidity-of-ai-artificial-intelligence-dall-e-chatgpt

https://openai.com/product/dall-e-2

https://news.bloomberglaw.com/ip-law/first-ai-art-generator-lawsuits-threaten-future-of-emerging-tech

*Paragraphs 1,2 and 8 were written by Chat GPT

This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme #EmbraceEquity has invited the school community to reflect on the role of women in society, and urged us to work towards creating a world in which gender is no longer a barrier to success. 

Observed since the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world, which saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies – IWD started in earnest in 1911, and remains an important moment to continue the advance of women’s equality today. 

Celebrated on 8 March, IWD is about women’s equality in all its forms. It is also an official holiday in many countries including: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. In Germany, Berlin’s parliament approved a bill in 2019 to make International Women’s Day a public holiday. Whether you feel this should be a global holiday or not, IWD is here to stay.

Here in school, we started the week with Dr Lee’s powerful assembly titled ‘The Power and Influence of Women’ to kick off our celebrations. Dr Lee reflected on this year’s theme – to give equity a huge embrace. Staying with the theme, our termly workshop with the school’s governing body this week focused on diversity and inclusion, and the importance of equality in a wider sense for our whole school community.  

The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably. As a linguist, I am fascinated by the etymology of words. Etymologically, the root word equality and equity share is aequus, meaning ‘even’ or ‘fair’ or ‘equal’, leading to equity being from the Latin aequitas, and equality from aequalitas. However, despite these similarities, equity and equality are inherently different concepts. 

As a starting point, the basic definition of the words is important. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities, whereas equity recognises that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. 

Equality focuses on providing all genders with equal opportunities, such as a woman’s right to vote. IWD strives to endorse the belief that women should belong in a global culture that actively promotes and supports them in all aspects of their life, from education to the workplace to health. Gender is intersectional, and women as a group are truly diverse. 

By embracing equity, we can create a world where women and girls are valued and empowered to reach their full potential. Girls’ schools play an important role in promoting equity by providing a safe and supportive environment where girls can develop their skills and talents without facing gender-based or -biased barriers. 

Equality-based solutions to social issues may believe in impartiality, and that there should be no difference in services and policies. However, equity-based solutions take into account the diverse lived experiences of individuals and communities, adapting services and policies according to these differences.

Equity is a long-term and sustainable solution, and is a process for addressing imbalanced social systems. Girls’ schools, including Northampton High, help to level the playing field by providing girls with a nurturing and enabling space for girls to pursue their passions and succeed in their chosen fields.

Mrs Wilmot
Director of Marketing & Admissions

Childhood school memories are precious.

They stay with us for a lifetime.

That’s why school residential trips are special. They give our pupils experiences that will be remembered fondly and develop their learning.

The girls at Northampton High School get the chance to participate in overnight trips from Year 3 onwards. These trips encourage our girls to step out of their comfort zone and embrace the world without their parents. For many children, the Year 3 trip is the first time away from their family, which aids social development through creating bonds with their classmates, using initiative to problem solve, and allowing freedom of choice in a safe environment. It helps to develop:

• Independence
• Time management skills
• Ways of supporting classmates

The Year 3 trip helps children learn basic everyday skills such as making a bed, being responsible for their own belongings, sitting at a table and eating their dinner with friends, learning to set the table for dinner, keeping their bedroom tidy, eating a healthy meal, going to sleep at a reasonable time so that they wake up the next morning, ready to have a positive day. Although this last one often happens after the first night!

The focus for the residential trips in Year 5 and Year 6 is completely different. The girls face challenges and achieve things that they did not think possible. This approach gives them a confidence boost they can take into other areas of their life and learning.  Crate-stacking is a fun team activity where they work together to build a huge tower of crates while standing on the top in Year 5, while Year 6 use strength and determination in an exhilarating dragon boat race on water. Our hope is that the girls emerge from their residential trips changed to some small degree. A small step towards developing into their truest and best selves whilst even more prepared for the exciting world in which we live.

And having created those incredible memories that you remember for the rest of your life.

Mrs Smith
Class 4N Teacher

Year 13 students are finishing their A Level mocks today. It marks the culmination of months of effort, with the last few weeks, in particular, characterised by a quiet determination in the Common Room, as students have worked to get themselves into the best possible position to perform well. They are to be congratulated on their focus, which will no doubt bear fruit in the summer exams.

Over the half term break, I was thinking about the degree to which our students ­– supported by teachers and working hard themselves – aim to control the outcome of their exams, to what extent this is feasible and why that matters. My thoughts were prompted by reading a book by the sociologist Hartmut Rosa, The Uncontrollability of the World. I wanted to share a couple of those thoughts with you, as they have helped me to revisit some of the guidance we might offer our Sixth Form students.

In his book, Rosa argues that modernity is characterised by a desire for control and mastery: “Everything that appears to us must be known, mastered, conquered, made useful […] Lurking behind this idea is a creeping reorganisation of our relationship to the world that stretches far back […] but in the twenty-first century has become newly radicalized […]”​. We try to eliminate risk, increase productivity, extend our reach, expand our skills and powers, in what Rosa describes as an “aggressive relationship to the world”. At the same time, however, he notes that the more we do so, the more we find our control slipping away: the “controllable world mysteriously seems to elude us or to close itself off from us, becoming mute and unreadable […] ultimately constitutively uncontrollable”. As a very everyday example, we might think of the way in which the ‘marked as read’ feature of WhatsApp gives us greater knowledge, but might also increase anxiety and highlight our lack of control while the read message remains unanswered…

For Rosa, the reality is that our world is fundamentally uncontrollable and that this isn’t necessarily a bad thing (he cites as an example from his childhood the joy of unexpected snowfall). When it comes to exams, however, it is more than reasonable to try to control the outcome as best you can through excellent preparation and consistent effort. But, given the uncontrollability of the world – a bad night’s sleep, a question that throws you – I would want to highlight the importance of making key decisions dependent on one’s values and meaningful intentions, more so than on particular outcomes. When thinking about life after school, for example, perhaps we might do well to ask questions such as, how do I see myself contributing to the world around me in the future? how do I want to spend my time? what matters to me? what kind of a person do I want to be? If we have answers to those questions, we may be better able to respond with purpose to any situation, whatever unexpected things life might throw our way. You might say it’s a way of taking back control.

Mr Viesel
Director of Sixth Form