The entire school showed their determination to #EmbraceEquality on Wednesday 8 March, as students and staff dressed in pink to mark International Women’s Day.

Mrs Stokes began the day with an inspiring talk in Chapel about Shine Theory – the concept that women achieve more when they collaborate rather than compete with each other.

At break and lunch, there were stalls in the Terrace Room selling cakes and other sweet treats and raising hundreds of pounds in aid of Womankind Worldwide. Academic departments created displays celebrating the achievements of women in many spheres, and pupils had the opportunity to write their own pledges of support.

Throughout the day, there were many themed lessons. In English, pupils studied aspects of Tracy Chevalier’s novel Remarkable Creatures, about the life of Mary Anning. In Maths, pupils joined a live-streamed event hosted by the Advanced Mathematics Support Programme, examining gender diversity in STEM courses and careers and hearing from inspirational women who use maths in their jobs. In Drama, Year 10 were putting the finishing touches to their devised biographies of twentieth and twenty-first century female icons, including Rosa Parks, Queen Elizabeth II and Oprah Winfrey. We look forward to sharing clips of these performances very soon.

Finally, at lunch, the Catering Department honoured a number of prominent female cooks, with recipes from Madhur Jaffrey, Mary Berry, Nigella Lawson and many more.

Thank you to Moni O and Olivia T (Deputy Head Girls) for their superb efforts in co-ordinating the day.