First Impressions & Future Plans
I am frequently asked by parents, girls and staff about my first impressions of South Hampstead; the end of the year brings an apt moment to reflect on this question.
It was apparent from the start that this is a happy, joyful and energetic school filled with purposeful, confident and articulate girls. But what was harder to get a sense of, on that spring day when I was first shown round here, was how consistently these traits are displayed. One of the things that has delighted me most about South Hampstead is that we see these attributes every single day, in so many different ways, thanks to the extraordinary group of girls who are our students. That buzz and intellectual spark, their zest for life and thirst for knowledge… these are the outstanding qualities which unite our girls, whilst also giving them the space to demonstrate that spirit in a way that is individual to them.
That buzz and intellectual spark, their zest for life and thirst for knowledge…
The question that typically follows the first one is this: What has been your favourite moment this year? That is much harder to answer. Of course, there have been some unique occasions which will stay with me for life, not least having the opportunity to interview Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe as our Speaker Series guest. So many of you have spoken so warmly to me about the impact of that occasion and I thank you deeply for that. These very significant big community occasions, such as this week’s inaugural South Hampstead Wrapped event, are matched by seemingly much smaller, but similarly meaningful moments. Ones that spring to mind include being invited to join our Year 7 avocado appreciation society; playing table football with Sixth Formers in the common room; accompanying Year 9 on the whole school walk and being given very clear instructions on how to spend my holiday in New York; competing in the staff House netball match amidst cheers from the girls (and a kind willingness to turn a blind eye to my tendency to be offside); playing bare feet at the opening of the Scott Padel Court; watching the girls perform at countless events, from GDST Sing at the Royal Academy of Music to London Youth Games netball at the Copper Box Arena, and everything in between. All of these moments, both big and small, have generated a profound love for our school within me. My sense of connection to South Hampstead feels visceral; I am so proud to lead a school where my connection to its central values and its ethical mission, to provide an outstanding education for as many girls as possible, resonates with everything that I stand for.
Looking back is inevitably inherently connected to looking forwards. The third question tends to be What’s next for South Hampstead? Those of you who have been able to attend my parent breakfasts will know that I have already embarked on projects to bring the outside into our beautiful building. September will see the launch of our first internal garden on the seventh floor, due to be aptly named Seventh Heaven. The intention here is to create a space where the girls can relax, work, chat and simply be; our student Eco Committee have been wonderful supporters of this project and we look forward to revealing it to you in the autumn. From a pedagogical perspective, we will be introducing a focus on cognitive science, with staff engaging directly with the science behind learning, and girls having the opportunity to learn about this too through our new student learning communities. The new academic year will also see some exciting updates to our digital strategy, as we replace pupil iPads with Chromebooks and start the transition from Microsoft Teams to Google Classroom as our primary learning platform. And we are excited to have appointed a Coder in Residence – a maths PhD student who is looking forward to fostering a vibrant community of young technologists and problem-solvers. Ever mindful of pupil wellbeing, we will also roll out Yondr pouches to ensure that our Senior School building is a genuinely phone-free space for our pupils.
Championing kindness will be stronger than ever, as our Head Girl team leads a project which celebrates the intrinsic value of compassion which makes our community so strong. We will embark on phase two of our Junior School renovation project and I am exploring exciting opportunities for further development of our sporting facilities on Lymington Road. Our co-curricular programme, Mehr Licht, remains incredibly important. The expansion of opportunities for our girls, whether through our key pillars of Sport, Music, Drama and Debating, or through the many other routes offered by over 150 clubs and societies each week, is integral to the holistic nature of our approach to education. It is incredibly exciting that our 150th anniversary year will begin in September 2026 and plans have already begun to define ways in which we can mark this milestone as a community. We will be in touch with you at a later date about potential ideas and projects to celebrate the outstanding role our school has played in the education of young women since 1876.
I would like to close the year with a heartfelt thank you to you as parents. You have embodied so many of the wonderful qualities of our school in the way you have taken the time to get to know me. You have shown kindness, care and camaraderie in the efforts you have made to visit and speak with me, whether at breakfasts, concerts, plays, sports events, debating competitions or parents’ evenings, to name but a few. It means a huge amount and I thank you for joining with me in approaching the education of your daughter in partnership with us. Please know that taking care of your daughters, allowing them to stretch their intellectual wings and soar whilst doing this within the psychological safety that being part of such a warm community brings, is of paramount importance to me. I have no doubt that you are exceptionally proud of your daughters, as I am too. It is largely thanks to them – and our committed staff body – that we end the term shortlisted for the London Independent School of the Year Award, a wonderful finish to the year.
As some of you will be aware, I speak with profound conviction about feeling deeply fortunate to have found a career that I have loved from day one, often in the context of championing women in the workplace. The first year of my headship has been no exception. My love of what I do informs everything and I feel that Mehr Licht could not be a more appropriate motto for our school, capturing our intent to deliver an illuminating and enriching education.
Speaking of light, I wish you and your families every happiness for the summer. If you are watching the Olympics then send me a wave as I will be in Paris at the athletics with my family. I look forward very much to seeing you in September, with more opportunities to talk to you about forging the future at South Hampstead.