Early this week, the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia held the 2021 Summit on Girl’s Education. Led by global industry leaders and designed specifically for educators in girls’ schools, the two-day virtual conference provided several Wilderness staff with the opportunity to join the conversation about girls’ education and hear from influential speakers.

Research shows unequivocally that girls thrive in an all-girls environment — they do better academically, socially and emotionally. Not just a single study but a plethora of data from across the world supports these findings.

The benefits of an all girl’s education are not foreign to our community. For over 135 years, we have specifically tailored a learning environment which creates opportunities for girls to succeed and develop intellectually, emotionally and physically. We have the privilege of being ‘girl focussed’, building the capacity of each student to lead and have agency in her personal and professional life.

Central to this is our integration of the world’s best research about how girls learn and thrive. There is a growing body of international research that supports the value of an all-girls learning environment and identifies the need for girls to develop attributes that will enable them to succeed in a world that looks and feels considerably different from even 18 months ago.

Gender equity, mental wellbeing, and digital engagement are just some of the topics explored by academics and educators over the last few days. We look forward to sharing with you some of the key insights that we will bring to our planning and curriculum development as we continue to respond to the changing nature of the experiences our young people face as they grow.