At Wilderness, we are consistently seeking to ensure that we are providing an exceptional education for our girls. We often look outside of our own gates, to learn from the best leaders, thinkers and educators across the world to enable this.

Head of Middle School, Dr Rhiannon Giles and I recently travelled to Hobart, Tasmania to attend the Asia Pacific Summit on Girls’ Education. We had the opportunity to hear from keynote speakers and participate in masterclasses, particularly in the areas of wellbeing and student entrepreneurship.

We are a proud member of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia (who were a presenting partner of the conference), which is currently going through an exciting change. The Alliance is merging with its US and UK counterparts to create the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools: one global enterprise that supports girls’ education. Through this merger, as girls’ schools join together and work side by side to ensure the benefits of girls’ education are maximised across the world, students will reap the benefits of global knowledge and international connections. Together, we are becoming a global enterprise for girls.

Speakers of note at the conference included Dr Donna Cross OAM, a professor, senior researcher and behavioural scientist who has made a significant contribution to children’s health research; Nicole Dyson, who works in global project-based learning, particularly in youth entrepreneurship; and Dr Judith Locke, an author and psychologist who specialises in parent and child wellbeing.

Another special speaker was Wilderness old scholar Ashleigh de Silva (2018), who presented her session ‘From student to change-maker’ through her role as the Oceanic Regional Leader of Girl Up. It was great to meet with Ashleigh after her presentation, especially with the knowledge that the Girl Up program is thriving within our school.

At Wilderness School, we firmly believe that girls’ education helps our students to excel as leaders, to develop agency and to build self-efficacy to support their personal and academic success. We are committed to our teachers working alongside experts in education to ensure that our girls have access to high quality learning in a supportive environment.

After a productive term, I wish all of the girls a wonderful end to the term next week, and a restful holiday break to follow with their families. We will see our Year 12 students back from their exam period, and all other students from Reception to Year 11 back on Wednesday 26 July.