Loren Bridge, Executive Officer of the Alliance of Girls’ Schools Australasia—of which Wilderness is a member—shared an opinion column in The Sydney Morning Herald last week.

In the article, she outlined evidence supporting girls learning in a single sex environment, and additionally, how these environments are the perfect climate to enable girls becoming future leaders.

Leadership is an entitlement for every girl at Wilderness. It is displayed not only by the girls who wear a badge, but is also demonstrated by those who enact leadership in their everyday interactions.

Initiatives like Round Square and Girl Up enable our students to engage with global issues, contribute their perspectives and suggest ways to innovate. They become agents of change when they make their voices heard in these discussions, and even more so when their actions ‘walk the talk’.

Our girls show everyday leadership by setting a standard and living it out, like the way we see many of our students committing to greener living habits for environmental sustainability.

Somebody can be a leader in their school, their year level, their classroom or their friendship group. What matters is for our girls to know that every day, they are already expressing and fostering crucial skills to lead.

We measure leadership growth through ‘Learning to Lead’, which breaks down our four school values into meaningful leadership attributes beneath the banners of ‘Respectful Leaders, Responsible Leaders, Adventurous Leaders and True and Courageous Leaders’.

This gives us a platform to record the various moments in which our girls embody leadership qualities—like reliability and integrity. It also offers our girls the opportunity to review their growth as a leader and build upon their capacity as they journey through the School.

Upon graduating we see their confidence flourishing through our old scholars community. You only need to read a few of our ‘Wildy Women Leading the Way’ articles in the Wilderness Times to grasp how Wilderness graduates are fearless, innovative and show leadership in a multitude of ways across a wide range of fields.

Australia needs future leaders and global citizens who are going to face issues head on—and who better to do that than courageous, kind and adventurous Wilderness girls?

We are equipping our girls to channel their passion and energy into areas of need and advocacy. We are raising them to value leaders who are trustworthy, self-aware and kind; who build rock solid relationships; and who prove their integrity by regularly assessing whether their actions align with their principles.

When the confidence to step forward is partnered with these values, our girls go out into the world not only believing that they can lead, but ready to do it well.