Here at Wilderness, we are always thinking about the future, and always well in advance.

While many people look to the future with excitement about how technology or ways of working may develop, we are keenly interested in the human element.

How can we instil girls with self-leadership and self-efficacy over the generations so that they will never shy away from their ambitions?

How can we give them the tools to manage their mental and physical health and form a strong support network that utilises connections to family, friends and community?

How can we continue to innovate and adapt our learning so that girls can handle the unpredictability of the future—whether in terms of their studies, their relationships or their careers?

Our school has been working with Louka Parry, CEO of The Learning Future, to consider the future of education and what it will mean in the context of Wilderness School.

Louka writes, “An education for tomorrow’s world will not prepare young people for a job, rather it will enable young people to be highly adaptive for a life of learning and work, whilst also being equipped to lead a societal evolution that becomes increasingly human and socially and ecologically just.”

This has always been our mission—to deliver a sound academic education within authentic and meaningful opportunities, through which our students discover their passions, form lifelong bonds and develop key skills and character strengths in line with the timeless Wilderness values.

Yesterday, our Early Learning Centre commenced the School’s End of Year celebrations with their Christmas Concert and Annie House Graduation. This was a very special occasion for our Annies and their parents, who celebrated the completion of the first, foundational stage of their daughter’s learning journey.

It is especially relevant to consider what their education will look like – and what it will require from us as educators – when these girls graduate from Wilderness in Year 12 in 2035.

There is a lot that cannot be predicted—as much in terms of opportunities as in terms of obstacles—but we believe that by fixing our eyes on what is possible, shaping our preferred future and remaining true to the values that our school has always cherished, then we are well placed for success in the coming years, just as we always have been.