There is so much to celebrate about the past two weeks at Brighton Girls, it is difficult to know where to start. I hope readers will forgive the list-like nature of this newsletter as I attempt to delve into the cornucopia of delights that will culminate this evening with a fabulous Spring Concert.
Yesterday, there was great excitement as our Year 12 LEAD team took delivery of proof copies of their community cookbook, Slice of Brighton. Please support this brilliant initiative; it is inspired. LEAD is the GDST’s answer to Young Enterprise: students are tasked with setting up a business, making it financially viable, working as a team, making a profit and, if all goes well, putting this back into the community. The Brighton Girls students involved this year have created a cookbook, in which they have gathered recipes from our favourite Brighton eateries. The orders are flying in, their team t-shirts arrived this week (so they are now fully merched-up) and all proceeds will go to the Community Kitchen. To find out more and order a copy, follow this link: SLICE OF BRIGHTON.
On Tuesday, Year 10 students, Izzy, Eloise, Catalina and Bella, competed in a ‘Maths Feast’ at Worthing College and returned with their heads held high, having been declared joint-winners in the second round and doing brilliantly overall. On Wednesday, our Under-13 netball team rounded off their incredible season by being crowned Sussex Champions. On Thursday, we sat in awe during the Great Science Quiz and watched as House teams battled through the various rounds, displaying razor-sharp scientific knowledge and fast reactions. Hats off to Zara in Year 11 who successfully spelled ‘phenolphthalein’ – at speed, out loud and under pressure. Last week, Year 10 artists visited the Tate Modern, behaving so impeccably and showing such enthusiasm that Mrs Blundell announced this to be the most rewarding school trip of her career – high praise indeed. Without doubt, our students have done the school proud in the last fortnight.
The impact of these opportunities can be difficult to quantify but something that has put things into sharp relief over the last two weeks has been the presence of so many former students, all of whom have spoken about the correlation between their school experience and the paths they took in life. To add a sprinkle of magic to the last two weeks, we have welcomed over 15 alumnae – some to our International Women’s Day event last week, and some to speak during Science Week. We have enjoyed inspiring life stories and heard about so many different careers: Finance, AI, publishing, microbiology, medicine, fashion and social media, politics, and sport were all represented.
Some speakers could trace a line from their present career directly back to a moment at school. While in the Junior school, Rachel Carr had listened to a talk from a police community liaison officer and decided on her path; she knew she wanted to serve her community in a similar way and is now a Chief Superintendent at Sussex Police. In a tear-jerking moment, former Head Student, Daisy Wright, named Ms Baldwin (sitting unsuspectedly in the audience) as the reason why she now has a career in Politics. Others had taken surprising turns – like Danielle Sanderson, who did not engage with sport while at school but, at the age of 26, started running, discovered a talent, and went on to represent Great Britain 21 times. Despite their disparate paths, which will be shared in a separate blog, the speakers possessed a common spirit: a determination to pursue their goals; a desire “make a difference to people’s lives”; and a great affection for their former school.
