When I arrived at Brighton Girls in 2020 and launched my vision for the school, one of the three pillars was to “fuse the classroom and community.” The aim was to create a symbiotic relationship with our city, forging links with local businesses and tapping into a world of opportunities for our students. This phrase from my vision document sums it up nicely: “We’re bridging the gap between education and the workplace so that our students feel inspired today and excited for tomorrow. By being immersed in the community, our girls will be alert to possibilities, and informed about the paths they might follow.” Appointing a Head of Community to rally parents, staff, alumnae, and members of the local community was key. Our mission? To inspire a unique collaboration to supercharge the student experience.
This vision came to life in spectacular style on Monday with our inaugural Careers Day. Thanks to the creativity and determination of Rebecca Findlay (our now-well-established Head of Community), the connections we’ve made with local businesses and enthusiastic parents and alumnae, the school was transformed into a bustling careers hub. Picture this: 60 professionals, 4 members of the wider GDST team and 50 teachers mingling with 330 senior students, all curious, all energised by the temporary release from the regular timetable. We had everything from engineers to chefs and lawyers to artists; civil servants rubbed shoulders with medics, surveyors and political editors. Over 20 different professions were represented.
The plan was ambitious; the rewards immense.
To set the tone for the day, we were delighted to welcome Karen Kimura, the GDST’s careers lead, who shared her top three tips when considering future plans: try before you buy (the analogy to online shopping resonated immediately with the target audience); there is no such things as a wrong move (because we learn from every experience and nothing is irreversible); and it’s never too soon (start asking questions now to get you thinking about the future – an approach the Year 7s modelled brilliantly at the end of the assembly).
Our headline speaker for the day was Mo Kanjilal, co-founder of Watch This Space, a local Diversity and Inclusion agency, and an alumna of our sister school, Norwich High. Describing her career path as “squiggly”, Mo talked about how she learnt to believe that being different is a superpower, and explained how she had harnessed this throughout her career, from starting in tech sales (where she often found herself the only woman in the room), to co-founding her own agency and then achieving something she dreamt of at school: to publish a book.
With two hours crammed full of talks, speed-interviews, and a bustling Careers Fair, I have no doubt that students had much to ponder during their reflection session at the end of the day. Something Mo referred to in her talk reminded me of why such events are so important.
When talking about her work with The Girls Network, a mentoring scheme for disadvantaged girls, Mo referred to the organisation’s hashtag: #youcan’tbewhatyoucan’tsee.
By opening our doors to people from all walks of life, by exposing our students to a range of voices, we develop their awareness that there are people like them. But, more than that, they start to see, and believe in, their future selves.
