This week we have been celebrating Wimbledon Week of Women and Words, our week-long celebration of both World Book Day (6 March) and International Women’s Day (8 March).
Published this week, Head Fionnuala Kennedy spoke in the March edition of Living magazine, alongside leaders from Queen’s College London, the Old Vicarage School and St Mary’s Cambridge, on the need to ‘accelerate action’ in the strive for gender equality.
This is a theme which Fionnuala expanded upon in her most recent Thought Leadership blog – ‘The Importance of Accelerating Gender Equality’.
“It can feel when we’re at school, unable to vote or to agitate as we might as an adult, that we are impotent. So how can we begin, right now, to accelerate action whether we’re in Year 7 or Year 13, whether we’re male or female, whether we feel we are powerful or otherwise?
Well, as individuals, we can all take steps in our daily lives to positively impact women’s advancement.
We can call out stereotypes, challenge discrimination, question bias, celebrate women’s success, and so much more. Additionally, sharing our knowledge and encouragement with others is key.”
“Your work has been instrumental in highlighting the intersectional connections between race, class and gender. How do you see the evolution of intersectionality in today’s social movements?”
For International Women’s Day, the GDST is supporting The WOW Foundation‘s 15th-anniversary celebration ‘WOW at 15’, at the Royal Albert Hall, the venue where the GDST was founded, on International Women’s Day 2025.
To mark this occasion, students from Wimbledon High and sister GDST schools have been given the opportunity to come up with questions to ask headlining speaker, civil rights activist Angela Davis. Watch this video to see the thoughtful questions the students have asked.
On Thursday we had our yearly Mad4Padz donation celebration. Supporting the charity Freedom4Girls, who collect and distribute free menstrual products to communities in the UK and Kenya working alongside homeless shelters, food banks and refugee services, students brought in sanitary products to donate (after the traditional photo, of course!).
Students competed in Poetry by Heart, a House event which saw teams from Meredith, Hastings, Arnold and Scott go head-to-head, memorising and reciting poetry to their peers and a panel of expert judges.
Performance poet Elle Dillon-Reams performed for Years 10-13, showcasing the power of spoken word and how it can be used to tell impactful stories.
Authors Jessica Betts-Gray and Pari Thompson visited the Junior School and gave very inspiring talks. The girls were even able to get their books signed!
And, of course, World Book Day!
Students and staff dressed up as some of their favourite literary characters. We saw Jo March, Sherlock Holmes, the Tiger Who Came to Tea, the March Hare and Alice from Alice in Wonderland and many more. Take a look at the gallery and see who you recognise! (Please scroll over the image to see the arrow buttons)
