A new year of opportunities & challenges: Celebrating our community’s achievements

As a Headmistress, you have to keep your focus on educational matters, but a significant part of the role also involves looking at business and operations. And as I always say, our girls are our inspiration, our staff are our strength, and our community our superpower.

It’s been a busy and exciting start to the term, with lots of activity both inside and outside the classroom, and I am incredibly proud of everything our school community has achieved so far.

Thankfully, Mr Bochenski (Director of Finance and Operations) and Mr Oliver (Facilities Manager) are exceptionally good at their jobs, and this was never more apparent than in how they kept the school running through our recent intermittent gas supply.

I have also spent a significant amount of time since December running the scholarship process. This has been made possible by the organised administration provided by Ms Lewis (my EA) and Mrs Clark (Admissions Manager). Running a scholarship process and awarding scholarships is a delicate task. There will always be more wonderfully talented pupils who feel disappointed by the outcome than those who are happy with it. However, it is an important part of school life to prepare our girls for how to manage setbacks or adversity.

There is a phrase in John Spencer’s article ‘The Human Advantage: Nine Skills We Can’t Afford to Lose in an AI-Powered World’ that deeply resonated with me: “Productive Struggle as a Means to Mastery.” The best way to develop grit is sometimes to experience a productive struggle. This builds critical problem-solving skills, persistence, and a growth mindset. Our work at Bromley High School is so important because, in a world of AI-powered tools, our people-centred focus gives girls the support they need to experience productive struggles and cultivate the inner strength that leads to true wisdom and strong leadership.

One of our three key values, Compassion, is demonstrated by our numerous activities that focus on giving back to the community. Every day, I see our girls volunteering and fundraising. They demonstrate empathy and cultural responsibility as they give their time and resources to various causes. I’m really looking forward to joining our Year 10 girls next month on their Duke of Edinburgh expedition, and we will be building on the 2,353 hours of volunteering they completed last year through the Duke of Edinburgh scheme.

Ms Gibbs has been taking Sixth Form students weekly to work with residents at Elmwood Residential Home to improve their mobility, social interactions, and confidence through dance. Mrs Pradic has been taking Sixth Form students fortnightly to Marjorie McClure to develop communication skills, both verbal and non-verbal, with children who have special needs. Mrs Shallcross ran a Techathon with Year 5 and 6 pupils to encourage local primary schools to develop a digital leader team and to highlight opportunities for technology development in the computing curriculum.

Our Sixth Form Charity Prefects (Amelia, Zara, Phoebe and Ava) have helped with a large number of events since the start of the year. They assisted with collecting and sorting food for Bromley Foodbank, collecting for the Poppy Appeal, gathering coats and jumpers for winter appeals for Wrap Up London and Bromley Brighter Beginnings. They have acted as encouragers and role models for the class charity reps and have researched and spoken about charities in assembly. They’ve also sold snacks and drinks to raise extra funds for our Dihlabeng School Sponsorship. It is wonderful to see them also working with pupils from the Junior School (led by Cadence in Year 3H and her friends) to organise a bake sale on the 7th of February, with a wellbeing theme to this fundraiser.

Mrs Lobb leads our charity initiatives in school and recently recommended our girls for the Rotary Youth Awards, which recognise young people’s outstanding involvement in charitable activities. Amelia won one of these awards, and both Zara and Phoebe were highly commended for their efforts. The ceremony was a truly positive, affirmatory, and heartwarming event.

Our neurodiversity champions are ‘giving back’ in the playground through their new roles as playground buddies, supporting girls who need a friend or play ideas during break and lunch times. Our Middle School pupils are launching their pen pal project with a girls’ school in Morocco. Numerous Senior School pupils give back to the Junior School, supporting choirs and orchestra, maths masterclasses, science, and reading with younger pupils. The list feels truly endless!

As I conclude, it has been fantastic to see parents in school at so many events. Having our Year 11 and Year 13 parents’ evenings in person this month has been a great opportunity to connect face-to-face with parents who are supporting their daughters through key examination years. We had an engaged group of parents who attended our Middle School seminar on EDI with Ashmi Morjaria, Trust Consultant for Diversity and Inclusion. It has also been a joy to see parents watching their daughters perform at our informal music concerts.

Mrs Emily Codling, Headmistress