The Oxford Dictionary defines innovation as ‘the introduction of new things, ideas, or ways of doing something,’ and the GDST Space Technology Diploma is about as revolutionary as it gets in education. Attracting more women into the space industry is vitally important, and the European Space Agency has set the target of 40% for women to be in their STEM roles. The GDST Space Technology Diploma is specifically designed to upskill girls so that they are well-placed to consider careers in the industry.
The GDST Space Technology Diploma programme is preparing to launch into its fifth year, and I am delighted that Mr. Amponsah, Head of Computer Science, has led the way to ensure Bromley High School girls are represented in this fantastic initiative. Our Sixth Formers are participating in the 20-week course where they experience hands-on learning, video seminars, two field study days, and a weekly course session. The programme culminates with a one-day Viva Voce assessment where they demonstrate their learning in coding, how they’ve collected and analysed data, applied machine learning, and predictive analytics. These are all tasks and skills required in the space industry sector.
The girls involved have also benefited from collaborations with Warwick University Satellite Programme, Cranfield University, Staffordshire University London, Cambridge University Space Flight, NASA DEVELOP, NASA IMPACT, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Launch Access Ltd, and Amazon Web Services. These partners have acted as advisors, assessors, and guest lecturers.
For Aristotle, innovation involved three things: 1. The adaptation of existing elements, 2. The cross-fertilisation of different entities, and 3. The disruption of previous conditions.
Having the metaphorical ‘space’ in a school where people can come together to be innovative is an essential component of education. Over the past year, my leadership team has been working innovatively to design our new Middle School structure. Last Friday, we launched our Middle School, which is a groundbreaking and one-of-a-kind structure where we officially bring Years 5, 6, 7, and 8 together. With Mrs. Rushton at the helm as Assistant Headteacher Middle School, we welcomed parents into our Performance Studio to present our vision and introduce the importance of this new initiative.
The Middle School at Bromley High School is a genuinely distinctive offer that sets us apart as experts in providing a successful junior-to-senior school transition in a girls-only environment. The needs of girls are unique, making our work crucial and providing sisterhood at a time when girls can be at their most vulnerable (Białecka-Pikul, 2019). Between the ages of 9-13, girls undergo more changes than at any other time in their life, except before the age of 2. These changes occur as they are about to alter their entire lives, including friendship circles, routines, and key adults they see every day, because they move from a junior school to a senior school.
This transition can feel very unstable, and children often struggle to label their feelings. It is at this point where support and interventions are most potent to maximise their positive experience of these critical years (Seidman, 2004). What a time of opportunity for us to get it right!
We are fortunate to have our junior and senior schools on the same site. Our girls are already familiar as they move between the buildings, sharing teachers and facilities. By creating a more formal Middle School, we are essentially bridging the transition years between KS2 and KS3. As a result, the girls will be more knowledgeable, feel more supported and prepared, and therefore, able to achieve more.
While the Middle School will undoubtedly have positive impacts for our girls, enabling staff to work together on this innovative project encourages creativity and zest, providing headspace for staff to find the bandwidth to research, innovate, and evaluate in a strategic manner. It has been delightful to observe staff discussing curriculum development, pupil personal growth, and teaching techniques.
The planning of our Middle School has been underpinned with research; however, we are extremely excited that we are now becoming the researchers ourselves! Oxford University, Harvard University, and the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools are all collaborating with us to gather our data and qualitative experience over the next year. I will be attending the ICGS conference in Baltimore as a Keynote speaker to present our Middle School in June 2024.
More than ever, we must continue to think deeply about how we teach our girls in school as we prepare our young women for the dynamic world they are about to enter. As Aristotle says, to innovate, we will ‘adapt already existing elements’. Drawing on staff’s expert experience in teaching girls, we build on our current strong offer to girls’ education. We will continue to make this the best experience possible for our girls. The investment and status that we are giving these four years of education will further enhance our magnificent provision in our all-girls setting and promote continuity for our girls in both the quality of education and their pastoral transition. Our job is not to cushion them from every blow or to make decisions for them, but to activate their resourcefulness so that they learn how to navigate life and do it in the context of a strong and supportive community in the structure of a middle school.
I look forward to sharing our Middle School launch with you over the next term and hope to see as many of you as possible at our different events.
For students:
- Middle School Factor (Monday 22nd – Wednesday 24th April)
- Junior STEM Careers Fair (Thursday 13th June)
- Year 7 and 8 careers masterclasses (Thursday 13th June)
- Transition drama group (date TBC)
- Scholarship Open Mic event (Tuesday 25th June)
For families:
- KS3 SpLD SEND Coffee Morning (Wednesday 24th April)
- Parent seminar: ‘Girls on the Edge: How Best to Support Middle School Girls’ (date TBC)
- Middle School Family Book Club (date TBC)
Mrs Emily Codling, Headmistress