Head's Newsletter 31 March 2021

WOMENS HISTORY MONTH

Students embraced the opportunity to nominate their own ‘History Heroine’ in the last week of Women’s History Month with great enthusiasm. It was brilliant to see so many suggestions flooding in with explanations of their significance. The winning entry was Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the deadly Soviet sniper who dominated her field and challenged Western ideas of femininity. In light of International Women’s Day 2021, we encourage all students to ‘choose to challenge’ gender based discrimination and we hope these stories have empowered them to do so.

March saw the celebration of Women’s History Month in the History Department and across the school. Weekly bulletins provided a spotlight on ‘History Heroines’ throughout history who had defied social expectations and played a major role in cultural, technological and political developments. From Joan of Arc and Catherine the Great to Bessie Coleman the pilot, students were encouraged to consider stories of women who had been excluded from the wider narrative and how they had been remembered. It was fantastic to see the discussions these profiles created across the school and we hope this focus has peaked interest to research other lesser known characters.