Young leaders of tomorrow shine at conference

Head girls from across the country descended on Bath for a conference which culminated in a live streamed Apprentice-style challenge. Nearly 150 head girls and their teams from the largest network of girls’ schools in the country took part in the three day conference on leadership. Speakers at the Girls’ Day School Trust event including British Polar Explorer Ann Daniels, the first woman to lead an all-female team to the North and South Poles, and leading businesswoman Ann Francke, CEO of the Chartered Management Institute, launched the conference alongside Royal High School head Jo Duncan. The students were set a weekend-long challenge to take part in an Apprentice-style Charity Challenge for one of four charities: United World Schools – bringing education to children in remote areas – specifically Cambodia, Myanmar and Nepal; Frank Water – providing clean safe water to India and Nepal; Rainbow Trust – supporting families with a seriously ill child and SOS Children’s Villages UK – supporting children without parental care and families at risk. Mrs Duncan told the girls at the Royal High School conference: “You will learn a lot about leadership, teamwork and yourselves.” Advising the girls on how to make an impact with their leadership, Ms Francke, a keen advocate for women’s rights in the workplace, said: “The best form of management is when people feel respected, valued and trusted.” The challenge saw the girls split into teams with some teams carrying out market research on the streets of Bath over the weekend before the challenge culminated in the live finals in front of a judging panel, streamed live on Youtube on Sunday morning, enabling their schools and parents to watch them. A Shades of Change charity proposal for the Rainbow Trust, to sell colouring books in family restaurants, was declared the overall winner with many of the charities so impressed by the ideas, they hope to be able to use some of them in their future fundraising. Mrs Duncan said: “This was more than just a conference for young women – it was a dynamic, inspirational three day event and challenge designed to encourage the girls to dig deep and hone their leadership skills. We were delighted to host it.”