Average is okay – top scientist

WHAT’S wrong with being average? Well, according to Collegiate Girls’ High alumna Dr Jeannette McGill it is okay.

Speaking at the annual SA Girls’ Schools Association (Sagsa) conference yesterday, McGill said she would never forget her matric letter of recommendation that started with “of average ability, Jeannette . . .”.

And McGill, 45, said she came to realise that being average was okay while on the north side of Mount Everest.

“I was connecting my own dots in my career and life and I arrived at that realisation,” she said.

The Sagsa conference took place at the Pine Lodge Convention Centre.

Nearly 100 school principals and deputies descended on Port Elizabeth for the three-day conference.

Delegates from both state and independent schools are meeting to discuss educational issues related to all-girl schools around South Africa.

McGill, the first speaker, was the second woman issued an underground blasting ticket in the Free State.

She has worked for major and minor mining companies in developed and developing economies.

She is non-executive director of the Council for Geoscience and head of technology and innovation at Anglo Platinum.

“So I stand here as that average Collegiate girl, exceptionally proud of the education this particular school has afforded me.

“It’s not about ticking the scorecard of success developed by social media or ill-informed ac- quaintances. It is simply about my basic strength: leading through change.”

Collegiate Junior principal Gill Robinson, who helped organise the conference, said it was intended for top leaders and managers in girls’ education to be challenged and inspired.

In a 2013 survey Fair Lady magazine determined the top 25 schools countrywide – 19 of them girls-only schools.

Opening the three-day conference, Sagsa president Cally Maddams said she was looking forward to connecting with old friends, meeting new colleagues and stimulating dialogue.

This year's conference theme is “The Tides of Change”, intended to encourage delegates to ensure their schools are equipped to handle future challenges.

A gala dinner was held at the Boardwalk Hotel last night.