Comedy classes ‘will help girls ask for future pay rise’

A GIRLS’ school is running stand-up comedy classes so pupils have the courage “to ask for a pay rise in the future”.

Nina Gunson, head of Sheffield High School for Girls, said the aim was to boost pupil confidence for the “difficult conversations” later in life.

“Lots of our girls do things like debating and public speaking but those things aren’t for everybody,” she said. “We wanted to diversify so that girls could develop those same skills.”

Mrs Gunson, 43, who teaches the course herself, said that learning how to deal with a “dead audience” and hecklers teaches girls how to think on their feet, understand people’s responses, and learn that “panic is their own worst enemy”. Not only will these skills help to build resilience in teenage girls, but they will also enable them to “stand up for their rights, pay and benefits” in the workplace, she added.

The eight-week courses, which started running this month, are available to the sixth form but could be introduced for younger pupils at the £13,359-a-year school.

Cheryl Giovannoni, the chief executive of the Girls’ Day School Trust told its annual conference in London yesterday that boosting girls’ confidence “will ultimately close the gender pay gap”.

Among the school’s alumni are Louise Haigh, Labour’s shadow policing minister, and Fame Tate, the former golf professional.