Sixth Form girls try again
‘TRY AGAIN. FAIL AGAIN. FAIL BETTER.’ SAMUEL BECKETT.
From Monday 2 to Friday 13 November our Sixth Form girls participated in a number of activities as part of the school’s ‘Try again fortnight’. The aim of the fortnight was to teach the girls to embrace failure and the importance of resilience in overcoming challenge. We are committed to empowering our students to believe that they can achieve anything, and an important part of success is the ability to deal effectively with failure. This is currently an area of national concern and, as a school, we must be positive and proactive in our approach to failure.
Over the course of the fortnight Sixth Form students were involved in a number of resilience-themed events. A highlight of the fortnight was the release of ‘failure balloons’ on Monday. The girls wrote something they felt could hold them back from success – regrets or failings – on a biodegradable balloon, and then all together the girls released the balloons into the air, symbolising starting afresh.
We were also fortunate to welcome guest speakers into school during the fortnight. On Tuesday 10 November, Ms Jane Hughes – a Cambridge volunteer team leader from the Look Good Feel Better(LGFB) charity – talked to the girls about her own experience of running make-up classes for girls and women affected by cancer. LGFB works to improve the self-esteem, confidence and wellbeing of women undergoing treatment for any sort of cancer. Ms Hughes’ talk was invaluable and, as well as being informative, also inspired the students to get involved with the ‘War paint 4 life’ campaign run by LGFB. Our girls are involved with charitable work throughout their time at school, and it was great to see the capacity for compassion extended to this new charity.
The students also welcomed Ms Jenny Langley from Charlie Waller Memorial Trust, who ran a resilience workshop on Wednesday 11 November. The Charlie Waller Memorial Trust’s mission, ‘raising awareness, fighting depression’, aims to equip young people to look after their mental wellbeing. In the workshop, Ms Langley focused on developing resilience and coping skills, and overcoming perfectionism. The talk highlighted how crucial mental wellbeing is to young people and their ability to cope with the challenges posed by modern society.
Other highlights of the fortnight included a boarders’ meeting where J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard address was screened. The speech emphasised the benefits of failure, the importance of imagination, and how to deal with negative feedback. The address by J.K. Rowling offered an excellent opportunity to promote the true experiences of one strong, female, role model.
The fortnight was a resounding success by all accounts, equipping Sixth Form students with valuable lessons that will benefit them during upcoming A Levels and beyond.