Yesterday, Sunday 11th October, was International Day of the Girl. The United Nations has marked it every year since 2012, to celebrate girls and to draw attention to the barriers many still face around the world, not least in getting an education. It is a day that means a great deal to us. As a girls’ school, we spend every day thinking about what girls need in order to flourish, so it felt like the right moment to share how we go about it.
St Hilda’s has always set out to be a small, caring school where children flourish in confidence, creativity and care. Ask us to sum up the girls we hope to see leave us, and three words come up again and again: caring, curious and confident.
Why choose a girls’ school in Harpenden?
At St Hilda’s, every opportunity is a girls’ opportunity. The lead in the play, the captain of the netball team, the girl who stays behind to finish the engineering challenge in STEM Club: there is never any question of who these roles are for. Girls simply take them.
That matters more than it might seem at primary age. Studies suggest children start to absorb ideas about what boys and girls are “good at” from as young as six. In an all-girls setting, those ideas have far less room to take hold. A girl who loves maths, or fencing, or building things, does not stop to wonder whether it is the done thing.
Caring: kindness as an everyday habit
Confidence without kindness is not what we are aiming for. At St Hilda’s, caring shows up in small, daily ways: older girls looking out for younger ones, Houses pulling together, and friendships that are given time and attention when they wobble.
Silver Stories is a good example. Each week, girls telephone their “Silver Listener” to read aloud to them. It is a real commitment to someone who is looking forward to the call, and it teaches girls that other people are counting on them.
Curious: room to ask the next question
Curiosity is what turns a lesson into learning. In small classes, every girl can ask the question she is wondering about rather than waiting for someone else to ask it. Beyond the classroom, she might be problem-solving in STEM Club, trying German Club, taking on an Authorfy writing challenge or learning outside with Outdoor Explorers.
We encourage every girl to try something new each term, and we are relaxed if she decides it is not for her. Ruling things out is part of finding what you love.
Confident: built through practice, not born
Confidence is the quality parents most often tell us they want for their daughters, and it is rarely something a child simply has or lacks. Self-confidence and self-worth sit at the heart of what we do, and both are built through plenty of low-stakes practice: class concerts, LAMDA lessons, assemblies where every girl takes her turn.
Just last week, finalists in our whole-school poetry competition stood up in assembly and performed a poem from memory in front of the whole school. None of them was born able to do that. Each had practised in front of her class first, and it showed.
Ways to celebrate the girls in your life
International Day of the Girl is a good prompt, but the habits that help girls thrive work all year round:
- Praise effort and good strategies rather than “being clever”
- Share stories of women in a wide range of careers, from engineering and medicine to writing and sport
- Give her a real responsibility at home, and trust her with it
- Encourage her to try something she will not be good at straight away
- Ask for her opinion, and let her disagree with you
See St Hilda’s for yourself
If you are looking at girls’ independent schools in Hertfordshire, the best way to understand what makes St Hilda’s different is to visit. Our Taster Day on Wednesday 14th October gives prospective pupils the chance to spend a day as a St Hilda’s girl, and includes a Reception Familiarisation Morning for our youngest visitors. Personal tours run throughout the term. Do come and meet our caring, curious and confident girls.
