News from NHSG

An all-girl education at NHSG means that every girl can follow her dream and be who she wants to be without the limitations of gender. That’s why we engender a deep love of learning and for all things STEM from the moment a girl joins NHSG. And it’s been a busy start to the academic year for girls in Junior School........ Our expert EYFS team have been implementing their playful maths curriculum in Nursery and Reception this term and they talk about the mathematical milkshake in this excellent podcast. https://earlyexcellence.com/eex-podcasts/ One example of this in action this term is in Reception where the girls have been exploring the composition of the number 5 inspired by ‘five friends counting’.  Girls counted their own stories about five friends to explore the different numbers and then made a digital class book. In other STEM lessons designed to inspire, Reception received a letter from the gingerbread man asking for their help to cross the river. They set to work to help, and decided a boat would be the best solution.  They designed and created their own boats and then baked their gingerbread men to test the boats! Year 1 are already honing their engineering skills in a number of ways and most recently they’ve been responding to a design brief. Working in teams, they have been designing wheels and axels with great success. It’s so important that girls learn to take risks in their learning, understanding that they don’t have to get the answer right first time, and that the journey of trial and error supports their understanding.  The chalk pens we have in school allow the girls to write their answers in a way that can easily be changed and therefore encouraging them to take a risk. Year 2 have had a great time investigating numbers in Mathematics. The chalk pens have been a huge hit and are a super way of facilitating collaboration, risk-taking and enjoyment in Maths! Year 3 have embarked on our Design and Technology journey by exploring the features of castles.  The girls have looked at different castles and analysed what is similar and different about them as well as whether they are stable structures. They’ll be applying their knowledge to build their own castle structure and we can’t wait to see the results. As well as focusing on the investigation of the properties of solids and liquids in Science, Year 4 have also been busy with their own Design and Technology project on pavilions. They’ve made a range of structures to inform their decision making for their pavilion project providing an excellent foundation for the next stage of the project – the build! No Bridge too far for Year 5 means they’ve also been developing their engineering skills in our Thursday after-school co-curricular club, Bright Sparks. As part of the club’s Science focus they have designed a bridge strong enough to hold bright gems. Turning to Science lessons, Year 5 have also been learning about the circulatory system.  They’ve been calculating how long it takes for blood to travel from the heart to the site of the injury in an artery and how long it takes or the blood to return to the vein. Year 6 have had an excellent Autumn term exploring STEM opportunities in lessons and beyond.  They’ve even been looking at future career opportunities at October’s Bring it On event and were very inspired after learning first-hand about Engineering opportunities available here in the North East. Innovative teaching and learning continues to excite them and they have recently explored shapes, space and symmetry and how important accuracy is in maths. Working in teams they put their learning into practice by creating wonderful small and large snowflakes. This is just a snapshot of some of the STEM learning experiences and opportunities here at NHSG.

NHSG Blog: Michael Tippett, Head. At NHSG we empower girls to be leaders, trailblazers and world shapers – so it’s only right that we listen to their views on what true leadership really means. Long gone are the days when leadership was measured simply by salary and organisational hierarchy. In fact, a major new survey from the Girls’ Day School Trust (GDST), of which NHSG is a member, demonstrates that girls see leadership as being able to make a difference to the world and being happy – with one Sixth Form respondent saying ‘there’s no point in calling yourself successful if you can reach the top level in your job, but you just aren’t happy.’ In fact, almost a decade ago in 2014, a Forbes article ran with the headline ‘millennials work for purpose, not pay check’ – and that seems to be a trend that Generation Z are continuing to embody. Two thirds of respondents to GDST’s survey said they wanted a career that would enable them to make a difference to society. Of course salary is important – particularly in today’s cost of living crisis - and 75% of respondents acknowledged that they wanted a job that ‘pays well’ too. But passion alone is not enough for success, and girls need to feel confident enough to pursue the careers that will give them the best opportunity to effect change and therefore garner the professional satisfaction they crave. In fact, GDST survey respondents were more likely to feel confident in maintaining and defending their own beliefs during challenging discussions – so there’s no wonder we saw so much positivity in our Sixth Form cohort this summer as they headed off to study at their chosen universities, with students such as Emma acknowledging her school debating experience and passion for feminism in her decision to study politics at Edinburgh. Surveying girls who attend a range of schools nationally, as well as pupils in GDST schools, the research found that those who attend a GDST member school are more likely to want to work in a leadership position (53% compared to 42% nationally), more likely to want to be their own boss (37% compared to 33% nationally) and more likely to feel comfortable and interested in taking risks (66% compared to 52% nationally). This is testament to the impact of an all-girl education, specifically its empowerment of girls to learn without limits and be whoever they want to be – something we have long championed at NHSG. “Attending an all girl school encourages girls to be confident and take up leadership roles without questioning themselves.” Sanya, Year 9, NHSG True leadership is not about fitting into the constructs that society has created – but about challenging those constructs. Debating the norm, breaking down barriers and re-shaping our response to the world. That’s where we believe NHSG girls are going to make a real difference – because they’ve never had to deal with gender stereotyping within the school environment, and as such have had the freedom to always be themselves - so they leave us with palpable self-belief. They are not merely aspiring to do well in a male dominated world, they aspire to approach society’s problems in their own way and with their own brand of leadership. “I wouldn’t have taken STEM subjects for A Level in a mixed school as I would have been in the minority.” Elizabeth, Year 13, NHSG We are still fighting for gender equality in the wider world, and our emerging female leaders will not only tip the scales in its favour, they will also be the shining light for those whose confidence has been stifled due to stereotypes and inequality. As the only GDST member school in the North East, we’re proud of these new survey results that demonstrate the impressive confidence and self-belief our pupils clearly have.  

Year 12 pupils at NHSG have decided to make their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Award a little more adventurous this year, and so have set a challenge to raise money for Children’s Heart Unit Fund (CHUF), our school charity this year. The NHSG Gold expeditions are always based in the mountainous areas of the Lake District and the High Pennines with girls historically summiting Helvellyn and Skiddaw for the qualifying expedition. Taking it that next step further this year, the Gold practice and qualifying expeditions will form part of the ‘Three Peaks challenge’ i.e. climbing Scafell Pike, Snowdon, and Ben Nevis (the three highest peaks in England, Wales and Scotland) over the whole year. The first of the three peaks is already in the bag after the team successfully climbed Scafell Pike (978m, a 7 mile walk), on Saturday 12th November. The girls intend to travel to Wales and incorporate the Snowdon peak for the Gold Practice in April 2023 and to Scotland and summit Ben Nevis as part of Gold Qualifying in June 2023. We are any grateful for any donations supporting these girls on their expeditions and supporting this wonderful charity. If you would like to, please donate here: https://bit.ly/3NXEidv

With no challenge too big for the NHSG pupils, girls who attend the NHSG’s weekly STEM Club had their creative engineering skills put to the test as they explored means of travel by land, sea and air (and space). The first engineering challenge was to design the best paper boat, next up was to create rockets and launch them to see whose travelled furthest. Then the girls designed and made their own cars and raced them to determine whose compressed air-powered car could cover the greatest distance. The winner was Martha, whose car travelled the furthest along the science corridor – which is quite someway considering we have a lot of Science Labs! What goes up, must come down (or so the saying goes), so the girls also designed and made their own parachutes. Each parachute gently cradled a mini-muffin and was launched from the balcony and down into the School’s Main Hall. The girls did a great job of ensuring that the mini-muffins fell gracefully to the floor with the help of their excellently engineered parachutes! Challenging, memorable and great fun – all the ingredients for excellent learning and developing a love for all things STEM. STEM Club at Senior School is held every Tuesday at 12.30 p.m. and is open to all Senior School girls.

With a wide ranging awards programme on offer, the excellent admissions team at Newcastle High School for Girls (NHSG) answer your questions on scholarships, bursaries and exhibitions. Why do you offer an Awards Programme at NHSG? At NHSG, our aim is to empower girls to be leaders, trailblazers and world shapers. With this in mind, our awards programme provides transformative opportunities for pupils to join a school where they can develop the confidence to find their own voice and grow into the person they want to be. What awards do you offer at NHSG? We offer scholar and bursary awards for girls joining NHSG in Year 7 and Year 12 in September 2023.  You can also apply for Year 7 exhibition awards for Dance, Drama, Music and Sport. How many awards are given? There is always a high level of applications for our awards and the number of awards given each year varies - it depends on pupil performance and the funds available in a given year. What’s the difference between a scholar award and a bursary? At NHSG, a scholar award is an academic award based on a girl’s performance in either our Entrance Examinations (Year 7) or Scholar Award application process (Year 12). A bursary is a means tested award, so, in addition to performing at a high standard in our entrance processes, a family’s household income must meet our bursary eligibility criteria. How can I apply for a scholar award or a bursary? There’s a lot more detail about the NHSG Awards Programme on our school website but the next step is to make an online application for your daughter to join NHSG and respond to the questions included about the awards offered. It’s worth noting that at Year 7 all applicants will be considered for a scholar award when they sit our entrance examinations in January 2023. After making your application to NHSG, we’ll guide you carefully through the next steps in the awards process.  The deadline for all award applications is Friday 16^th December 2022. What difference can a scholar award or bursary make to school fees? As well as the prestige that comes with achieving a scholar award or bursary at NHSG, the awards also include a remission of school fees. Our scholar awards can be for up to 30% per year, and, we also offer a head’s scholar award for the highest performing pupil in our entrance/scholar award examinations for up to 50% per year. A bursary award amount is dependent on household income and can be for up to 100% of the school fees. I am interested in an Exhibition Award, can you please tell me more? At NHSG an exhibition award is an option for girls applying to join Year 7 who can demonstrate achievement, skills and passion in either Dance, Drama, Music or Sport.  Again parents can use the NHSG application form to express an interest in applying for an exhibition award which, if awarded, can be for up to a £1000 remission of fees per year. We’ve seen a reference to Reece Sixth Form Awards on your website. What are these? In partnership with The Reece Foundation we are able to offer the brightest and most able potential engineers, who are currently in Year 11 at a maintained school, the opportunity to join NHSG.  The Reece Awards are means tested and can be for a remission of up to 100% of school fees. The NHSG Admissions Team is here to help you with all your questions. Please do get in touch, we’d love to hear from you: 0191 2016511  admissions@ncl.gdst.net

Newcastle High School for Girls is delighted to be able to offer two Sixth Form means-tested bursaries with the generous support of the Reece Foundation. The Reece Foundation was established in 2007 by the inspired mechanical designer Dr. Alan Reece. One of the most successful engineering entrepreneurs of his generation Dr Alan Reece was a passionate believer in engineering as a provider of prosperity and enjoyable employment, he created The Reece Foundation to promote manufacturing and support education relating to engineering, mathematics and physics. In 2012 the next generation of the Reece family took over the family business and they have continued to run the Reece Foundation with the same objectives, to encourage a new generation of engineers, focusing on the improvement of education in engineering and related scientific and mathematical subjects and since 2014 this has included supporting Sixth Form bursaries at Newcastle High School for Girls. Engineering is part of everybody’s lives and should be for everyone. Together, NHSG and The Reece Foundation are widening access to careers in engineering. Gender stereotypes should not dictate the outcome of women’s career potential or the direction it takes. Engineers are helping solve some of the world’s biggest problems, by overlooking half of the population of potential engineers we are overlooking huge potential talent and restricting diversity of thought. NHSG is uniquely placed to support the next generation of young female engineers and with thanks to The Reece Foundation we are able to offer the brightest and most able potential engineers access to an outstanding education without financial barriers. Together we are delivering their mission to improve access to education in engineering and prepare future engineers for a flourishing career in the field for the benefit of not just the North East but our global society. Applications for Reece Awards are invited from girls in maintained secondary schools who will be completing their GCSEs in summer 2023. Successful candidates will be able to demonstrate a strong interest in, and aptitude for, engineering as a future career; will be predicted grades 7 - 9 in maths and science subjects at GCSE; and will be prepared to follow A Levels in STEM subjects (sciences, technology, mathematics) which will equip them for application to university engineering courses. For more information about our Bursaries, Awards and Scholarships, and how to apply, see our NHSG Awards Brochure here.