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Friday 10 March 2023 |
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This year’s International Women’s Day (IWD) theme #EmbraceEquity has invited the school community to reflect on the role of women in society, and urged us to work towards creating a world in which gender is no longer a barrier to success. Observed since the early 1900’s – a time of great expansion and turbulence in the industrialised world, which saw booming population growth and the rise of radical ideologies – IWD started in earnest in 1911, and remains an important moment to continue the advance of women’s equality today. Celebrated on 8 March, IWD is about women’s equality in all its forms. It is also an official holiday in many countries including: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, China (for women only), Cuba, Georgia, Guinea-Bissau, Eritrea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Madagascar (for women only), Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Nepal (for women only), Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, and Zambia. In Germany, Berlin’s parliament approved a bill in 2019 to make International Women’s Day a public holiday. Whether you feel this should be a global holiday or not, IWD is here to stay. Here in school, we started the week with Dr Lee’s powerful assembly titled ‘The Power and Influence of Women’ to kick off our celebrations. Dr Lee reflected on this year’s theme – to give equity a huge embrace. Staying with the theme, our termly workshop with the school’s governing body this week focused on diversity and inclusion, and the importance of equality in a wider sense for our whole school community.
The words equity and equality are often used interchangeably. As a linguist, I am fascinated by the etymology of words. Etymologically, the root word equality and equity share is aequus, meaning ‘even’ or ‘fair’ or ‘equal’, leading to equity being from the Latin aequitas, and equality from aequalitas. However, despite these similarities, equity and equality are inherently different concepts. As a starting point, the basic definition of the words is important. Equality means each individual or group of people is given the same resources or opportunities, whereas equity recognises that each person has different circumstances, and allocates the exact resources and opportunities needed to reach an equal outcome. Equality focuses on providing all genders with equal opportunities, such as a woman’s right to vote. IWD strives to endorse the belief that women should belong in a global culture that actively promotes and supports them in all aspects of their life, from education to the workplace to health. Gender is intersectional, and women as a group are truly diverse. By embracing equity, we can create a world where women and girls are valued and empowered to reach their full potential. Girls’ schools play an important role in promoting equity by providing a safe and supportive environment where girls can develop their skills and talents without facing gender-based or -biased barriers.
Equality-based solutions to social issues may believe in impartiality, and that there should be no difference in services and policies. However, equity-based solutions take into account the diverse lived experiences of individuals and communities, adapting services and policies according to these differences. Equity is a long-term and sustainable solution, and is a process for addressing imbalanced social systems. Girls’ schools, including Northampton High, help to level the playing field by providing girls with a nurturing and enabling space for girls to pursue their passions and succeed in their chosen fields.
Mrs Wilmot |
The Week Ahead |
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Monday 13 February Tuesday 14 February Wednesday 15 March |
Thursday 16 March Friday 17 March Saturday 18 March To view a list of the spring term clubs and activities, please click here. |
The Power and Influence of Women |
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Beard’s first example is Penelope. A main character in Homer’s Odyssey, Penelope is the faithful wife of the epic’s eponymous hero Odysseus. A hero of the Trojan War, Odysseus spends 10 years at Troy and then another 10 years trying to return to his home in Ithaca, where Penelope and their adolescent son Telemachus wait. In a scene from Odyssey Book One, Penelope enters the communal space of her husband’s palace and complains about a song that is being performed by one of the entertainers. Telemachus immediately orders her to return to her chambers and resume women’s work. He further reproaches her that stories are the preserve of men. Men engage in public discourse. Women face exclusion from it. The message is clear. As Professor Beard observes, “right where written evidence for Western culture starts, women’s voices are not being heard in the public sphere”. On Telemachus telling his mum to “zip it”, Professor Beard points out that “as Homer has it, an integral part of growing up, as a man, is learning to take control of public utterance and to silence the female of the species”. It may seem incredible that some 2,500 years since the Homeric epics, women are still silenced in public. But the myths of Archaic Greece continue to maintain relevance to modern reality. Even when women occupy a public platform, they are regularly met with verbal and written ripostes. Professor Beard’s primary subject is female silence; she hopes to take a “long view on the culturally awkward relationship between the voice of women and the public sphere of speech-making, debate and comment”, the better to get beyond “the simple diagnosis of misogyny that we tend a bit lazily to fall back on”. Calling out misogyny isn’t, she understands, the same thing as explaining it, and it’s only by doing the latter that we’re likely ever to find an effective means of combating it. To read the full entry, please click here. Dr Lee |
GDST Celebrate International Women's Day |
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A message from GDST in celebration of International Women’s Day: Happy International Women’s Day. We wanted to take a moment on this special day to celebrate our common purpose as a GDST family: to help girls learn without limits, so that they can go on to lead lives without limits and make the world a better place for us all. Girls-only education is as important as ever and, in our 150th year, our mission to pioneer and shape the future of girls’ education is still at the heart of our work. |
Energy Switch Off Week |
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This week at Northampton High School, we have committed ourselves to an Energy Switch Off Week in an endeavour to save energy and form positive habits to help take care of our environment. Students across the school have been adding their energy saving pledges to the display in the Senior School foyer. From switching off plug sockets to turning off lights, our pupils have each made a commitment to be more environmentally conscious and to consider the impact our actions have on the planet. Mr Earp |
Neurodiversity Week Mufti Day - Friday 17 March |
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To mark Neurodiversity Week (13-17 March), we are hosting a Mufti Day on Friday 17 March in Senior School. In return for wearing non-uniform clothes on this day, we are kindly asking for donations to be made to one of the neurodiversity charities linked below: East Midlands Autism We will be hosting two coffee mornings next week, inviting parents of children of all ages to find out more about autism and dyslexia: East Midlands Autism: Wednesday 15 March, 9-10am If you have not yet had the chance to book your place at these events, please complete the form here. We look forward to an informative and supportive event. Mrs Beezley |
A Northampton High winter wonderland! |
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The week has come to a snowy end here at Northampton High and our grounds are looking beautiful! We hope the weekend provides an opportunity for you to enjoy the rest of the snow and all of the excitement this brings, whilst remaining as safe and as warm as possible! Miss Price |
High Sports: Match Report |
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Netball U16 VS Quinton House |
The Spring Collective 2023 |
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We are very much looking forward to hosting the Spring Collective again this year in The White Room. The entries that have already arrived in the Art Department look sensational! The exhibition is very much about allowing the students to learn how it feels to be a practising, professional artist. Creating the work is just one part of the process as students need to select a mount, frame and then of course discuss pricing with Mr Laubscher and I. We are honoured to be raising money for our selected Art charity, The Hope Centre, Northampton. If you have been invited to take part, please hand in your work by Friday 24 March. The larger the exhibition, the more this will help us to increase our donation to charity, and students will experience the buzz of selling their work. We look forward to receiving more entries to this special event. Mrs Beacroft |
Inspirational Woman of the Week: Malala Yousafzai |
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With International Women’s Day taking place this week, our Inspirational Woman of the Week spotlight was particularly special! This week, we celebrated Malala Yousafzai, an activist for the education of women and children and the world’s youngest Nobel Prize laureate. Malala has become an international symbol of the fight for girls’ education and is a true inspiration to our students and girls all around the world. Miss Price |
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Catering team celebrate 5 star hygiene rating |
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Huge congratulations to Mr Smith, Mrs Jones and the entire Catering team for retaining a 5 star hygiene rating. At Northampton High School, we are very fortunate to have a wonderful catering team who consistently produce delicious food for our staff and students. The team celebrated their fabulous achievement with cake and coffee! Mr Hume |
Book Review: A Woman's World, 1850–1960 by Marina Amaral and Dan Jones |
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A Woman’s World,1850–1960 explores the many roles – domestic, social, cultural and professional – played by women across the world before second-wave feminism took hold. Using Marina Amaral’s colourized images and Dan Jones’s words, this survey features women both celebrated and ordinary, whether in the science lab or protesting on the streets, performing on stage or fighting in the trenches, running for election or exploring the wild. |
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This vivid history brings to life the female experience in a century of extraordinary change. Miss Buxton |
Save The Date: Speech Day 2023 |
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Science Week Showcase Lectures |
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'The Aspect' - A podcast by Shef Nandhra |
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We are proud to announce an exciting initiative from one of our recent alumnae, Shef Nandhra, and announce her brand new podcast. Available on multiple platforms, the podcast explores sustainability across different industries, and the youth’s involvement in these ventures. Individual episodes will feature guests and experts from a broad range of industries who will share how their work contributes to sustainable futures and harnesses the power of the youth. |
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Episodes are now available and can be downloaded below. Please do listen and subscribe! Links to the most recent episode: Spotify, Amazon Music, YouTube, Google Podcasts. Mrs Wilmot |
Save the Date: Spring Arts Exhibition 2023 |
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Turning 'can we?' into 'we can!' - Open Morning, Friday 28 April |
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We look forward to welcoming so many lovely families to our upcoming Open Morning on Friday 28 April. The event promises to be a superb showcase of life at Northampton High School. If you would like to come along, please do feel most welcome, and should you have family, friends, or neighbours keen to visit us, please encourage them to book their place here and join us! Mr Nash |
Rugby & Northampton Athletics Club: 5 week course |
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Dance Festival - Wedensday 29 March 2023 |
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We warmly invite you to save the date for our annual Dance Festival, which will take place on Wednesday 29 March. This year our show will take you ‘Through the Decades’ and include performances from students across the school from Reception to Sixth Form. Pupils have also been invited to attend auditions should they wish to perform a solo, duet or group dance with their peers. Our PE Staff will be working with Junior School classes, as part of the curriculum, to create and rehearse an exciting display of class dances. |
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We are also incorporating our House System into the Festival, to showcase a House Dance and involve pupils from Year 5 upwards to collaborate and work together. We have some superb Dance Leaders choreographing the House Dances and I am positive the evening will be an inspiring performance of talent and expertise in the Arts. Mrs Blake |
The Knight Frank Schools Triathlon Series |
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We are delighted to have been invited to take part in the The Knight Frank Schools Triathlon series, hosted by Oundle School and organised by Restless Development, on Sunday 14 May. 7 events ran last May, with over 6,000 children taking part from 120 prep schools such as Cheam, Cothill House, Dulwich Prep, Farleigh, Feltonfleet, Port Regis, St Hughs, The Dragon and Thomas’ Battersea. The children raised an incredible £1.2 million for both the organising charity and each prep school’s chosen charity. The events are for Senior and Junior School pupils in Years 3 to 8 and there has been a fantastic response from schools to date, with both the pupils and parents really enjoying the day. It is first and foremost a fun event, with a team element rather than the normal individual triathlon format. The children form teams of 4, come up with suitably amusing team names, with all 4 teammates performing all 3 disciplines as a relay. This has really appealed, not just to the keen sporting pupils, but also to those who want to give a triathlon a go with their friends in a safe and fun environment. Maya, from Restless Development delivered an assembly for our pupils in Years 3 to 8 on Tuesday 7 February to inform pupils about this fun opportunity. This is a parent-led event, with parents registering the children directly and taking them on the day. Any questions from parents can be sent directly to schoolstriathlon@restlessdevelopment.org. We hope that many of our students will choose to be involved in this fun, physical, charity event. Miss Hair |
Tuesday by Alison Carr - Thursday 14 March 2023 |
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Save the Date: Parents Afternoon Tea - Friday 7 July |
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We invite you to save the date for this summer’s Parent Afternoon Tea event, which will be taking place on Friday 7 July, from 2 – 3.30pm. The cost for this event will be £15pp, and bookings can be made via ParentPay, with a deadline of Wednesday 31 May. More information will follow over the coming weeks and months, but we do hope you will be able to join us for what promises to be a lovely afternoon. Miss Hair |
Junior Bake Off: Applications now open! |
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Community Nursery Sessions |
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Reach Lectures: Spring 2023 |
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Home Start Northampton: Volunteers needed! |
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Term Dates |
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Northampton High School |
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