VISIT US 
APPLY NOW 
CONTACT US 
This blog article is adapted from the Head Girls’ assembly delivered to students after the conference.
We’d like to share some of the key ideas, conversations, and reflections that we brought back from the 2025 GSA Heads Conference. As Head Girls, it was a privilege to represent Channing and to think deeply about the issues shaping our (girls) lives — both in school and far beyond it.
The first session we attended explored how technology and social media influence us more than we realise, with algorithms shaping what we see and how we feel. We discussed how these systems can create echo chambers, affect our self-esteem, and make it harder to switch off, leading us to think about how we can manage our devices more healthily and reflect honestly on our own digital habits.
Evelyn Forde hosted a session focused on belonging, the feeling of being valued, noticed, and missed. We learned how belonging boosts confidence and participation, and how small actions can help others feel included. The example of school showed how a lack of belonging can affect engagement and achievement, prompting us to reflect on how we can create a more supportive environment for everyone.
Our session with Lucy Manning and Hugo Rifkind was (what we thought to be) the best part of the conference. As two highly respected journalists, Lucy from the BBC and Hugo from The Times, they brought a breadth of experience that helped us look at “girls in society” from both a personal and global perspective. Tash: The conversation was actually shaped completely by the discussions you all had with your Form Captains over the past few months. Your thoughts on life in an all-girls school, the pressures many girls experience, and the stereotypes that still influence formed the foundation of the questions we put to our guests. It was powerful to see how issues that feel very local to here at Channing connect to wider patterns in society and the media.
What made this conversation particularly powerful was that it was shaped completely by the discussions you’ve all had with your Form Captains over the past few months. Your thoughts on life in an all-girls school, the pressures many girls experience, and the stereotypes that still influence us formed the foundation of the questions we put to our guests. It was striking to see how issues that can feel very local to us here at Channing connect so clearly to wider patterns in society and the media.
Lucy and Hugo shared insight into how these pressures show up in their work: from the stories they report on, to the way women and girls are represented in the news, and to the global barriers girls continue to face in accessing education. They reminded us that for many girls worldwide, opportunities we often take for granted are limited not by ability, but by circumstance, culture, or conflict.
One moment that stood out was when we discussed the impact of social media on young people. After we shared the comment from a Year 9 student — “Sometimes social media makes girls feel like they should do things they don’t want to do” — both journalists reflected deeply on the weight of growing up in a world shaped by constant online influence. They spoke about witnessing this both through their reporting and in their personal lives, emphasising just how important it is for young people to understand and question the digital pressures around them.
What made this session so meaningful was its honesty. It wasn’t just about problems; it was about understanding how we can challenge stereotypes, make informed choices, and recognise our own power in shaping the society we want to live in. Lucy and Hugo helped us see that the stories we hear, as well as the stories we tell, matter deeply. And they encouraged us to keep asking questions, keep speaking up, and keep supporting one another as girls navigating an increasingly complex world.
Overall, it was an incredible opportunity to speak at the GSA Heads Conference and listen to such engaging speakers for the day. We hope what we’ve shared encourages you to think more deeply about the world you’re growing up in, and the power you already have to shape it. Whether it’s supporting each other, questioning what you see online, or challenging the expectations placed on girls, every small action makes a difference.
Thank you for listening — and we hope you feel as inspired as we did to keep the conversation going.