A High-Powered Question Time Panel discussing - Accelerate Action for Women’s Equality | News

March 3rd 2025

The Panel: Her Honour Judge Joanna Brownhill, Sarah Dyke MP, Equine Vet - Pippa Longman and Lieutenant Colonel (Ret) Naomi Wakelin.

Flickr album: Question Time - 3rd March 2025 | Height: auto | Theme: Default | Skin: Default Skin

The School was very fortunate to have such a high-powered panel in Assembly today to discuss a myriad of issues relating to International Women's Day. My thanks to Dr Larsen (Head of Psychology) and Mrs Simper (Deputy Head, Pastoral) for organising the Question Time, to our Chaplain (Rev'd Beverly) for his customary wise chairing skills, and thanks also must go to the tutor groups for a series of outstanding questions. The main thanks clearly go to our panel for giving up their time to be with us, and for answering the questions so fully and honestly. We covered a wide range of topics from gender pay, misogyny, representation, promotion and franchise. It was great to have our local MP, Sarah Dyke, give her fascinating insight into her pathway to being our elected MP. It was a powerful, uplifting way to start the week.

Ian Wilmshurst - Headmaster

We were blessed to have such a superb panel of speakers that represented a myriad of careers, backgrounds, and experiences. It was an honour to chair the Question Time, and I personally have taken away lots of pearls of wisdom. For me, a standout takeaway was Lieutenant Colonel Wakelin’s point that one of the best things we can do to tackle discrimination of all types is to establish healthy leadership cultures. I look forward to the conversations continuing this week off the back of this morning’s event.

Rev'd George Beverly - Chaplain

Having a Judge, an M.P., an equine vet and a Lieutenant Colonel tell us about their work, their career journeys and to answer our questions made for a very exciting start to our week, and it was notable that the pupils - both the boys and girls - were fully engaged and interested. It was heartening to hear that in the experience of our guests, huge strides have been made in the area of gender equality, and none of the women felt they had been discriminated against, because of their sex, in the workplace. Such discussions continue to be important to ensure society keeps moving in this positive direction, with regards to gender equality, especially in a time when social media can be pushing notions of so-called ‘traditional’ ideals on our young, impressionable girls and women. What came out of today’s assembly was that girls have the right to choose who they want to be, what they want to achieve and - importantly - to be as confident in their decisions, as the boys. Back in tutor time, my tutees - third form boys - were still engaged and could see the importance of the session, especially given some of the astonishing statistics given to us by Judge Brownhill, and the reference to the long-lasting impact of the suffragettes, made by M.P Sarah Dyke. Pippa Longman and Lt. Col. (Ret) Wakelin gave great insights and advice, including the importance of choosing a life-partner wisely: it was a discussion which highlighted how women’s equality has a positive impact on all members of society, and was thus relevant to everyone in the room.

Rebecca Dixon - 3^rd Form Tutor

It was a wonderful event; the panel of Jo, Sarah, Pippa and Naomi were inspiring, the Chaplain was outstanding at chairing and the questions posed by pupils were focused and thought provoking. A key message was that education is a huge part of changing attitudes to women and that in many fields, women are already treated equally to men, but in others there is progress to be made. This all ties so well into the theme of Accelerate Action for International Women’s Day, and we can all play a role to ensure we are moving towards total equality in the future.

Emily Simper - Deputy Head Pastoral

The excellent Question Time session today, held in the Memorial Hall as part of International Women’s Day proved to be both incredibly insightful and informative. The esteemed panel, chaired by Reverend Beverly, discussed and shared with the School, their responses to a variety of questions that pupils had put forward regarding gender equality. The panel’s answers gave the audience awareness of the current situation that exists in a variety of industry sectors, and their understanding and experiences helped improve our knowledge of the reality of the situation which exists both in society and the various workplaces that were represented. Combined with this, the panel shared some wise words with the pupils present, helping us all to contemplate and reflect on the positive approaches we can take on our journey through life. It was a privilege to be able to listen to the Panel. Thanks to them all for their insight and guidance.

Nick Hart - 4^th Form Tutor

From the panel, I learnt the importance of trusting myself to stand up against societal barriers, but also, internal challenges like imposter syndrome. They taught me the importance of having an inspiring woman as a role model to show me that I can follow in their footsteps. I think it was a really important event that helped show us how to accelerate action to strive for a better and more equal society, and also commending women who have worked hard to gain positions of power.

Lucy - 6^th Form