There has been a plethora of events across the Leighton Park community this week in celebration of International Women’s Day on Sunday 8th March. This annual event is an opportunity to focus attention on some of the brilliant achievements of women both now and in the past, and to inspire our students to recognise, reward and contribute to future generations of female success.
On Monday we welcomed Old Leightonian, Kimia Gilani, for a Collect with the whole school and a lunchtime workshop with the Female Lead Society. Kimia shared her university experiences from Kings College London and advised the audience to embrace their interests, build their skills and personal strengths, and maintain a flexible mindset about their future career. Her interactive session examined the qualities of strong female leaders and discussions centred on the how and why they are perceived as successful, followed by thoughts on overcoming the barriers to the group’s own ambitions.
Tuesday offered an insight into creative careers with female author and our Patron of Reading, Lisa Williamson, taking centre stage at our Book Week Meet the Author event. Year 9 enjoyed a talk and creative writing workshop with Lisa exploring the writing process in small groups with her expert input. Lisa’s varied career demonstrated how women can be flexible, pursue their dreams and achieve success, but not without hard work! Continuing the creative theme, on the same day, two of our Year 10 Female Lead Ambassadors, Elena and Mikayla, interviewed actors from the new Disney x Pixar film, ‘Hoppers’, as part of a journalism and presenting opportunity in Central London.
The female careers theme continued through the week as the women in the cast and crew of West End hit, ‘Hercules the Musical’, shared their journeys with our future GCSE Drama, Dance and Music students and our Lower Sixth Female Lead Ambassadors, thanks to our partnership with The Female Lead. London. Director of Drama, Jessica Wittert van Hoogland, enthused, “The production was a spectacle! Extraordinary costumes, set and special effects were enjoyed by all, alongside some really powerful singing and brilliant ensemble work. The Theatre Royal Drury Lane was the most magnificent setting for the day. The highlight was meeting members of the cast and crew from both Hercules and the Lion King. These inspiring women talked to the students about the power of passion, determination and seeking opportunities and experiences within the arts to help you forge your path. Most importantly they stressed how crucial it is to practise and to believe in yourself.”
Wednesday saw three of our International Baccalaureate Diploma History students delivering a fascinating presentation exploring the reasons behind the number of missing and murdered indigenous women in Canada. The speakers explained the impact of patriarchal social constructs on the native population and the misery this has caused to indigenous women and two-spirit people. Well attended in the Austin Lecture Theatre, the Sixth Formers’ talk offered perceptive insights into the causes behind the horrifying statistics combined with some attention grabbing stories about serial killers, corrupt policing and the aptly named Highway of Tears in British Columbia.
The following evening, a private screening of ‘Barbie’ on Thursday 5th March at the Showcase Cinema, with its satirical presentation of feminism and the societal pressures of patriarchy, provided an entertaining evening open to all students and a chance to show off the new pink hoodies acquired for the Female Lead Society!
The week wrapped up with a lunchtime showcase of female talent in the MMC Upper Foyer. Performances included three musical items with two soloists and one duet, two dances with a solo performance and a duet, and two drama pieces, one a monologue from ‘Othello’ and a poetry recital. As one member of staff commented: “It was a good variety of performances all brilliantly executed; each performance had the space to communicate and was well received by the audience. It was nice to see a celebration of female arts at LP to end the week of International Women’s Day celebrations.”
See more photos from our International Women’s Day celebrations in our online gallery.
Take the next step by selecting an option below, or if you want to drop us a quick message, you can do so with the form.
Δ