SUPPORTING OTHERS AND KEEPING IN TOUCH

The Rungway app connects Sixth Form girls with alumnae who are already at university or in the working world. With over 3,000 users, it gives GDST girls access to invaluable advice in seconds. Students can anonymously ask questions on the platform to have them answered by our fantastic GDST alumnae community.

couple of years and says, “It’s a wonderful way to give back to the GDST to which I really do owe a lot. As someone who’s taken the long way around on some things and jumped a few rungs of the ladder on others, I think the real benefit of Rungway is that it’s a way for current GDST girls to get an alternative perspective on their career choices and early professional development that they might not otherwise get from career advisors or their parents. Yes, you can do it the straightforward way or take the winding route but Rungway is there to signpost you. I get a lot out of this platform and I really encourage students and alumnae alike to get involved.”

Sign up at https://bit.ly/rungwaymentoring https://bit.ly/rungwaymentoring https://bit.ly/rungwaymentoring

We were heartened to hear that three GDST schools are due to receive a charitable gift left in the Will of a Croydon High School alumna. Isobel Stevenson was educated at Croydon High from the age of five, graduating as part of the Class of 1953. Her memories of her time at school included taking shelter during air raids. Ms Stevenson was described as the fiercest of advocates of a single sex education. She spent her entire career teaching in girls’ schools, including at Shrewsbury High School and Wimbledon High School – hence leaving a gift to these two schools in addition to her former school. She always dreamt of becoming a Headmistress, and she achieved this at Jersey College for Girls, before retiring in 1994. The gifts to each school will be used to fund bursaries, which will give opportunities to bright and ambitious girls, for whom school fees would otherwise provide a barrier. This seems to be the perfect tribute to a woman who gave her life to the education of young people.

gesture. Members receive a copy of our annual Giving publication and invitations to supporter events. We were delighted to be joined by many of those making a bequest at our Evening of Celebration event in November.

If you have any questions about leaving a gift in your Will, contact the Philanthropy Team by calling 0207 393 6898 or emailing giving@wes.gdst.net.

school fundraising initiatives and some heartfelt stories from current students and alumnae who have benefitted from a GDST bursary, this year’s edition brings the impact of our philanthropic activity and a GDST bursary to life.

If you have left a charitable gift in your Will to the GDST or a GDST school, please be sure to let us know. You will then be included in our Minerva Circle, a special society of those that have made this significant

It gives us great pleasure to share the latest edition of Giving, our publication detailing the difference philanthropic support makes across the GDST. From the young people whose lives have been touched through our expanded outreach programme, to the new facilities created to share with local communities, an inspired array of

To mark our 150th year, we are on a mission to bring our GDST education to more girls than ever. Our goal is to create 150 new, lifechanging awards over the next four years. Because we know that when more girls can access a GDST education, more girls can learn without limits, go on to lead lives without limits and make the world a better place for us all.

You can read the full Giving report here