In school we constantly examine new technology to make sure we are offering our pupils the opportunity to use new devices that aid learning. A hot topic in education is the value of electronic tablets and ipads—small portable devices that access the Internet and are suitable for writing notes.

Many educators are predicting the demise of text books in the form we know now and can see a future of all the information a child needs being loaded onto one electronic device. It has the advantage of being always up-to-date—no longer will pupils be given the well-thumbed copy with the names of generations of girls before them listed in the ownership list at the front. No more heavy bags carrying many reference books.

This is all good and moreover many of these devices have exciting apps which enhance learning and provide opportunities for students to understand quite complicated topics. As a lover of any technology, I embrace these changes with enthusiasm and would have liked a chance to learn in this way when I was at school. I am reminded of a quotation from George Bernard Shaw “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man”. We require the unreasonable man to help us embrace this new way of working otherwise we have a chance of being unaware of how our lives may be brightened by the digital age. I don’t want to be so unaware that I become like the chairman of IBM who in 1948 said “I think there’s a world market for about 5 computers”.

How far off are we of losing our library to a technological paradise? You may be surprised to hear me say that however much I embrace technology I do hope printed books are here to stay. There is something very rewarding about looking up information in a book and leafing through an encyclopedia to find an answer.I can see the practical use of an electronic book but everyone enjoys passing on a really good read to a friend. I love the way that good books in libraries have become dog-eared over time through the sheer number of people that have enjoyed them.

What does this all add up to? Schools must look to new ways of delivering information to pupils but this shouldn’t be in place of books in entirety. Schools of the near future, will for the time being, have a place for a resource centre that houses printed books as well as electronic tablets. In time, depending on the age of your children, you may see the new age of electronic school books - let us all in school be the unreasonable woman and make the world fit us.

It came as no surprise to me to read that King’s College in London are stepping away from offering just the International Baccalaureate, and are reintroducing A Levels to enhance the Sixth Form curriculum. KCS were one of the first schools to start offering the IB. It doesn’t surprise me because the IB is not a qualification that suits all whereas on the whole A levels do. There is nothing wrong with the A Level course as such—especially since the introduction of the A* grade. A Levels are good at preparing students to head in one direction which ultimately most students have to do. Of course even within the A Level course there is some flexibility and it is possible especially with the introduction of AS and A2 to study the sciences alongside a Language, for example.

I have spent the last few years defending A levels and I feel that for one of the great advocates of the IB to switch back to A levels that I am right to nail my colours to the A Level flag. That is not to say the IB is not a good qualification. In the UK we don’t prepare pupils for an IB type qualification in their younger years and therefore its style suits fewer Sixth Form students here. It is a costly programme to run and therefore schools must have a strong rationale for offering it.

Also in the news was the debate about having a set quota of women in each boardroom. Norway has gone down this route and to achieve this have meetings that are timed to fit in with a shorter working day. Whilst I am all for a good work/life balance (something many of us struggle to achieve) and a family friendly end time to the day would help this, I don’t think women want a quota approach. What we teach the girls is to be the best they can be; they don’t want to be given a position just because they are female and are needed to make a gender quota fit a statistic. Women don’t need or want the sympathy vote!

Our girls never cease to impress me – in my junior assembly this week Liberty and Carolina translated the two Latin phrases Carpe Diem and Tempus Fugit correctly. I watched the U15 netball team win convincingly against Churchers. The game was fast moving and the girls played with tremendous skill and agility.

The girls here do have a sense of purpose and ambition; it is those sort of characteristics that will win them places at top universities and careers of their choice.

Happy New Year and welcome back to the Spring Term! I very much hope you all had an enjoyable if busy Christmas holiday.

You may have seen the report in the newspapers over the holiday about a study that found girls do better even at university when educated away from boys. Interestingly, a single-sex environment made no difference to the performance of male students! Of course this is no surprise to me and PHS girls do achieve very well. It is also interesting to note that the study found that women educated in a single-sex environment were greater risk takers and this they attributed to them feeling very comfortable when educated in an all female environment which gives them confidence. This then perhaps helps them in future careers the study goes on to say. The evidence is so compelling that the researchers feel that some universities will offer an option of all girl teaching groups.

Two charities have contacted me recently which may be of interest to you. The Kitchener Scholarship is an award that students currently in Year 13 may apply for if they have a parent who has served or is still serving in the armed forces. Their website www.LKNMF.com gives further details. The Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust is a charity which supports the education of children whose parents work in the fashion or textile industries. Again, their website www.ftct.org.uk gives more details.

So far the year has started well and the girls have returned to school full of enthusiasm and ready to meet all the opportunities that come their way. I very much look forward to the events this term and it looks to be as full and exciting as the last term.

I cannot believe how fast we are galloping towards the end of term. We all enjoyed the most wonderful evening at the Guildhall last Friday and the photo show from the past year, put together by Tanuvi from Upper Sixth, was a showstopper. Claire, Kate and Amy, as the Head Girl team were also very composed and calm. The speakers from Years 7 to 13 also spoke very well and we heard from Lucy and Abi who talked about their trip to Paris. Daisy also entertained us with tales from Osmington Bay, Eleanor told us about a mock law court and Izzy spoke about how we were awarded our International Language status. Alice spoke of her Sports’ Leaders Award and her involvement with Dovercourt.

Our guest speaker was Helen Fraser, chief executive of GDST, who reminded the girls of what you need to do to be successful. She talked of being a risk taker and I think at PHS we develop this very well. During this week the Sixth Form girls have shown their ability to lead the school by organising various charity events from a Talent Show, for which I was a judge X Factor style, to the infamous Fashion Show.  This has taken a huge amount of effort and I applaud their leadership and organisational skills. I have only one question—where did all the boys come from who appeared on the catwalk? I have no doubt that the Sixth Form girls will be very successful indeed in their chosen careers if the Fashion Show is anything to go by.

At the other end of the age spectrum I very much enjoyed the Pre-prep nativity and so did the Year 9 class who came along to watch too. We all had to hold back on saying "ahhh" too much as they were extremely accomplished and very sweet.

During my break duty on Tuesday at Dovercourt I inspected the chickens and was shown where the girls play; we are very lucky to have such lovely and large grounds. The girls get much opportunity to run around which I am sure helps them concentrate when they need to in lessons. Talking of lessons, I took a class in the ICT room this week and I can confirm that the new computers are as every bit amazing as the girls claim them to be.

I hope those of you that visited the Christmas Fair on Saturday had an enjoyable time sorting through all the wonderful goods on offer on the stalls and making time to savour the entertainment on offer from the Dance Company and the Choir. I am sure the funds raised will be put to good use throughout the school by the PSA.

It has been another busy and successful week of activities. The week started well when the Junior School was placed 29th in the top 100 schools in The Sunday Times. Quite rightly they feel very proud of their pupils’ successes.

Lara Hardwick was runner-up in the Guide Awards for best actress after her very successful portrayal of Juliet and Charlotte and Emily Smalley received Gold medals for their success in a recent gymnastics championships. Adele O’Callaghan, Louise Cohman-Mark and Elly Sykes visited the BBC to take part in a Shakespeare competition and we congratulate them for participating so well.

The tea-time Atrium concert was a wonderful showcase of musical talent on Wednesday evening. I particularly enjoyed listening to Cantabile who sang most beautifully The Seal Lullaby which is a song that has apparently been “pinched” by Gareth Malone in his recent TV programme. Clearly Miss Blackwell is ahead of the game!

We have just had a very successful Taster Day for Year 6 pupils with a record number of girls experiencing science and drama lessons and life at PHS.

Looking ahead we have Sixth Form Charity Week at the Junior School this coming week and at the Senior School the following week. I am sure girls will want to support the activities spearheaded by the Sixth Form in aid of Hannah’s Holiday Home, a local charity which provides respite holiday accommodation for families with a child who is seriously ill.

I am very much looking forward to seeing as many parents as possible at our Awards Evening next Friday.