At Epsom Girls Grammar School, leadership is grounded in a clear focus on learning, opportunity and community.
In this Q&A, Principal Brenda McNaughton shares the priorities shaping the school’s direction, from maintaining academic rigour and creating meaningful opportunities for students, to supporting teachers as subject experts and strengthening connections across an ultra-diverse school community.
What are some of the key priorities guiding your leadership at Epsom Girls Grammar School currently?
The core priority for leadership in education is always student learning and academic achievement. If I were to list our leadership team’s priorities, in order, they would be:
Student learning and academic achievement;
Student opportunities;
Teacher freedom to be subject experts;
Community connections.
Epsom Girls Grammar School has always taken girls’ education seriously, so academic rigour and challenge continue to guide our decision-making as we, along with other schools, respond to educational changes and the wider social and global pressures facing younger generations.
Growing women of great character is also a long-standing priority for the school. Ensuring we are creating opportunities for students to ‘find their people and passion’ is critical, as it allows them to bring their whole selves to their learning and thrive during their time at school and beyond.
Our third priority is creating an environment for subject experts to thrive. Teachers are our most important resource, so creating an environment where the administration and classroom management side of their roles are strongly supported by consistent school-wide systems allows them to focus their creative energies on teaching their speciality. This remains a high priority and a continuous focus for our leadership team.
Our fourth priority is building and strengthening connections within our community. Schools are hubs of connection, not just for the five years a student attends, or while one’s child is enrolled. We are an ultra-diverse community spanning generations, ethnicities, political leanings, backgrounds, and religions, yet our shared values bring us together.
Our alumnae, and parents of alumnae, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience, helping those who listen avoid the pitfalls of those who have come before. This real-life learning and generous sharing is a taonga for our school.
How do you define a successful education in today’s fast-changing world?
A successful education is very similar to what it has always been: the building of broad and deep knowledge that allows students to understand the world around them, while developing the capability and resilience to enjoy learning throughout their lives.
A successful education enables young people to approach any situation with confidence, knowing they have put in the effort beforehand, and can do so again to serve as positive and contributing members of society.
One of the wonderful benefits of state school education is that students get the benefit of a robust academic curriculum as well as the opportunity to learn from and with a diverse student body.
They learn that there is something in each culture and upbringing that is ‘gold,’ and they appreciate the richness that different perspectives bring to solving problems and growing strong communities.
What has changed most in the needs and expectations of students over the past few years?
The basic needs of young people are the same as they have always been: love, guidance, and boundaries from home; aligned messages, high expectations, and support from school; and a society that takes them seriously and gives them a fair go.
Working in schools every day, you see the full breadth of students’ perspectives – beyond the trends highlighted in the media. Our young people value face-to-face interactions and want challenges that stretch their thinking. They respond positively when adults provide clear guidance, high expectations, and support.
What has changed, I think, is that society is not giving them a fair go when it comes to social media and unfettered access to AI. Young people naturally look for the path of least resistance, and without consistent boundaries at home, at school, or from society, they miss out on the guardrails they need to grow into confident, resilient adults.
What role does student voice play in shaping school culture and decision-making?
Student voice plays a huge role in shaping school culture and decision-making. They are by far the largest part of any school, so creating opportunities for older students to lead and role-model for younger and new students is essential.
At Epsom Girls Grammar School, we have developed strong and confident leaders through many and various formal and informal leadership opportunities: Peer support, sport, performing and visual arts, cultural groups, service, and special interest groups are just some of the ways that our students take the lead and use their voice.
Our Student Representatives on our School Board, along with Prefects and committee leaders, have always been vocal advocates for student needs. We have also been refining our Student Council to ensure its purpose is clear to all students: to provide a transparent and effective way for student to share their perspectives, discuss challenges, and propose well-considered solutions.
Through these experiences, our girls develop the confidence to use their voice – whether advocating for themselves or for others – and the school’s role is to guide them in doing this effectively.
What opportunities does an all-girls environment offer when it comes to confidence, participation and leadership?
This is massive. I hadn’t fully appreciated the practical as well as social benefits for girls in a single-sex environment before taking on this role. At our school, girls are genuinely at the centre of every decision: at entry level of governance and management, curriculum and programme design, in facilities planning, and in classroom teaching.
They benefit from having teachers’ full attention during lessons, and additional time is spent tailoring resources and contexts to meet their needs and interests. Young people need the freedom to make mistakes when they’re learning.
In an all-girls environment, there is a strong culture of supporting others to be their best. This encourages more students to participate, give things a go, teach others, and share with those who need extra support.
How is Epsom Girls Grammar preparing students for life beyond school, including tertiary study and the workforce?
Being ready for life beyond school requires a balance of academic success, knowledge of pathways and options after school, and the character and confidence to embrace opportunities that arise. Success takes practice, so developing strong learning habits from the first day of Year 9, and providing positive experiences as students engage in opportunities within the school, are important ways to build confidence for life beyond school. We also enjoy welcoming back alumnae to share their journeys, so that networks of expertise can be established early for our young women.
How does the school engage with whānau and the wider community to support student success?
The primary way that parents and whānau engage with the school is through reporting, report evenings, and student-led conferencing. These opportunities give parents and students a clear and accurate view of their child’s progress, both academically and in co-curricular involvement. Student-led conferencing also enables the school to understand the aspirations of each student and their whānau, both during their time at school and beyond, providing a holistic view of a student’s development.
Epsom Girls Grammar School also benefits from a number of active and engaged parent and alumnae groups who support students in a variety of ways, including fundraising, sharing expertise, and service. We are very fortunate to have their ongoing support for our girls.
With the world being as digital/highly connected as it is, how do you help students develop healthy boundaries and critical thinking?
The government’s ‘phones away for the day directive has been an excellent way to set clear and consistent boundaries for students. It allows us to discuss what works best for each young person without the distraction of the device on the desk in front of them. This approach also creates space for students to build the foundational knowledge needed to engage in critical thinking.
These skills have been part of the New Zealand Curriculum and NCEA assessment for several years, so teachers are well-practised in explicitly teaching students to apply critical thinking across different contexts.
How does being an all-girls school influence classroom dynamics, if at all, in your opinion?
Generally, girls approach classroom learning differently from boys. In a co-educational classroom, boys can sometimes dominate teacher time and focus. In an all-girls school, girls receive the full attention of their teachers – both in lesson planning and during classroom teaching and feedback time.
This means that girls can ask more questions, have these answered quickly, and spend more time practising at their own academic level.
What leadership skills do you believe are most important to nurture in young people today?
Courage and tenacity. With social media, young people often live their lives under the glare of others’ opinions. Courage to know themselves and hold true to their values is hard but essential for any leader today. Tenacity to pursue learning and excellence in spite of pervasive mediocrity is also essential to keep moving forward and, as a leader, inspires those who follow to do the same.
What excites you about the future of secondary education in Aotearoa New Zealand?
As secondary school teachers, we get to work with the most interesting and vital group of people in the country, and we have the opportunity to shape their futures to be brighter than they have ever been. It excites me that our work will always be full of remarkable stories, and each year we will get to work with the next scientist, medical specialist, investor, or politician who will change the world!
With the current work in education in New Zealand, it is also exciting to see the potential for greater alignment between what students learn in primary school and what they need in secondary school. Moves towards more consistency across secondary schools are equally positive, and we continue to live in hope for what this alignment can achieve.
With a large and diverse student roll, how do you maintain a sense of belonging and connectedness across the school?
School assemblies and events, where our whole school community comes together, are the primary way to foster and maintain a sense of belonging. It is at these events that we reflect on our shared whakapapa, the sacrifices of those who came before us, and the legacy they have left. Our traditions, observed during these large gatherings, as well as our day-to-day routines, keep us connected to a shared experience and purpose.
Our Prefects and student committee leaders also work hard to create opportunities for girls to connect with each other and discover their people and passions. Their work and role-modelling strengthen the links between what staff are doing for students and what students are doing for each other.
How do extracurricular opportunities at Epsom Girls Grammar support students beyond the classroom?
Sports, arts and cultural activities, as well as special interest and service opportunities, allow our students to bring their whole selves to school. In a diverse community such as ours, our students arrive with a wide range of skills, experiences, and interests beyond their academic pursuits.
Enabling them to demonstrate these and connect with peers and staff who share their passions creates a vibrant and well-rounded place of learning. We also find that success in one area fuels success in another, so fostering these avenues for growth, competition, and expression positively impacts long-term academic success.
Looking ahead, what do you see as the biggest opportunities for Epsom Girls Grammar School over the next five years?
Firstly, in the curriculum. By offering both NCEA and Cambridge pathways, we enable students to choose what best suits their learning style and future plans. This approach allows staff to take the best of both systems and prepare students for success in each. As educators, it is like being able to play two banks off against each other to get the best rate, and for students, it allows them to compare their learning and progress, not only with others in New Zealand, but also internationally.
Secondly, in opportunities outside the classroom. Appointing staff with expertise and passion for sport, visual and performing arts, cultural expression, or in education outside the classroom, and who are willing to generously give of their time to provide these opportunities for students, inspires girls to explore and develop these talents. Connecting with alumnae, who can also offer these girls skills and opportunities, further enriches these opportunities for our students. Another exciting opportunity is the collaboration with other schools.
While the dismantling of our formal Kāhui Ako structure has presented challenges, it has also created freedom to build genuine, targeted connections where they matter most. We have already begun engaging with some of our feeder schools to support them and to bring subject experts together to share resources and address gaps. Schools have always run on a healthy dose of goodwill in New Zealand, so continuing to look for novel ways to acknowledge and recognise genuine effort and impact will be an exciting challenge moving forward.
