THE new headteacher at Southend High School for Girls has spoken of her drive and determination to help her pupils be the best.

Fiona Brierley, acting head and a former deputy head at the school, in Southchurch Boulevard, has been formally appointed as its new leader.

The school, which educates more than 1,000 pupils from age 11 up to A-level, is rated by Ofsted as “outstanding”.

Ms Brierley said: “I want our girls to have opportunities to achieve their best, to give them a range of opportunity to take them out of their comfort zones and give them the chance to develop the skills they’ve got. It’s about reaching their potential and being the best they can be.”

With more than 20 years teaching experience, Ms Brierley does not underestimate the pressures she faces in her new position.

She said it was “a great privilege” to be given the job and she already has plans to see the school improve.

She said: “The girls here are a delight. They’re gutsy and intelligent, but I don’t think they realise just how good they are, they can underestimate themselves.

“I’m going to keep the continuity, but all the time I am going to be making a difference.

“When I took over the sixth form, at the time just 33 per cent of pupils went on to university.

Within five years, we had 96 per cent of pupils going to university.

“There has certainly been a shift for the girls. Today, it’s the done thing to have a good education and to go to university and to have a career. It’s not go and get some secretarial qualifications and find a husband.”

Originally from Lancashire, Ms Brierley always dreamed of becoming a headteacher.

She said: “I remember my first day of school and I went home and said I wanted the big desk at the front. It’s a fantastic job and no two days are ever the same.

“You’re working with these fantastic young people who are bright and bubbly and have great ideas and are changing all the time.”

Speaking about her employer, Ms Brierley added: “You couldn’t send your daughter to a better school. It’s a happy school and if you want your daughters to have a happy education and be challenged this is the place to come.”

 

Links to be forged with primaries

THE school has invested time and money into the traditionally male subjects of maths and science.

Maths is now the most popular A-level course in the school with extra-curricular lessons available and pupils thrive in state-of-the-art science labs, as well as focusing on woodwork and graphics.

In addition to looking to the girls’ future, with 19 pupils ready for Oxbridge interviews, Ms Brierley is also keen to build links with Southend’s primary schools.

She said: “I’m really conscious of this school becoming the Southend grammar school for Southend’s pupils and taking more pupils from the local area.

“We want to build up relationships with primary schools now to make the school available to them.”