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Attended St. Pauls Girls School, lived in different sailing barges on the River Thames in West London [1:20]. Brother went to Westminster, attended Grants. Was not happy at St. Pauls as it was extremely high achieving and stressful. Father died so struggled financially. Was offered a trust to go to Westminster. Uniform, baggy bloomers, white girdle for gym, kilts, white shirts, long grey coats, bowler hats. Uniform very expensive so struggled financially [5:00]. At St. Pauls, a lot of suicides, the pressure meant you had to be the best of the best, felt insignificant [6:00]. A lot of boys but not many girls. No idea what the reputation was. Had an interview with John Rae. Stepfather had sons who went to Westminster and was very close to them. Had no organised sports for girls other than Judo. Girls felt very safe and sisterly [16:00]. Extracurriculars; many decided to do dance but were naïve about impact that the girls had on the boys. Loved the freedom and confidence of the teachers on expeditions [19:54]. Felt as if the teachers knew you properly. Took English, History and Maths at A-level. League tables most school destroying prospect. Nobody seemed to care about exam grades. Teachers taught in their own styles, very interesting lessons, taught what was interesting to the teachers. Small classes [26:31]. Very liberal school and couldn’t tell if people were extravagant or taking drugs. Unique and eccentric people. Some bullies but when the girls came in sixth form, this was called out. Little prejudice in the classroom and there was a great sense of comfort [31:50]. Oxbridge term, no one really thought to go anywhere else. Missed the interviews for Oxford and it felt like St. Pauls. Wished to go back to a girl’s college. Got a scholarship, had terrible teaching, not as good as Westminster and was a shock. Got very lazy at Westminster as grades did not really matter [38:10]. Traditions at Westminster, singing in the choir, in a pop group for a charity called “wet music”. Felt that even the “no hopers” were successful [42:29]. Could easily spot someone who attended Westminster. People dressed in a way that was not to be seen as necessarily attractive but unique. Quite fun and theatrical clothing. Uniform at Westminster, people wore what they wanted, but wanted to be seen as part of the school. Reluctant to wear boring clothes [45:33]. Everyone had different experiences of what they were comfortable with. Development of social media changed this perception. Communication in person when Stubbs attended, not a sense of being judged. Felt as if people were kinder. Never felt scared, some of the girls had a harder time, the girls who did sciences and arts were more separated as they did not cross paths [50:33]. Took part in lots of plays at Westminster. Part of a band called Local Heroes [57:42]. In a house of scholars, wished to be a boarder rather than in the house of scholars. Often the extremely bright boys lacked emotional development. Felt the need to mother them. Everyone very smart so under a lot of pressure [59:30]. Food was nice. Ate in college hall. A lot of tradition. Before eating they said grace with three boys singing in Latin. A lot of tourists. If the Queen was passing you would have to throw your hat in the air. The greaze, controversy now about girls and the greaze [01:05:21]. Social media does take over a lot of time, creates pressure around how to act. Being at Westminster and in a community feels more welcoming (because of co-ed or boarding). Was never fully living school life at Westminster. Educational style at Westminster was fresh and exciting. Being a kind person more important than grades. Some felt compelled to be fixated on one path, but this blocks opportunities and closes off possibility. Learnt at Westminster that exam grades do not matter as much as the experiences people make on the way – most significant take away. You do not have to end up as an academic from Westminster. She is not academic but performed well in exams. Would have liked to be a translator [01:19:53]. Had to address the title of what the essay was about multiple times in an essay to get a good grade. Would not be writing like others, desire to be unique in exams was significant. Would write essays in the style of who they were writing about [01:24:41]. Advice for girls at Westminster; important to turn up and care, especially after Covid, being resilient, very special time and special place being at Westminster. Worth cherishing the time you are at Westminster and keep in touch with friends. Important to expose your age group to all the different job opportunities that are available. Felt it was a gift being at a co-educational school [1:30:31]. Very encouraging of people to do what they want to do [01:33:35]. Important to be proactive about what we want to do or be [01:38:22]. Did not appreciate how good the teaching was, and the privilege of attending Westminster. Difficult world now for fear of being inappropriate or from creating their own ideas of teaching. The hardest thing about teaching now would be wanting to teach the full depth of the subject but having to consider that there will be examinations and a syllabus, so depth of teaching is limited. Expectation between private schools and state schools. An advantage to go to Westminster but not as much as it used to be [01:50:02].

Plinth. Presented by P Halban