Royal High School Bath, GDST has recently completed its annual Festival of Ideas, a two‑week programme exploring what modern leadership looks like through the lens of remarkable women across science, politics, business, sport, the arts and social change.
Centred on the theme ‘LeadHership’, the Festival saw our girls come together with two of our sister schools from the GDST, Howells and Redmaids High. The girls examined why women have historically faced additional barriers to leadership and to reflect on the qualities that define courageous, collaborative and authentic leaders.
The Festival opened with a two‑day immersive project for Year 8 students, delivered in partnership with the One Day Film School.
The launch session was led by business leader Laura Hagan, whose career includes senior roles at Deliveroo, Gymshark, Dyson and Fever‑Tree. Her message reframed leadership not as authority, but as culture‑building, communication and helping people thrive.
The girls then explored themes of courage, resilience, creativity and determination before selecting one “LeadHER” to research in depth. The second day focused on filmmaking as the One Day Film School helped the girls to script, storyboard, film and edit their own short films inspired by the leadership stories they have explored. This was followed by the school’s own Royal High Oscars, where students’ films were screened and celebrated. The quality of the videos was extremely high and one of the videos has been nominated for the 10 Shot Film Awards which recognise filmmaking excellence in 150+ leading UK & international schools.
The second week shifted from creative project work to a programme of live talks from women leading across diverse fields including STEM, defence, business, sport and social action.
Speakers included:
- Claire Young & Linda Plant – From Apprenticeship to LeadHERship
- Zhenya Shikil – LeadHERship in Action: Standing with Ukraine
- Danielle Davis (RHB alumna) – Get Back Up: LeadHERship Lessons from Skateboarding
- Alison Cartwright (RHB alumna) – Engineering the Future: LeadHERship in STEM
- Major Emily Lawson – No One Leads Alone: Lessons in Collaboration and Courage
A standout moment was the visit from Claire Young and Linda Plant, well‑known from BBC’s The Apprentice. Their session offered honest, practical insight into resilience, confidence, communication and staying true to one’s vision. A lively Q&A allowed students to explore the realities of entrepreneurship and leadership in depth.
Deputy Head Academic Hadrian Briggs, who leads the Festival, said:
“Across both weeks, the Festival of Ideas truly embodied the qualities we aim to nurture in our students — being brave, reflective, inquisitive, collaborative, kind and sparky. It gave them the chance to encounter inspiring role models while seeing leadership presented in forms that are collaborative, thoughtful and diverse, and it encouraged them to think critically about what leadership means and what it can look like for them.”
