There is strong evidence that girls thrive in a single-gender space. Access to this space can build girls’ confidence and let them test their limits in a safe environment.
There is also compelling evidence in support of access to a wide range of women role models. Research from Southern Methodist University found that there was “strong evidence of the impact of women role models on women students moving into fields of study in which men are traditionally over-represented, and that the encounters served as an inspiration.”
This is where we come in…
For nearly 150 years, GFS has been improving girls and women’s lives through this mix of single gender spaces and women role models. We believe our offering can help girls build the strong foundations they require to face and overcome the challenges they will face in life.
We’re also thinking carefully about how we can do this in a way that truly considers girls and young women from all backgrounds and walks of life. Read more about this piece of work on our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion page.
Implementing the GFS Girl
| GFS Girl outcomes | Percentage of current parents who said they had noticed growth | Percentage of leavers’ parents who said they had noticed growth | Percentage of girls who felt this applied to them |
| I can speak up about things that matter to me | 79.6% | 53.8% | 86.5% |
| I am proud of who I am | 83.7% | 54.5% | 84.9% |
| I try again if I have a setback | 68.8% | 61.5% | 85.3% |
| I can try new or unfamiliar things | 87.7% | 66.7% | 89.7% |
| I believe I can achieve my hopes and dreams | 71.4% | 38.5% | 80.1% |
| I can enjoy friendship with others | 83.7% | 66.7% | 97.4% |
Our year in review
2020/21 was a recovery year for GFS – we finally started to get our groups back after COVID, started delivering on a new strategy that saw us focus on reaching the girls who need us most, and introduced the GFS Girl as a way of defining the change we wanted to make for our girls and young women. Read our 20/21 annual impact report here.
2019/20 was a year that presented many challenges for us all. The following report covers the financial year October 2019 – September 2020. However, when looking back at our service delivery and support for girls throughout the pandemic, we have extended the timeframe to March 2021. Find out more about our service delivery during the unprecedented time of COVID-19 in our 19/20 Impact Report here.
2018/19 was a year where GFS started to establish how and where it fit into the landscape of charities for girls and young women. Take a look at our 18/19 Impact Report here to find out more about what we got up to.
Take a look at our 2017/18 Impact Report to see what impact we made in the 2017/18 financial year.
You can also see our 16/17 Annual Review here.
Measuring impact
When activities are planned, the author is thinking about how they bring girls closer to being able to make each of these statements.
This can look different for different girls and different age groups. By measuring progress in these areas, we aim to assess the impact of our work.
The GFS Girl is a picture of how what we think confidence, resilience, self-esteem and wellbeing looks like for girls and young women. She is based on the the Young Foundation and Centre of Youth Impact.
| Outcomes | |
| Communication | Explaining, expressing, presenting, listening, questioning, using different ways of communicating |
| Managing feelings | Reviewing, self-awareness, reflecting, self-regulating, self-accepting |
| Resilience and determination | Self-disciplined, self-management, self-motivated, concentrating, having a sense of purpose, persistent, self-controlled |
| Planning and problem solving | Navigating resources, organising, setting and achieving goals, decision making, researching, analysing, critical thinking, questioning and challenging, evaluating risks, reliability |
| Creativity | Imaging alternative ways of doing things, applying learning in new contexts, enterprising, innovating, remaining open to new ideas |
| Confidence and agency | Self-reliance, self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-belief, ability to shape your own life and the world around you |
| Relationships and leadership | Motivating others, valuing and contributing to team working, negotiating, establishing positive relationships, interpreting others, managing conflict, emphasising |
Our Annual Report
You can see our full 20/21 annual report and accounts here.
You can see our 2019/20 annual report and accounts here.
You can see our Oct18-Sept19 Annual Report, here.