Our vision

Our vision is of a world where girls and young women are free to be themselves and feel proud of who they are.

Our mission

Our mission is to support and inspire girls and young women. We will create spaces where they feel safe and valued, so that they can build strong foundations that will prepare them for life’s challenges.

Our values

In everything we do, GFS will be:

  • Girl-focused
  • Brave
  • Feminist
  • Ambitious
  • Inclusive
  • Fun

How do we achieve these?

We run after school groups for girls. The groups are a fun and safe space for girls to have new experiences, feel valued for who they are and be inspired.

Research shows that from the age of five, girls start to see themselves and what they can achieve differently. And that by the age of 17, only 38% of girls feel able to be themselves. However, research also found that single-gender spaces encourage girls to take more risks, express themselves and develop their confidence.

So single-gender spaces are what we provide.

We recruit volunteers to run our groups and provide that safe space. They use them to help girls and young women build the foundations of self-esteem, acceptance and trust that will see them through the challenging years to come.

Our approach allows each group to meet the needs of girls in their group in an informed and tailored way. You can find out about our philosophy and theory that underpins our group in greater detail here.


Chief Executive’s notes:

Welcome to GFS – thank you for visiting our site.

GFS is an exciting charity that we are proud to be caretakers of. The history is extraordinary as GFS is one of the longest running charities in England and Wales, devoted solely to meeting the needs for girls and young women.

From an early age, girls are well aware of the far reaching gender inequalities that exist for them. We are focussed on building a fair society one girl at a time by inspiring the girls to think beyond their own experience and empowering them to have the confidence to live the life they would like. This takes hard work and dedication by the volunteers who deliver sessions each week for the girls.

We have an evidence-based plan to ensure we are starting new groups where girls need us most. This is often really challenging but we are determined to follow in our founder’s footsteps and be brave and unstoppable in making this a reality. Our strategic plan sets out how we plan to grow, develop and make a difference for more girls and young women over the next five years. You can read it here.

Our amazing volunteers are central to everything we do. We also rely on supporters who come to GFS in order to support the ambitious plan we have for girls and young women. We could not do what we do without this wide community of incredible support and are excited for what the future brings.

Whether you wish to join a group, sign up your daughter, become part of our team or wider network of supporters, please do get in touch.  We really look forward to meeting you.

Laura Sercombe, Chief Executive