Godolphin School launches innovative Elizabeth Godolphin Award

Published on isbi School News dated Wednesday 10th of September 2014

Lady Elizabeth Godolphin, the founder of the Godolphin School in Salisbury, was a woman of energy, tenacity and vision. The Elizabeth Godolphin Award (EGA) is a two-year programme available to girls studying their A-levels at Godolphin and has been designed to offer girls an extension to their academic education.

At the launch held on Friday, Mrs Emma Hattersley, Head said: 'As educators I believe it is our responsibility not only to help our students achieve optimum academic results but also to educate them for the broader challenges of life and work beyond school. The Elizabeth Godolphin Award will directly address the skills deficit that many organisations have identified in young adults emerging from education. The award will facilitate Godolphin leavers who are confident, independent individuals and who can articulate an informed point of view on a range of subjects both globally and within specific communities. It will also teach competence in a raft of practical skills spanning topics including for example: computer literacy, financial matters, and communication and presentation skills. The overarching idea is to give our girls an accredited qualification that will carry weight and meaning in practical terms and also give them a real edge as they progress into the world.

We are very proud and excited to launch this new initiative and to name it after the school's founder, Lady Elizabeth Godolphin. We feel the award fully endorses the spirit of her original passionate commitment to providing an excellent and useful all round education for girls but places it firmly in a 21st century context. I hope many generations of Godolphin girls will benefit from achieving an EGA and that it will boost their confidence, expertise and employability.'

Guest speaker at the launch was Mr John Beard, who has had a career in businesses recruiting both newly qualified graduates and school leavers. He was proud to lead a company that was consistently in the top ten of The Sunday Times Best Companies annual awards and his three daughters were educated at Godolphin. Mr Beard said he thought the programme was innovative and exciting and would certainly give girls educated at Godolphin and advantage when looking for employment.

Further details about the programme can be found on the School's website at www.godolphin.org