Friday Headlines
the weekly newsletter from EHS
Fearlessly Herself: Grace B Shortlisted for National GSA Writing Award
20 June 2025
We’re absolutely thrilled to share that Grace B in Year 10 has been shortlisted for the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) Writing Award – placing in the top three entries nationwide. This is an incredible achievement, especially as the category was open to students from Year 10 all the way up to Year 13.
Grace’s piece, Trousers, stood out for its bold voice, brilliant humour and honest reflection on a real issue – gender inequality. Inspired by her own experiences, Grace brings warmth, wit and a fierce sense of self to the page, reminding us all of the power of speaking up and standing your ground.
Although Grace didn’t take home the overall prize, being recognised at this level is something truly special and we couldn’t be prouder.
The judge had this to say:
“Being able to write well is difficult. Writing well with humour is harder still. I loved this piece because you made me laugh out loud. It’s superbly written – from the very opening sentence. The fluorescent purple knickers, the ‘Catholic Elton John’ – it was just brilliant. I love your feistiness and pity the next man who tells you what to do. I look forward to seeing what you write in the future. You have the potential to be a star!”
Her teacher, Miss O’Hare, was also full of praise:
“Grace is a brilliant, talented and passionate writer. She brings her feisty personality to every piece. Her strong, feminist, confident principles in this piece show her outlook on life and I know we will be reading so much more of her work in the future. I am really proud of Grace and hope she can see what a wonderful achievement this is!”
Headmistress Clare Macro added:
“We are all so proud of Grace, not just for her success in this national competition, but for the way she tackled a serious issue with such humour, creativity and insight. Her voice is fresh, fearless and full of promise. She’s a wonderful representative of the spirit of EHS.”
You can read Grace’s shortlisted entry Trousers below – a funny, fearless story that shows girls can be bold, brilliant, and utterly themselves.
"I have always found skirts to be a pain. Wearing one requires an abundance of strategic planning - the correct undergarments, a waistband forgiving enough for snacks and meals, and a firm grip on the pleats at the back during a windy autumn day to prevent exposing yourself to the long line of livid drivers lingering on Islington Row Middleway as you walk to the train station.
Now, at 14, my dislike for skirts stems from comfort (perhaps a dash of insecurity), but 9-year-old Grace Bennett only had eyes for fun.
Even back then my enthusiasm for learning earned me a few labels. The boys would call me a "No-Good Know-It-All," to which I would reply with a condescending smile, as well as a "Thank you."
As they aged (without the maturing aspect), their insults became more ill-mannered. "ADHD Annie" was undeniably my favourite one - so ignorant that it was laughable.
I was cast as Annie... in Annie for the Year 6 production, after my teachers had noticed my love for the stage outweighed my love for the classroom, if that was possible. I embraced my role fiercely, now looking back I realise I would be more likely to take on such a role then, than now.
However, before all this, came the Climbing Frame.
A 7ft tall, wooden marvel with perilous monkey bars and bright-green ropes. There were endless possibilities for play, and once the gate to this spectacle had opened, I ran towards it, latching onto a rope and pulling myself up, beginning what I knew would be a whole lunchtime of enjoyment.
Though, as I was attempting a front flip around one of the higher beams, an older boy mocked my sudden exposed knickers, shouting to his friends, "Haha! Look at that girl's pants!" Their giggles stung, and in the blink of an eye the climbing frame was dominated by the boys, while girls had retreated to avoid skirt mishaps.
There was only one solution.
I demanded trousers.
The headteacher's defence against my proposition, was that girls wearing trousers wouldn't adhere to "Tradition".
Tradition? No middle-aged man was going to dictate my front-flip attire.
When my brown bell-bottom trousers arrived, I danced as I tried them on, mirroring a Catholic Elton John.
The next day I strutted into school, swishing my ponytail from side to side as I walked past the headteacher's office, aware of his parochial remarks from the week prior. I knew his mouth had fallen agape from my peripherals, but I merely walked on by.
As boys sneered at my outfit, I bit back, in an attempt to open their minds to a world outside of the Catholic School Bubble which had swallowed many of them whole.
Either way, their remarks mattered not to me because I knew that I would be able to play on the Climbing Frame that day, and the boys would be completely oblivious to the fact that my knickers were in fact a fluorescent purple.
I watched as more girls arrived at school wearing brown bottoms, admiring everyone's differing sense of style. Before we knew it, the Climbing Frame became our domain, and we shared it with the boys... if we felt especially generous that day.
It never mattered to me when they called me bossy, because I knew that I was a good leader. It never mattered to me when they claimed I was a "know-it-all", because I knew I was clever.
And it most certainly never mattered to me when they ridiculed me for my brown bell-bottom trousers, because I was free, and had reclaimed my position, front-flipping over the tallest beam of the Climbing Frame without a single care in the world."
.pngfillwidth_400_height_240.png)
