New report shows how girls’ schools can create learning environments where students are engaged, healthy, and thriving
Over the past year, the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools (ICGS), and Challenge Success have gathered data from over 30,000 middle and high school students attending girls’ schools. The “Raising Her Voice” report covers student well-being, engagement, and sense of belonging in school, highlights where girls are thriving, and identifies actionable areas for improvement in girls’ schools globally.
KEY FINDINGS INCLUDE
→ Student agency directly relates to engagement. Schools can provide opportunities for meaningful student voice, personalized choices, and authentic assessments.
→ Strong relationships lead to thriving students. Schools that prioritize connection see gains in engagement and resilience.
→ On average, students sleep less than 7 hours per night and report high levels of academic stress. Schools must consider the broader implications of sleep deprivation on learning, mental health, and ability to cope with stress. They can help students build resilience, foster healthy coping strategies for managing stress, and examine policies related to homework and after-school activities.
The report provides a nuanced understanding of how schools can foster environments where girls are academically engaged and supported in their emotional and social development. These insights serve as a blueprint for educators to align policies with practices that emphasize agency, connection, and well-being.
Challenge Success will also be sharing the data alongside some participating schools at the ICGS Annual Conference in Philadelphia, PA, on June 24. Learn more about the conference and Raising Her Voice session here.
PARTICIPATING SCHOOLS
Academy of Our Lady of Peace – San Diego, CA
Archbishop Blanch School – Southport, United Kingdom
The Archer School for Girls – Los Angeles, CA
Arundel School – Harare, Zimbabwe
Avila College – Victoria, Australia
The Baldwin School – PA
Balmoral Hall School – Manitoba, Canada
Beaumont School – Cleveland Heights, OH
The Bishop Strachan School – Ontario, Canada
Brescia House School – Gauteng, South Africa
Brighton Girls – East Sussex, UK
Brigidine College Indooroopilly – Queensland, Australia
Brigidine College (St. Ives) – New South Wales, Australia
Carmel College – Auckland, New Zealand
Castilleja School – Palo Alto, CA
Chelmsford County High School – Essex, UK
Christchurch Girls High School – Canterbury, New Zealand
Clarendon High School for Girls – Eastern Cape, South Africa
Colegio Marymount de Bogotá – Bogota
Columbus School for Girls – Columbus, OH
Croydon High School – London, United Kingdom
Curtin Medical School – Bentley, Australia
Elizabeth-Seton High School – Bladensburg, MD
Esperanza Academy – Lawrence, MA
The Girls’ School of Austin – Austin, TX
Firbank Grammar School – Victoria, Australia
Frensham School – New South Wales, Australia
Girls Preparatory School – Chattanooga, TN
Hanger Hall School – Asheville, NC
The Hertfordshire & Essex High School – Hertfordshire, UK
Holy Name of Mary College School – Ontario, Canada
ICA Cristo Rey Academy – San Francisco, CA
Iona Presentation College – Perth, Australia
Irma Lerma Rangel Young Women’s Leadership School – Dallas, TX
Isobel Botha – Eastern Cape, South Africa
Ivanhoe Girls Grammar – Victoria, Australia
Kambala School – New South Wales, Australia
Kilbreda College – Victoria, Australia
Korowa Anglican Girls’ School – Victoria, Australia
Lincoln School – Providence, RI
The Linden School – Ontario, Canada
Louise S. McGehee School – New Orleans, LA
Loreto College Coorparoo – Brisbane, Australia
Loreto College Marryatville – Adelaide, Australia
Loreto Toorak – Victoria, Australia
Loreto Kirribilli – New South Wales, Australia
Lowther Hall Anglican Grammar School – Essendon, Australia
The Madeira School – Mclean, VA
Magnificat High School – Rocky River, OH
Marlborough School – Los Angeles, CA
Marymount School of New York – NY
Mater Christi College – Victoria, Australia
Mayfield Senior School of the Holy Child Jesus – Pasadena, CA
Melbourne Girls Grammar – Victoria, Australia
Mentone Girls’ Grammar – Victoria, Australia
Mentone Girls Secondary College – Victoria, Australia
Mercy High School – Farmington Hills, MI
Meriden School – New South Wales, New Zealand
Merion Mercy Academy – Merion Station, PA
Methodist Ladies’ College – Perth, Australia
Miriam College – Manila, Philippines
Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School – Chicago, IL
Nashoba Brooks School – Concord, MA
Newton Country Day School – Newton, MA
The Nightingale-Bamford School – New York, NY
Nonsuch High School for Girls – London, UK
Northampton High School – Northamptonshire, UK
Northwood College for Girls – London, United Kingdom
Oak Knoll School of the Holy Child – Summit, NJ
Oakland Catholic High School – Pittsburgh, PA
Oldfields School – Sparks Glencoe, MD
Our Lady of Mercy College – Victoria, Australia
Our Lady of Tepeyac High School – Chicago, IL
Our Sisters’ School – New Bedford, MA
Perth College – Western Australia
PLC Armidale – New South Wales, Australia
Presbyterian Ladies’ College – Victoria, Australia
Putney High School – London, United Kingdom
Pymble Ladies’ College – New South Wales, Australia
Queen Elizabeth’s Girls’ School – Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Queenwood – Sydney, Australia
Ramona Convent Secondary School – Alhambra, CA
Resurrection College Prep High School – Chicago, IL
Roedean School (SA) – Johannesburg, South Africa
Roland Park Country School – Baltimore, MD
Roseville College – Australia
The Royal High School Bath – Bath, United Kingdom
Ruyton Girls’ School – Melbourne, Australia
Sacre Couer – Victoria, Australia
Saint Kentigern Girls’ School – Auckland, New Zealand
Saint Mary’s School – Raleigh, NC
Saint Pedro Poveda College – Manila, Philippines
Salem Academy – Winston Salem, NC
Santa Fe Girls’ School – Sante Fe, NM
Seymour College – South Australia
Sheffield Girls’ Infant and Junior School – Yorkshire, United Kingdom
SHOFCO Schools – Nairobi, Kenya
Shrewsbury High School – Shropshire, United Kingdom
St. Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School – Brisbane, Australia
St. Anne’s Catholic High School for Girls – London, England
St. Catherine’s School – Melbourne, Australia
St. Catherine’s School – Richmond, VA
St. Catherine’s School, Waverley – New south Wales, New Zealand
St. Cuthbert’s College – Auckland, New Zealand
St. Hilda’s School – Queensland, Australia
St. Jean Baptiste High School – New York, NY
St. Margaret’s School – British Columbia, Canada
St. Mary’s Academy – Inglewood, CA
St. Mary’s Anglican Girls’ School – Western Australia
St. Mary’s DSG – KwaZulu Natal, South Africa
St. Mary’s School Waverley – Gauteng, South Africa
St. Mildred’s-Lightbourn School – Ontario, Canada
St. Oran’s College – Wellington, New Zealand
St. Patrick’s College Townsville – Queensland, Australia
St. Peter’s Girls’ School – Adelaide, Australia
St. Stithians Girls’ College – Gauteng, South Africa
Strathcona Girls Grammar – Victoria, Australia
Streatham and Clapham Prep School – London, UK
Stuart Country Day School of the Sacred Heart – Princeton, NJ
Surval Montreux – Montreux, Switzerland
Trinity High School – River Forest, IL
Toorak College – Victoria, Australia
Townley Grammar School – Kent, United Kingdom
The Village School for Girls – London, United Kingdom
Wellington Girls’ College – Wellington, New Zealand
Westlake Girls High School – Auckland, New Zealand
Westover School – Middlebury, CT
Wilderness School – Adelaide, Australia
Wimbledon High School – London, UK
Woodford House – Hawke”s Bay, New Zealand
Wycombe High School – Buckinghamshire, UK
York House School – Vancouver, Canada
Young Women’s College Preparatory Academy – Houston, TX
Young Women’s Leadership Academy – Houston, TX
SURVEY OVERVIEW
The Challenge Success-Stanford Survey
The Student Survey (also known as the Challenge Success-Stanford Survey of School Experiences) is an approximately 30-minute, online survey for middle and high school students that helps schools gather data and insights that lead to actionable changes designed to improve student well-being, belonging, and engagement with learning. Over 350,000 students have taken this survey since it was developed by researchers at the Stanford Graduate School of Education in 2007.
Topics covered in survey:
- Physical health and well-being
- Stress and coping
- Academic engagement
- Student voice and agency
- Support and belonging at school
- Homework and extracurriculars
- AI use and academic integrity
- Grades and assessment
- Parent expectations
[In working with Challenge Success] we were able to put student well-being and student voice at the center of our work. As we articulated and enacted this change, we have become a school that is centered on the students and by the students. A school where the girls are respected and in turn know their voice is valued. And as student well-being has been promoted, we have also seen an uptick in engagement.
– Duchesne Academy of The Sacred Heart