Esme and Holly are taking over duties from current Head Girls Hannah Sparrow and Harriet Stickels, and are already getting stuck into the role.
“Over the years, St Mary’s has helped me to become the very best version of myself and now it is my turn to contribute to the school community and to help the younger pupils to achieve their own ambitions,” said Holly, aged 15, from Bocking, when the results were announced on 8 March, following the intensive process of individual presentations by all candidates to the whole Senior School and finalist interviews with senior members of staff and the current Head Girls. “I feel so lucky to be at this school and it is an honour to hold such a key role.”
It was a tough selection process and they have already achieved so much.
The school’s focus on providing a supportive environment for all its pupils was further echoed by Esme, aged 14, from Chelmsford, who astonished herself with her success as she felt that “if someone had told me in Year 7 that one day I would be making a Head Girl’s speech, I would probably have laughed because I would never have had the confidence to do this! However, I am up for new experiences and I will always give everything a go, even if I don’t know how to tackle it at first. It is exciting how things change and you end up doing things that you had not planned and are quite unexpected. My New Year’s resolution to be open to new opportunities is definitely paying off!”
“We are delighted to have had such a superb number and level of applicants for these vital roles,” said Miss Anwen Jones, Director of St Mary’s Senior School. “Holly and Esme will be lead ambassadors for our school and they have already started shadowing Harriet and Hannah and contributing to decision-making at the heart of the school. Very soon they will also take over responsibilities such as welcoming parents at parents’ evenings, overseeing taster days for younger pupils, touring visitors, giving speeches at our Prize Giving and the Carol Concert, and organising next year’s leavers’ book and prom.
“It was a tough selection process and they have already achieved so much,” she added. “All the candidates in the hustings have been an inspiration to the younger year groups and have shown that St Mary’s is the ideal place to ‘have a go’ and find out your own personal potential and strengths, whatever those may be.”
