I started the day off with a 6:30 wake-up and off to London with a 7:30 start. Navigating the ins and outs of the London tube station thanks to Mr Allan’s superb in-depth map. I had massively underestimated the scale and size of the GDST. I gasped when I saw the reception.
I was so pleased to see a former SHS student who had moved to another GDST school, a familiar face to create comfort! I navigated the elevator which consisted of an iPad showing you which elevator was right. The GDST office is open and modern with about 50 different chairs, one for each mood, I was assured by Karen, Head of Careers and Leadership. We started with an introduction for everyone, and it was lovely to see how many schools had come together today.
The first workshop was with actress Zoe Lister. I was very impressed with her appearances on Hollyoaks and written contributions on shows like Free Rein, The Dumping Ground, and so many more. She started by getting the group into a circle, and one by one, we delivered a line in a certain emotion. True to the workshop name ‘main character energy,’ we embraced being confident and not being a bystander. It was a great way to get to know all of the girls, and we followed it up with more activities on this theme, like creating an alter ego of something you’d like to be, a great message to embody when you feel like you can’t accomplish something. Zoe’s energy was so great and I feel I gained a lot from it
Next was lunch, which has to be duly noted, it was in fact a great way to explore the office some more and get to know the other girls, as there was a lot to discuss!
After Lunch was the marketing workshop, it was interesting to see how different GDST schools approach their marketing and social media. We also shared events at your school that make us special. I had to note our brilliant programme of Period X and also our 140th summer fair. It was so inspiring to see how passionate all the girls were about their school and what value it brings to the GDST.
Going to Trust Office made me all the more proud of being a part of Shrewsbury High School and a privilege that I got to share my pride with the other girls.
