When we speak about Girls Enjoying Success, we are speaking about something far greater than academic achievement. We are speaking about a community where every girl feels she truly belongs – where she feels safe, valued and deeply known.

Like many of you, I felt deeply saddened and unsettled last week by the abhorrent attack on two Jewish people in Golders Green. The cumulative effect of repeated acts of hatred, towards individuals, places of worship and communities, can feel overwhelming. It can leave us feeling shaken and searching for reassurance, as well as for the right words to support the girls as they try to make sense of what they may be hearing or feeling.

It is particularly distressing that discrimination and hostility towards different religious communities appears to be rising. I want to say, with absolute clarity and from the heart, that discrimination of any kind, towards any group, is wholly unacceptable. It runs counter to everything we believe in and everything we strive to nurture in our girls.

Let me be very clear: hate has no place in our community.

At Channing, we stand together, united in our deeply held values of tolerance, respect and inclusion. Rooted in our Unitarian heritage, we actively encourage our girls to develop understanding of all faiths and cultures, alongside a strong sense of social responsibility and respect for others.

We are a school for families of all faiths and none, truly strengthened by the diversity of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives within our community. It is this richness that helps our girls grow into thoughtful, open-minded young people who are ready to engage with the world with compassion and integrity.

At the heart of this is our shared commitment to kindness. Through the Channing Promise, our girls learn to treat everyone with respect, to think of others’ feelings and to create a positive, supportive environment where every voice is heard.

And in the Junior School, we see this brought to life so beautifully through our Channing Characters:

• Empathy Rabbit, helping our girls to notice when someone is hurting and to respond with care
• Respectfulness Hedgehog, reminding us to honour difference and treat everyone with dignity
• Bravery Mole, giving our girls the courage to speak up when something is not right
• Curiosity Fox, encouraging them to seek understanding, not assumption

These are not abstract ideas; they are lived, daily actions that shape who our girls become.

As always, our focus remains firmly on the wellbeing of every pupil. We continue to ensure that girls feel safe in school, that they know who they can turn to, and that they feel supported, listened to and understood. We also recognise how important it is, in moments like this, to walk alongside them with care and sensitivity, helping them to process what they see and hear in a way that feels age- appropriate and reassuring. Just as importantly, we are committed to equipping them with the tools they need to navigate what can sometimes feel like an increasingly complex and unsettled world.

And yet, even in the face of this, I hold firmly to hope.

Because what I see every day at Channing is a community that chooses kindness, again and again. A community where girls instinctively look out for one another, where small acts of care and thoughtfulness are part of the fabric of daily life, and where our girls are learning, step by step, how to stand up for what is right with quiet confidence and courage.

I truly believe that the Channing community can be a light in the darkness. Not through grand gestures, but through the gentle, powerful consistency of our shared values, lived out in our words, our actions and our relationships with one another.

Together, we are raising girls who will not only succeed, but who will lead with empathy, courage and integrity, and who will help shape a kinder, more compassionate world for us all.